DBRS Confirms Rating of Auto ABS UK Loans 2017 Plc

DBRS Ratings Limited (DBRS) confirmed the AAA (sf) rating of the Class A Notes issued by Auto ABS UK Loans 2017 Plc (the Issuer).

The rating of the Class A Notes addresses the timely payment of interest and ultimate payment of principal on or before the legal final maturity date.

The confirmation follows an annual review of the transaction and is based on the following analytical considerations:

-- Portfolio performance, in terms of delinquencies, defaults and losses.
-- Probability of default (PD), loss given default (LGD) and expected loss assumptions on the remaining receivables.
-- Current available credit enhancement to the notes to cover the expected losses at their respective rating level.
-- No revolving termination events have occurred.

Auto ABS UK Loans 2017 Plc is a securitisation of Personal Contract purchase and Conditional Sale auto loan contracts granted and serviced by PSA Finance UK Limited (PSA Finance) to borrowers in England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland.

PORTFOLIO PERFORMANCE
As of September 2018, two- to three-month arrears remain at 0%, the 90+ delinquency ratio was also 0.0% and the cumulative default ratio was 0.1%.

PORTFOLIO ASSUMPTIONS
DBRS updated its PD and recovery rate assumption at a AAA (sf) rating scenario for this transaction to 3.6% and 45.6%, respectively, in line with the latest vintage data received for the other DBRS-rated Auto ABS UK Loan transaction.

CREDIT ENHANCEMENT AND REVOLVING PERIOD
As of the September 2018 payment date, credit enhancement to the Class A Notes was 21.2%, stable since the DBRS initial rating due to the transaction revolving period ending in November 2018. To date, no performance triggers have been breached, causing the revolving period to mature early. To further mitigate the deterioration of the pool, the transaction permits certain concentration limits on the additional portfolios purchased on each payment date. The “worst-case” portfolio composition was considered in the cash flow analysis.

The transaction benefits from a Reserve Fund of GBP 4.7 million, currently at its target level, funded through a subordinated loan granted by PSA Finance.

Wells Fargo Bank, NA (London Branch) acts as the account bank for the transaction. The DBRS private rating of Wells Fargo Bank, NA (London Branch) is consistent with the Minimum Institution Rating, given the rating assigned to the Class A Notes, as described in DBRS's "Legal Criteria for European Structured Finance Transactions" methodology.

Wells Fargo Securities International Limited acts as the swap counterparty for the transaction. DBRS's private rating of Wells Fargo Securities International Limited is above the First Rating Threshold as described in DBRS's "Derivative Criteria for European Structured Finance Transactions" methodology.

Notes:
All figures are in British pound sterling unless otherwise noted.

The principal methodology applicable to the rating is the “Master European Structured Finance Surveillance Methodology”.

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

An asset and a cash flow analysis were both conducted. Due to the inclusion of a revolving period in the transaction, the analysis continues to be based on the worst-case replenishment criteria set forth in the transaction legal documents.

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-sovereign-governments.pdf.

The sources of data and information used for this rating include investor reports provided by BNP Paribas Securities Services SCA, servicer reports provided by BNP Paribas Securities Services SCA and loan-level data provided by the European DataWarehouse GmbH.

DBRS did not rely upon third-party due diligence in order to conduct its analysis. At the time of the initial rating, DBRS was supplied with third-party assessments. However, this did not impact the rating analysis.

DBRS considers the data and information available to it for the purpose of providing this rating to be of satisfactory quality.

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

This is the first rating action since 15 November 2017 when DBRS finalised its provisional AAA (sf) rating on the Class A Notes.

The lead analyst responsibilities for this transaction have been transferred to Alfonso Candelas.

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

To assess the impact of changing the transaction parameters on the rating, DBRS considered the following stress scenarios as compared with the parameters used to determine the rating (the “Base Case”):

-- DBRS expected a lifetime base case PD and LGD for the pool based on a review of the current assets. Adverse changes to asset performance may cause stresses to base case assumptions and therefore have a negative effect on credit ratings.
-- The base case PD and LGD of the current pool of loans for the Issuer are 3.6% and 45.6%, respectively.
-- The Risk Sensitivity overview below illustrates the ratings expected if the PD and LGD increase by a certain percentage over the base case assumption. For example, if the LGD increases by 50%, the rating of the Class A Notes would be expected to fall to AA (low) (sf), assuming no change in the PD. If the PD increases by 50%, the rating of the Class A Notes would be expected to fall to AA (low) (sf), assuming no change in the LGD. Furthermore, if both the PD and LGD increase by 50%, the rating of the Class A Notes would be expected to fall to A (sf).

Class A Notes Risk Sensitivity:
-- 25% increase in LGD, expected rating of AA (sf)
-- 50% increase in LGD, expected rating of AA (low) (sf)
-- 25% increase in PD, expected rating of AA (sf)
-- 50% increase in PD, expected rating of AA (low) (sf)
-- 25% increase in PD and 25% increase in LGD, expected rating of AA (low) (sf)
-- 25% increase in PD and 50% increase in LGD, expected rating of A (high) (sf)
-- 50% increase in PD and 25% increase in LGD, expected rating of A (high) (sf)
-- 50% increase in PD and 50% increase in LGD, expected rating of A (sf)

For further information on DBRS historic 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: Alfonso Candelas, Senior Vice President
Rating Committee Chair: Christian Aufsatz, Managing Director
Initial Rating Date: 30 October 2017

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

-- Legal Criteria for European Structured Finance Transactions
-- Master European Structured Finance Surveillance Methodology
-- Operational Risk Assessment for European Structured Finance Servicers
-- Operational Risk Assessment for European Structured Finance Originators
-- Rating European Consumer and Commercial Asset-Backed Securitisations
-- Interest Rate Stresses for European Structured Finance Transactions
-- Derivative Criteria for European Structured Finance Transactions

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.