DBRS Takes Rating Actions on Berica ABS 3 S.r.l.

DBRS Ratings GmbH (DBRS) took the following rating actions on the bonds issued by Berica ABS 3 S.r.l. (the Issuer):

-- Class A Notes confirmed at AAA (sf)
-- Class B Notes upgraded to AA (high) (sf) from AA (sf)

The rating on the Class 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 Class 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.
-- 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 levels.

Berica ABS 3 S.r.l. is a securitisation of first-lien Italian residential mortgages originated and serviced by Banca Popolare di Vicenza S.C.p.A. (BPVi) and Banca Nuova SpA. Following the administrative compulsory liquidation order of BPVi by the Bank of Italy, Intesa SanPaolo S.p.A. (Intesa SanPaolo) acquired BPVi, including the shareholdings in Banca Nuova S.p.A., and assumed all the transaction responsibilities on 26 June 2017.

On 1 April 2019, DBRS transferred the ongoing coverage of the ratings assigned to the Issuer to DBRS Ratings GmbH from DBRS Ratings Limited. The lead analyst responsibilities for this transaction have been transferred to Shalva Beshia.

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.

PORTFOLIO PERFORMANCE
As of December 2018, loans that were two- to three-months in arrears represented 0.8% of the outstanding portfolio balance, down from 0.9% in December 2017. The 90+ delinquency ratio was 3.6%, up from 3.5% in December 2017. The cumulative default ratio was 4.0%.

PORTFOLIO ASSUMPTIONS
DBRS conducted a loan-by-loan analysis of the remaining pool of receivables and has updated its base case PD and LGD assumptions to 6.2% and 3.0%, respectively.

CREDIT ENHANCEMENT
As of the December 2018 payment date, credit enhancement to the Class A Notes was 51.9%, up from 20.0% at the DBRS initial rating. Credit enhancement to the Class B Notes was 31.1%, up from 11.0% at the DBRS initial rating. Credit enhancement is provided by subordination of junior class notes.

The transaction benefits from a EUR 9.9 million reserve fund. The reserve fund can amortise and has a target balance at 3.00% of the rated notes, with a floor of 1.00%. The reserve fund target is not subject to performance triggers.

HSBC Bank plc has acted as the account bank for the transaction since 6 March 2019, when it replaced Deutsche Bank AG, London branch. Based on the DBRS private rating of HSBC Bank plc, 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 Class A Notes, as described in DBRS's "Legal Criteria for European Structured Finance Transactions" methodology.

J.P. Morgan Securities plc acts as the swap counterparty for the transaction, with JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. (rated AA/R-1 (high) by DBRS) as the swap guarantor. DBRS's private rating of J.P. Morgan Securities plc is above the First Rating Threshold as described in DBRS's "Derivative Criteria for European Structured Finance Transactions" methodology.

The transaction structure was analysed in Intex DealMaker.

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.

DBRS reviewed the legal documents received in the context of the account bank replacement in early March 2019. A review of any other 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 investor reports provided by Deutsche Bank S.p.A., servicer reports provided by Intesa Sanpaolo 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 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 5 April 2018, when DBRS confirmed the ratings of the Class A Notes and the Class B Notes.

The lead analyst responsibilities for this transaction have been transferred to Shalva Beshia.

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 6.2% and 3.0%, 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 remain at AAA (sf), assuming no change in the PD. If the PD increases by 50%, the rating of the Class A Notes would be expected to remain at AAA (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 remain at AAA (sf).

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

Class B Notes Risk Sensitivity:
-- 25% increase in LGD, expected rating of AA (high) (sf)
-- 50% increase in LGD, expected rating of AA (high) (sf)
-- 25% increase in PD, expected rating of AA (high) (sf)
-- 50% increase in PD, expected rating of AA (high) (sf)
-- 25% increase in PD and 25% increase in LGD, expected rating of AA (high) (sf)
-- 25% increase in PD and 50% increase in LGD, expected rating of AA (high) (sf)
-- 50% increase in PD and 25% increase in LGD, expected rating of AA (high) (sf)
-- 50% increase in PD and 50% increase in LGD, expected rating of AA (high) (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: Shalva Beshia, Assistant Vice President
Rating Committee Chair: Alfonso Candelas, Senior Vice President
Initial Rating Date: 16 June 2014

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Geschäftsführer: Detlef Scholz
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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 Issuer.

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
-- Master European Residential Mortgage-Backed Securities Rating Methodology and Jurisdictional Addenda
-- 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.