DBRS Assigns Provisional Rating to Brignole CQ 2019-1 S.r.l. Class E Notes

DBRS Ratings Limited (DBRS) assigned a provisional rating of BB (low) (sf) to the Class E Notes to be issued by Brignole CQ 2019-1 S.r.l. (the Issuer).

The provisional rating referenced above is based on information provided to DBRS by the Issuer and its agents as of the date of this press release. The rating can be finalised upon review of final information, data and an executed version of the governing transaction documents. To the extent that the documents and the information provided to DBRS as of this date differ from the executed version of the governing transaction documents, DBRS may assign different final ratings to the rated notes.

The transaction represents the issuance of Class A, Class B, Class C, Class D and Class E floating-rate notes (the Rated Notes) together with Class X and Class R backed by a pool of approximately EUR 172 million of fixed-rate receivables related to Italian salary- and pension-assignment loans as well as payment delegation loans granted by Creditis Servizi Finanziari S.p.A. (the originator and servicer) to individuals residing in Italy.

On 24 September 2019, DBRS assigned provisional ratings to the Class A, Class B, Class C and Class D notes to be issued under this transaction. DBRS does not rate the Class X and the Class R notes.

The transaction envisages a six-month revolving period during which time the originator may offer additional receivables that the Issuer will purchase provided that certain conditions set out in the transaction documents are satisfied. The revolving period may end earlier than scheduled following certain events, including performance triggers. At the end of the revolving period, the Notes will amortise on a sequential basis. The transaction benefits from a EUR 1.7 million cash reserve funded with part of the proceeds of subscription of the Class X notes, which can be used to cover shortfalls in senior expenses, interest under the Class A, Class B, Class C and Class D notes and to offset defaults, thus providing credit enhancement. The cash reserve does not cover Class E interest and reduces to zero being released to the transaction revenues when Class D is fully amortised. The Rated Notes (including the Class E Notes) pay interest indexed to one-month Euribor plus a margin, and the interest rate risk arising from the mismatch between the floating-rate notes and the fixed-rate collateral is hedged through an interest rate cap with an eligible counterparty based on a fixed amortisation schedule based on the initial portfolio assuming a 6% constant prepayment rate after the revolving period.

DBRS does not rate the Class X or the Class R notes.

The rating of the Class E Notes addresses ultimate payment of interest and ultimate payment of principal by the final maturity date.

The ratings are based on DBRS’s review of the following analytical considerations:
-- The transaction capital structure, including form and sufficiency of available credit enhancement.
-- Credit enhancement levels are sufficient to support DBRS’s projected expected net losses under various stress scenarios.
-- The ability of the transaction to withstand stressed cash flow assumptions and repay investors according to the terms under which they have invested.
-- The seller, originator and servicer’s capabilities with respect to originations, underwriting, servicing and financial strength.
-- DBRS conducted an operational risk review on Creditis Servizi Finanziari S.p.A.’s premises and deems it to be an acceptable servicer.
-- The appointment upon closing of a backup servicer and capabilities with respect to servicing.
-- The transaction parties’ financial strength with regard to their respective roles.
-- The credit quality, diversification of the collateral and historical and projected performance of the seller’s portfolio.
-- The sovereign rating of the Republic of Italy, currently rated BBB (high) with a Stable trend by DBRS.
-- The consistency of the transaction’s legal structure with DBRS’s “Legal Criteria for European Structured Finance Transactions” methodology, the presence of legal opinions that address the true sale of the assets to the Issuer and non-consolidation of the Issuer with the seller.

The transaction was analysed in Intex DealMaker.

Notes:
All figures are in euros unless otherwise noted.

The principal methodology applicable to the rating is: “Rating European Consumer and Commercial Asset-Backed Securitisations”.

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 is based on the worst-case replenishment criteria set forth in the transaction legal documents.

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 “Global Methodology for Rating Sovereign Governments” methodology at: https://www.dbrs.com/research/350410/global-methodology-for-rating-sovereign-governments.

The sources of data and information used for the ratings include data sourced from Creditis Servizi Finanziari S.p.A and provided through the transaction arranger, Citigroup Global Markets Limited:

-- Monthly dynamic delinquency data from April 2010 to April 2019.
-- Monthly dynamic prepayment data from November 2010 to April 2019.
-- Quarterly static prepayment data from Q1 2010 to Q2 2019.
-- Quarterly static default data from Q2 2010 to Q2 2019.
-- Quarterly static recovery data from Q3 2010 to Q2 2019.

DBRS was also provided with detailed stratification tables as at 4 September 2019.

DBRS did not rely upon third-party due diligence in order to conduct its analysis.

DBRS was supplied with one or more 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 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 rating concerns a newly issued financial instrument. This rating is the first DBRS rating on this financial instrument.

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:

-- Probability of Default (PD) used: expected PD of 8.7%, 8.9% for an BB (low) (sf) scenario, a 25% and 50% increase on the applicable PD.
-- Recovery Rate used: expected Recovery rate of 59%.
-- Loss Given Default (LGD) used: expected LGD of 41%, 42% for an BB (low) (sf) scenario, a 25% and 50% increase in the applicable LGD.

Scenario 1: A 25% increase in the expected default.
Scenario 2: A 50% increase in the expected default.
Scenario 3: A 25% increase in the expected LGD.
Scenario 4: A 25% increase in the expected default and a 25% increase in the expected LGD.
Scenario 5: A 50% increase in the expected default and a 25% increase in the expected LGD.
Scenario 6: A 50% increase in the expected LGD.
Scenario 7: A 25% increase in the expected default and a 50% increase in the expected LGD.
Scenario 8: A 50% increase in the expected default and a 50% increase in the expected LGD.

DBRS concludes that the expected ratings under the eight stress scenarios are
-- Class E Notes: below B (low) (sf), below B (low) (sf), below B (low) (sf), below B (low) (sf), below B (low) (sf), below B (low) (sf), below B (low) (sf), below B (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 Limited are subject to EU and US regulations only.

Lead Analyst: Paolo Conti, Senior Vice President
Rating Committee Chair: Gareth Levington, Managing Director
Initial Rating Date: 24 September 2019

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

-- Rating European Consumer and Commercial Asset-Backed Securitisations
-- Legal Criteria for European Structured Finance Transactions
-- Derivative Criteria for European Structured Finance Transactions
-- Operational Risk Assessment for European Structured Finance Servicers
-- Operational Risk Assessment for European Structured Finance Originators
-- 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.