DBRS Takes Rating Actions on Caixabank RMBS 1, FT

DBRS Ratings GmbH (DBRS) took the following rating actions on the bonds issued by Caixabank RMBS 1, FT (the Issuer):

-- Series A notes confirmed at A (sf)
-- Series B notes upgraded to BB (sf) from C (sf)

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

The rating actions follow an annual review of the transaction and are based on the following analytical considerations:

-- Portfolio performance, in terms of delinquencies, defaults and losses, as of the December 2018 payment date.
-- Portfolio default rate (PD), loss given default (LGD) and expected loss assumptions on the remaining receivables.
-- Current available credit enhancement (CE) to the rated notes to cover the expected losses at their respective rating levels.

The Issuer is a securitisation of first-lien residential mortgage loans and first-lien multi-credito (drawn credit lines) mortgages on properties in Spain originated and serviced by CaixaBank, S.A. (CaixaBank) that closed in February 2016.

PORTFOLIO PERFORMANCE AND ASSUMPTIONS
The performance of the collateral portfolio is within DBRS’s expectations. As of December 2018, loans more than 90 days in arrears represented 1.4% of the outstanding performing portfolio collateral balance (versus 1.5% in December 2017). The cumulative default ratio was at 0.5% of the original portfolio balance (vs 0.2% December 2017).
DBRS conducted a loan-by-loan analysis on the remaining receivables and updated its PD and LGD assumptions to 18.9% and 39.1%, respectively, at the A (sf) rating level and to 9.5% and 28.4%, respectively, at the BB (sf) rating level.

CREDIT ENHANCEMENT
As of the December 2018 payment date, CE to the Series A notes was 16.2%, up from 13.5% at the DBRS initial rating.
The Series A notes benefit from a reserve fund (RF) which provides liquidity support and credit support to the Series A notes. After the first two years from closing, the RF may amortise over the life of the transaction subject to certain amortisation triggers. The RF is currently at its target level of EUR 568 million, which is a minimum of 8% of the outstanding balance of the rated notes and 4% of their initial balance, subject to a floor of 2% of that initial balance.

The only available subordination for the Series B notes is the RF, which currently covers principal and interest payments on the Series A notes only. However, upon payment in full of the Series A notes, it will also become available for the Series B notes.

CaixaBank acts as the account bank for the transaction. Based on the account bank reference rating of CaixaBank at A (high) - which is one notch below its DBRS public Long-Term Critical Obligations Rating (COR) of AA (low) - the downgrade provisions outlined in the transaction documents, and other mitigating factors inherent in the transaction structure, DBRS considers the risk arising from the exposure to the account bank to be consistent with the rating assigned to the Series A notes, as described in DBRS's "Legal Criteria for European Structured Finance Transactions" methodology.

Notes:
All figures are in euros unless otherwise noted.

The principal methodology applicable to the ratings 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.

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 reports and information provided by the Management Company, CaixaBank Titulización, S.G.F.T., S.A.U., 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 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 2 March 2018, when DBRS confirmed the ratings of the Series A and Series B notes at A (sf) and C (sf), respectively.

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 5.3% and 20.5%, 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 Series A notes would be expected to remain at A (sf), assuming no change in the PD. If the PD increases by 50%, the rating of the Series A would be expected to remain at A (sf), assuming no change in the LGD. Furthermore, if both the PD and LGD increase by 50%, the rating of the Series A would be expected to fall to A (low) (sf).

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

Series B Risk Sensitivity:
-- 25% increase in LGD, expected rating of BB (sf)
-- 50% increase in LGD, expected rating of BB (sf)
-- 25% increase in PD, expected rating of BB (sf)
-- 50% increase in PD, expected rating of BB (sf)
-- 25% increase in PD and 25% increase in LGD, expected rating of BB (sf)
-- 25% increase in PD and 50% increase in LGD, expected rating of BB (sf)
-- 50% increase in PD and 25% increase in LGD, expected rating of BB (low) (sf)
-- 50% increase in PD and 50% increase in LGD, expected rating of B (high) (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 GmbH are subject to EU and US regulations only.

Lead Analyst: Alfonso Candelas, Senior Vice President
Rating Committee Chair: Vito Natale, Managing Director
Initial Rating Date: 23 February 2016

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
-- Operational Risk Assessment for European Structured Finance Servicers
-- European RMBS Insight Methodology
-- European RMBS Insight: Spanish Addendum
-- Interest Rate Stresses 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.