DBRS Morningstar Confirms AAA (sf) Ratings on BMW Canada Auto Trust 2018-1 Notes

DBRS Limited (DBRS Morningstar) confirmed its ratings on the following notes issued by BMW Canada Auto Trust (the Trust) as part of DBRS Morningstar’s continued effort to provide market participants with updates on an annual basis:

-- Class A-2 Notes, Series 2018-1 at AAA (sf) (the Class A-2 Notes)
-- Class A-3 Notes, Series 2018-1 at AAA (sf) (the Class A-3 Notes; collectively with the Class A-2 Notes, the Notes)

The Notes are supported by a portfolio of retail closed-end lease contracts and related rights secured by new BMW-branded passenger cars and sport-activity vehicles (the Portfolio of Assets). The lease contracts were originated by authorized BMW dealers in Canada.

Repayment of the Notes is being made from collections from the Portfolio of Assets, which generally include scheduled monthly lease payments (including residual value payments in the case of customer-retained vehicles), as well as proceeds from vehicle sales either at the end of the lease term or earlier in the case of prepayments and defaults. Proceeds from excess mileage and wear-and-tear charges, if any, also form part of the collections used to repay the Notes. The Notes are being repaid in sequential order, with the Class A-1 Notes already fully repaid and the Class A-2 Notes currently being repaid. The ratings are based on the full repayment of the Notes by their respective Final Scheduled Payment Dates, in addition to the factors noted below.

DBRS Morningstar initially published its outlook on the Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) pandemic’s impact on key economic indicators for the 2020–22 time frame in April 2020. DBRS Morningstar last updated the macroeconomic scenarios on September 10, 2020, in its “Global Macroeconomic Scenarios: September Update” at https://www.dbrsmorningstar.com/research/366543/dbrs-morningstar-global-macroeconomic-scenarios-september-update. For the rated Notes, DBRS Morningstar considered impacts consistent with the moderate scenario in the referenced commentary in its analysis. The rating confirmations are based on the following factors, each of which includes additional analysis and, where appropriate, additional stresses to expected performance as a result of global efforts to contain the spread of the coronavirus pandemic:

(1) High levels of credit enhancement are available to protect all the Notes. Credit protection to the Notes is provided by a non-amortizing cash account and overcollateralization equivalent to 0.9% and 61.6%, respectively, of the balance of the Notes as of August 2020. Total credit enhancement available represents 62.5% of the balance of the Notes as of August 2020.

(2) As the initial pool balances were sold to the Trust at discounted values, there is excess spread above the cost of funds and potential monthly replacement servicer fees of approximately 5.1% (annualized), which is available to offset any collection shortfall on a monthly basis.

(3) The collateral for the Notes has been performing well. To date, cumulative losses are in line with DBRS Morningstar’s expectations set at the time of the initial ratings, amounting to 36 basis points of the initial securitization value. The pool has benefited from cumulative residual value gains equivalent to 6.5% of the initial securitization value.

(4) As a subsidiary of BMW AG (BMW; rated A (high) with a Negative trend by DBRS Morningstar), BMW Canada Inc. (the Seller) benefits from the experience and expertise of BMW’s other financial services companies worldwide to ensure sound and consistent underwriting standards and efficient servicing operations.

DBRS Morningstar monitors the performance of each transaction to identify any deviation from its expectation at issuance and to ensure the ratings remain appropriate. The review is predicated upon the timely receipt of performance information from the related providers.

A description of how DBRS Morningstar considers ESG factors within the DBRS Morningstar analytical framework and its methodologies can be found at: https://www.dbrsmorningstar.com/research/357792.

Notes:
All figures are in Canadian dollars unless otherwise noted.

The principal methodology is Master Canadian Structured Finance Surveillance Methodology (August 31, 2020), which can be found on dbrsmorningstar.com under Methodologies & Criteria.

For more information regarding rating methodologies and Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19), please see the following DBRS Morningstar press release: https://www.dbrsmorningstar.com/research/357883.

For more information regarding structured finance rating methodologies and Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19), please see the following DBRS Morningstar press release: https://www.dbrsmorningstar.com/research/358308.

The related regulatory disclosures pursuant to the National Instrument 25-101 Designated Rating Organizations are hereby incorporated by reference and can be found by clicking on the link under Related Documents or by contacting us at [email protected].

The rated entity or its related entities did participate in the rating process for this rating action. DBRS Morningstar 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.dbrsmorningstar.com or contact us at [email protected].

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