DBRS Confirms Provisional Ratings on All Classes of Benchmark 2019-B9 Mortgage Trust

DBRS, Inc. (DBRS) confirmed the provisional ratings on the following classes of Commercial Mortgage Pass-Through Certificates, Series 2019-B9 issued by Benchmark 2019-B9 Mortgage Trust.

-- Class A-1 at AAA (sf)
-- Class A-2 at AAA (sf)
-- Class A-3 at AAA (sf)
-- Class A-4 at AAA (sf)
-- Class A-5 at AAA (sf)
-- Class A-AB at AAA (sf)
-- Class A-S at AAA (sf)
-- Class X-A at AAA (sf)
-- Class B at AA (sf)
-- Class C at A (sf)
-- Class X-B at A (high) (sf)
-- Class D at BBB (high) (sf)
-- Class E at BBB (low) (sf)
-- Class X-D at BBB (sf)
-- Class F at BB (sf)
-- Class X-F at BB (high) (sf)
-- Class G at B (high) (sf)
-- Class X-G at BB (low) (sf)
-- Class H at B (low) (sf)
-- Class X-H at B (sf)

All trends are Stable. The Class X-A, X-B, X-D, X-F, X-G and X-H balances are notional.

With respect to the third largest loan in the pool, Plymouth Corporate Center, TCF National Bank (TCF) is the largest tenant at the related Mortgaged Property, leasing a total of 437,186 sf (72.2% of the net rentable area). TCF is the principal subsidiary of TCF Financial Corporation. Post announcement of the Benchmark 2019-B9 deal on January 28, 2019, a press release came out announcing that TCF Financial Corporation will merge into Chemical Financial Corporation, and the combined holding company and bank will operate under the TCF Financial Corporation name and brand following the closing of the merger. The release also states that the combined company will be headquartered in Detroit and will maintain a significant operating presence in Minneapolis as well as Midland, Michigan, and Chicago.

To confirm the ratings, DBRS lowered its renewal probability assumption on the TCF space from 75% to 35%, resulting in a lower DBRS net cash flow for the loan. TCF and the Chemical Bank are both investment-grade rated. TCF is in occupancy at the subject with a lease extending through December 2025. Additionally, the loan is structured with a 30-month cash flow sweep tied to TCF’s lease expiration and upon notice of termination, upon material default, bankruptcy, upon cancellation of the lease for any reason or upon a decline in the credit rating below an investment-grade rating. The TCF space at the property reportedly has in excess of 1,800 employees across departments such as Retail Lending, Compliance, Risk Info Security, BSA FCCS, Information Technology, Sourcing, Enterprise Operations, Retail Loan Operations, Retail Lending Collections, Commercial Lending, Retail Bank Operations, Accounting, Internal Audit/Risk and Contact Center as well as central filing, a mailroom and a warehouse. This specific tenant information will be added to the final DBRS rating report and will be subject to ongoing surveillance.

The above information supersedes any conflicting information contained in the DBRS presale and any prior similar materials.

Classes X-A, X-B, X-D, X-F, X-G and X-H are interest-only certificates that reference a single rated tranche or multiple rated tranches. The IO rating mirrors the lowest-rated applicable reference obligation tranche adjusted upward by one notch if senior in the waterfall.

All ratings will be subject to ongoing surveillance, which could result in ratings being upgraded, downgraded, placed under review, confirmed or discontinued by DBRS.

For more information on this transaction and supporting data, please log into www.viewpoint.dbrs.com.

Notes:
All figures are in U.S. dollars unless otherwise noted.

With regard to due diligence services, DBRS was provided with the Form ABS Due Diligence-15E (Form-15E), which contains the description of the information that the third party reviewed in conducting the due diligence services and a summary of the findings and conclusions. While DBRS did not require due diligence services outlined in Form-15E, DBRS did use the Data File outlined in the Independent Accountant’s Report in its analysis to determine the ratings.

The principal methodology is North American CMBS Multi-borrower Rating Methodology, which can be found on dbrs.com under Methodologies & Criteria. For a list of the Structured Finance related methodologies that may be used during the rating process, please see the DBRS Global Structured Finance Related Methodologies document on www.dbrs.com. Please note that not every related methodology listed under a principal Structured Finance asset class methodology may be used to rate or monitor an individual structured finance or debt obligation.

The rated entity or its related entities did participate in the rating process for this rating action. DBRS had access to the accounts and other relevant internal documents of the rated entity or its related entities in connection with this rating action.

Please see the related appendix for additional information regarding the sensitivity of assumptions used in the rating process.

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

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