DBRS Confirms AAA Ratings on Bankia S.A. Cédulas Hipotecarias

DBRS Ratings Limited (DBRS) confirmed its AAA ratings on the Cédulas Hipotecarias (CH; the Spanish Mortgage Covered Bonds) outstanding under the Bankia S.A. Covered Bonds (Cédulas Hipotecarias - Mortgages) programme (Bankia CH or the Programme). This rating action follows the completion of a full review of the ratings.

Concurrently, DBRS withdrew its rating of CH 2006-2 (ISIN ES0414950651), which matured on 25 May 2018.

Following the merger of Banco Mare Nostrum S.A. into Bankia S.A. and the integration of the relevant CH programmes, effective from January 2018, there are currently 36 outstanding CH series in the Programme with a nominal amount of EUR 27.7 billion. DBRS currently rates 12 series in the Programme with an aggregate nominal amount of EUR 19.1 billion.

The ratings reflect the following analytical considerations:

-- A Covered Bonds Attachment Point (CBAP) of “A”, which is the Long-Term Critical Obligations Rating of Bankia. Bankia is the Issuer and Reference Entity for the Programme. DBRS classifies Spain as a jurisdiction in which covered bonds are a particularly important funding instrument and deems the cover pool (CP) strategic for the core activity of the Issuer.
-- A legal and structuring framework (LSF) assessment of “Average” associated with the Programme.
-- A Cover Pool Credit Assessment (CPCA) of AAA, which is the lowest CPCA in line with the LSF-Implied Likelihood (LSF-L).
-- An LSF-L of AA.
-- A two-notch uplift for high recovery prospects.
-- A level of overcollateralisation (OC) of 107.5% to which DBRS gives credit, which is the minimum observed OC level over the past 12 months adjusted by a scaling factor of 0.85.

The transaction was analysed using the DBRS European Covered Bond Cash Flow tool. The main assumptions focused on the timing of defaults and recoveries of the assets, interest rate stresses and market value spreads to calculate liquidation values on the CP.

Everything else being equal, a one-notch downgrade of the CBAP would lead to a two-notch downgrade of the LSF-L, resulting in a two-notch downgrade of the covered bonds rating.

In addition, all else unchanged, the CH ratings would be downgraded if any of the following were to occur: (1) the CPCA were downgraded below AAA; (2) the sovereign rating of the Kingdom of Spain were downgraded below A (low); (3) the LSF assessment associated with the Programme were downgraded; (4) the quality of the CP and the level of OC were no longer sufficient to support a two-notch uplift for high recovery prospects; (5) the relative amortisation profile of the CH and CP moved adversely; or (6) volatility in the financial markets were to cause the currently estimated market value spreads to increase.

The total outstanding amount of CH is currently EUR 27.7 billion, while the aggregate balance of the mortgages in the CP, as at 30 June 2018, was EUR 72.6 billion, resulting in a total OC of 162.0%. The eligible CP stands at EUR 55.9 billion, resulting in an eligible OC of 101.8%.

As of June 2018, the CP comprised 872,035 mortgage loans with a weighted-average current unindexed loan-to-value ratio of 58.9%, split as follows: 87.0% residential, 10.9% commercial, 1.9% developers and 0.3% land loans. It is geographically diversified, with the largest concentrations in Madrid (26.5%), the Community of Valencia (15.8%) and Andalusia (13.9%). The pool is 106 months seasoned.

The majority of the loans in the CP (94.9%) are floating rate, while 67.7% of the liabilities pay a fixed coupon. As is usual in Spanish CH, there are no swaps for the benefit of the CH holders. This has been accounted for in the DBRS cash flow analysis.

The weighted-average life of the assets is about 11.3 years, while that of the covered bonds is about 6.1 years. The resulting asset-liability maturity mismatch is mitigated by the available OC.

All liabilities are denominated in euros, while 0.2% of the pool assets by loan balance were originated in a different currency. This residual exposure is mitigated by the available OC.

DBRS has assessed the LSF related to the Programme as “Average” according to its rating methodology. For more information, please refer to the DBRS commentaries “Spanish Mortgage Covered Bonds: Legal and Structuring Framework Review” and “DBRS Assigns Legal and Structuring Framework Assessment to Spanish Mortgage Covered Bonds Programmes”, which are available at www.dbrs.com.

For further information on the Programme, please refer to the rating report that is available on www.dbrs.com.

Notes:
All figures are in euros unless otherwise noted.

The principal methodology applicable to the ratings is “Rating European Covered Bonds”.

DBRS has applied the principal methodology consistently and conducted a review of the transaction in accordance with the principal methodology.

A review of the transaction legal documents was not conducted as the legal documents have remained unchanged since the most recent rating action.

Other methodologies referenced in this transaction are listed at the end of this press release. These may be found on www.dbrs.com at: http://www.dbrs.com/about/methodologies.

For a more detailed discussion of the sovereign risk impact on Structured Finance ratings, please refer to “Appendix C: The Impact of Sovereign Ratings on Other DBRS Credit Ratings” of the “Rating Sovereign Governments” methodology at: http://dbrs.com/research/319564/rating-sovereigngovernments.pdf.

The sources of data and information used for these ratings include historical default performance data and stratification tables on the CP provided by the Issuer.

DBRS did not rely upon third-party due diligence in order to conduct its analysis.

At the time of the initial rating, DBRS was not supplied with third-party assessments. However, this did not impact the rating analysis.

DBRS considers the data and information available to it for the purposes of providing these ratings to be of satisfactory quality.

DBRS does not audit or independently verify the data or information it receives in connection with the rating process.

The last rating action on this transaction took place on 22 September 2017, when DBRS upgraded its ratings on the CH outstanding under the Programme to AAA from AA (high), following a full review of the ratings.

Information regarding DBRS ratings, including definitions, policies and methodologies, is available on www.dbrs.com.

For further information on DBRS historical default rates published by the European Securities and Markets Authority (“ESMA”) in a central repository, see: http://cerep.esma.europa.eu/cerep-web/statistics/defaults.xhtml.

Ratings assigned by DBRS Ratings Limited are subject to EU and US regulations only.

Lead Analyst: Antonio Laudani, Vice President
Rating Committee Chair: Gareth Levington, Managing Director
Initial Rating Date: 24 September 2014

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The rating methodologies used in the analysis of this transaction can be found at: http://www.dbrs.com/about/methodologies.

-- Rating European Covered Bonds
-- Rating European Covered Bonds Addendum: Market Value Spreads
-- Global Methodology for Rating Banks and Banking Organisations
-- Legal Criteria for European Structured Finance Transactions
-- Interest Rate Stresses for European Structured Finance Transactions
-- European RMBS Insight Methodology
-- European RMBS Insight: Spanish Addendum
-- Operational Risk Assessment for European Structured Finance Originators
-- Operational Risk Assessment for European Structured Finance Servicers
-- Rating CLOs Backed by Loans to European SMEs
-- Rating CLOs and CDOs of Large Corporate Credit
-- Rating Sovereign Governments

A description of how DBRS analyses structured finance transactions and how the methodologies are collectively applied can be found at: http://www.dbrs.com/research/278375.

For more information on this credit or on this industry, visit www.dbrs.com or contact us at info@dbrs.com.