DBRS Upgrades Ratings of FCC Surf

DBRS Ratings GmbH (DBRS) upgraded the ratings of the notes issued by FCC Surf (the Issuer) as follows:

-- Series A1 Notes to A (sf) from A (low) (sf)
-- Series A2 Notes to A (sf) from A (low) (sf)
-- Series B1 Notes to A (sf) from BBB (high) (sf)
-- Series B2 Notes to A (sf) from BBB (high) (sf)

The ratings of the notes address the ultimate payment of interest and principal on or before the final Repayment Date in November 2024.

The Series A1 Notes and Series A2 Notes (together, the Series A Notes) and the Series B1 Notes and Series B2 Notes (together, the Series B Notes) were issued on 14 August 2007 (the Issuer Closing Date), pursuant to the Facility Agreement dated 24 July 2007, among Dexia Crédit Local and BNP Paribas SA (as Arrangers) and the FCC Surf Issuer Regulations dated 10 August 2007, among EuroTitrisation SA (as Management Company) and BRED Banque Populaire S.A. (as Custodian).

On 17 December 2018, DBRS transferred the ongoing coverage of the ratings assigned to FCC Surf to DBRS Ratings GmbH from DBRS Ratings Limited, where it had previously been transferred from DBRS, Inc. The lead analyst responsibilities for this transaction have been transferred to Alfonso Candelas.

Both DBRS Ratings Limited and DBRS Ratings GmbH are registered with the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) under Regulation (EC) No. 1060/2009 on Credit Rating Agencies, as amended, and are registered Nationally Recognized Statistical Rating Organization (NRSRO) affiliates in the United States and Designated Rating Organization (DRO) affiliates in Canada.

The Issuer is a mutual debt fund (fonds commun de créances) jointly created by EuroTitrisation SA and BRED Banque Populaire S.A.

This transaction is a French credit-linked note, governed under the laws of the Republic of France, which securitises the receivables arising from a bank loan to SANEF S.A., a French toll road operator. The Series A Notes and Series B Notes were partly funded at closing and continued to be funded in installments, until the Series A1 and B1 Notes were fully funded as at February 2011, and the Series A2 Notes and Series B2 Notes were fully funded as at February 2016.

The proceeds of the Series A Notes and Series B Notes were used by the Issuer to purchase Loan Receivables from Dexia Crédit Local, Dublin Branch (as Originator). The upgrades of the notes are prompted by completion of the merger of Assured Guaranty (London) Plc and Assured Guaranty (UK) plc into Assured Guaranty (Europe) plc, currently guarantor of the Loan Receivables for the Series A and Series B Notes.

FCC Surf issued two Residual Units, which are unrated.

FCC Surf also entered into a swap with Dexia Crédit Local (as Swap Counterparty) on the Issuer Closing Date, where, throughout the life of the transaction, FCC Surf will pay a fixed base rate to Dexia Crédit Local in exchange for a floating-rate Euribor due to the Series A Notes and Series B Notes.

The ratings reflect the following primary considerations:
(1) The Facility Agreement dated 24 July 2007, and other relevant transaction documents.
(2) The FCC Surf Issuer Regulations dated 10 August 2007.
(3) The credit quality of the relevant counterparties.
(4) The integrity of the transaction structure.
(5) DBRS’s assessment of the financial guarantees in place.

Notes:
All figures are in euros unless otherwise noted.

The principal methodology applicable to the ratings is: “Rating CLOs and CDOs of Large Corporate Credit”.

DBRS has applied the principal methodology consistently and conducted a review of the transaction in accordance with the surveillance section of 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/333487/rating-sovereign-governments.pdf.

The sources of data and information used for these ratings include management reports provided by EuroTitrisation SA.

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 27 December 2017 when DBRS confirmed the ratings of the 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 on www.dbrs.com.

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

-- A one-notch downgrade to the assessment of the Guarantor of the loan receivables Assured Guaranty (Europe) plc.
-- A one-notch downgrade to the assessment of the Borrower SANEF S.A.

DBRS concludes that a hypothetical downgrade to the assessment of the Guarantor rating by one notch, ceteris paribus, would lead to a downgrade of the Notes to A (low) (sf). A hypothetical one-notch downgrade to the assessment of the Borrower rating, ceteris paribus, would not have an impact on the current ratings. A scenario combining both the downgrade of the Guarantor and the Borrower rating would lead to a downgrade of the notes to A (low) (sf).

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 GmbH are subject to EU and US regulations only.

Lead Analyst: Alfonso Candelas, Senior Vice President
Rating Committee Chair: Vito Natale, Senior Vice President
Initial Rating Date: 30 December 2015

Ratings issued and monitored by DBRS Ratings GmbH are noted as such on the DBRS website; however, the language and related statements in previously published press releases in respect of the relevant ratings will not be changed retroactively and will remain as part of DBRS’s historical record. The ratings issued and monitored in the European Union are marked as such in their respective rating tables. As part of this transfer, these markings will remain unchanged on all active ratings related to the above-mentioned issuer.

DBRS Ratings GmbH
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60311 Frankfurt am Main Germany
Geschäftsführer: Detlef Scholz
Amtsgericht Frankfurt am Main, HRB 110259

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
-- Rating CLOs and CDOs of Large Corporate Credit
-- 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.