Press Release

DBRS Morningstar Confirms All Classes of Benchmark 2018-B6 Mortgage Trust with Stable Trends

CMBS
December 18, 2020

DBRS Limited (DBRS Morningstar) confirmed the following classes of Commercial Mortgage Pass-Through Certificates, Series 2018-B6 issued by Benchmark 2018-B6 Mortgage Trust (the Issuer) as follows:

-- 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-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 D at BBB (high) (sf)
-- Class X-D at BBB (sf)
-- Class E at BBB (low) (sf)
-- Class F-RR at BB (high) (sf)
-- Class G-RR at BB (sf)
-- Class J-RR at B (sf)

All trends are Stable.

With this review, DBRS Morningstar removed Classes G-RR and J-RR from Under Review with Negative Implications, where they were placed on August 6, 2020.

The rating confirmations reflect the overall stable performance of the transaction since issuance, when the transaction consisted of 55 fixed-rate loans secured by 211 commercial and multifamily properties. The initial trust balance of $1.15 billion has been reduced to $1.14 billion as of the December 2020 remittance and all loans from issuance remain in the pool. The transaction is concentrated by property type as 18 loans, representing 44.2% of the current trust balance, are secured by office collateral; retail properties back the second-largest concentration of loans, with 11 loans representing 19.2% of the current trust balance. As of the December 2020 remittance, four loans, representing 4.0% of the pool, are on the servicer’s watchlist, and there are four loans, representing 5.5% of the pool in special servicing. Two of the watchlisted loans are being monitored for low debt service coverage ratios (DSCRs) and the remaining two have deferred maintenance issues. In general, the watchlisted and specially-serviced loans exhibiting increased risks from issuance were analyzed with a probability of default (POD) penalty to increase the expected loss for this review.

The largest loan in special servicing is Aloft Portland Airport (Prospectus ID#13; 2.1% of the pool). The loan is secured by a 136 key limited-service hotel located by the Portland International Airport in Portland, Oregon. The loan was transferred to special servicing in September 2020 for payment default and, as of the December 2020 remittance, was listed as 90-120 days delinquent. The servicer has confirmed the borrower is requesting a payment deferral, which is under consideration while the servicer dual tracks pursuit of the lender’s rights and remedies under the loan agreement. As of a trailing 12 months (T-12) ended October 2020 Smith Travel Research (STR) report the collateral reported an occupancy rate of 57.9%, average daily rate of $121.31 and revenue per available room of $70.26. Those figures represented year-over-year declines of 33.3%, 23.3%, and 48.9%, respectively, but it is noteworthy the subject hotel continues to outperform the competitive set, which reported sharper declines from 2019. The servicer most recently reported a T-12 ended March 2020 DSCR of 1.66x, down from the year-end (YE) 2019 DSCR of 1.81 times (x) and the Issuer’s DSCR of 1.82x at origination.

The second-largest loan in special servicing is JAGR Portfolio (Prospectus ID#18; 1.8% of the pool). The collateral is a portfolio of three full-service hotels totalling 721 keys located in Annapolis, Maryland; Jackson, Mississippi, and Grand Rapids, Michigan. Two of the hotels are DoubleTree-branded properties and the third property operates under the Hilton brand. The loan transferred to special servicing in August 2020 due to imminent monetary default as a result of cash flow disruptions driven by the pandemic. As of the December 2020 remitance, the loan was listed as 60 to 89 days delinquent. The servicer is in discussions with the borrower regarding a modification proposal, but nothing has been finalized to date. The servicer reported a T-12 ended June 2020 DSCR of 0.47x, compared with the YE2019 DSCR of 2.12x and the YE2018 DSCR of 1.92x.

The largest loan on the servicer’s watchlist is Embassy Suites – Columbus (Prospectus ID#25; 1.2% of the pool), which is being monitored for a low DSCR. The collateral is a 224 key full-service hotel located in Columbus, Ohio. The low DSCR is a direct result of traffic declines driven by the pandemic. To date, the borrower has not submitted a relief request to the servicer and the loan remains current.The servicer reported a T-12 ended September 2020 DSCR of 0.64x, down from the YE2019 DSCR of 1.77x, suggesting the shortfalls are being paid out of pocket.

At issuance, DBRS Morningstar shadow-rated six loans investment grade, including Aventura Mall (Prospectus ID#1; 9.7% of pool), Moffett Towers II (Prospectus ID#2; 6.7% of pool), West Coast Albertsons Portfolio (Prospectus ID#5; 5.7% of pool), 636 11th Avenue (Prospectus ID#6; 4.4% of pool), Workspace (Prospectus ID#8; 3.5% of pool) and TriBeCa House Conduit (Prospectus ID#11; 2.6% of pool). With this review, DBRS Morningstar confirms the performance of all six loans remains in line with the respective shadow ratings.

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.

DBRS Morningstar materially deviated from its CMBS North American CMBS Insight Model when determining the rating assigned to Class B, as the quantitative results suggested a lower rating.The material deviation is warranted given the uncertain loan level event risk.

Classes X-A and X-D are interest-only (IO) 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 are subject to surveillance, which could result in ratings being upgraded, downgraded, placed under review, confirmed, or discontinued by DBRS Morningstar.

DBRS Morningstar provides updated analysis and in-depth commentary in the DBRS Viewpoint platform for the following loans in the transaction:

-- Prospectus ID#13 – Aloft Portland Airport (2.1% of the pool)
-- Prospectus ID#18 – JAGR Hotel Portfolio (1.8% of the pool)

For complimentary access to this content, please register for the DBRS Viewpoint platform at www.viewpoint.dbrsmorningstar.com The platform includes issuer and servicer data for most outstanding CMBS transactions (including non-DBRS Morningstar rated), as well as loan-level and transaction-level commentary for most DBRS Morningstar-rated and -monitored transactions.

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

The principal methodology is North American CMBS Surveillance Methodology (March 6, 2020), which can be found on dbrsmorningstar.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 Morningstar Global Structured Finance Related Methodologies document, which can be found on dbrsmorningstar.com in the Commentary tab under Regulatory Affairs. 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.

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.

For more information regarding the structured finance rating approach and Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19), please see the following DBRS Morningstar press release: https://www.dbrsmorningstar.com/research/359905.

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 info@dbrsmorningstar.com.

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. Please note a sensitivity analysis is not performed for CMBS bonds rated CCC or lower. The DBRS Morningstar long-term rating scale definition indicates that ratings of CCC or lower are assigned when the bond is highly likely to default or default is imminent, thereby prevailing over a sensitivity analysis.

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

DBRS Limited
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Toronto, ON M5H 3M7 Canada
Tel. +1 416 593-5577

Ratings

  • Date IssuedDebt RatedRatingTrendActionAttributesi
    18-Dec-20Commercial Mortgage Pass-Through Certificates, Series 2018-B6, Class A-1AAA (sf)StbConfirmed
    CA
    18-Dec-20Commercial Mortgage Pass-Through Certificates, Series 2018-B6, Class A-2AAA (sf)StbConfirmed
    CA
    18-Dec-20Commercial Mortgage Pass-Through Certificates, Series 2018-B6, Class A-3AAA (sf)StbConfirmed
    CA
    18-Dec-20Commercial Mortgage Pass-Through Certificates, Series 2018-B6, Class A-4AAA (sf)StbConfirmed
    CA
    18-Dec-20Commercial Mortgage Pass-Through Certificates, Series 2018-B6, Class A-ABAAA (sf)StbConfirmed
    CA
    18-Dec-20Commercial Mortgage Pass-Through Certificates, Series 2018-B6, Class A-SAAA (sf)StbConfirmed
    CA
    18-Dec-20Commercial Mortgage Pass-Through Certificates, Series 2018-B6, Class X-AAAA (sf)StbConfirmed
    CA
    18-Dec-20Commercial Mortgage Pass-Through Certificates, Series 2018-B6, Class BAA (sf)StbConfirmed
    CA
    18-Dec-20Commercial Mortgage Pass-Through Certificates, Series 2018-B6, Class CA (sf)StbConfirmed
    CA
    18-Dec-20Commercial Mortgage Pass-Through Certificates, Series 2018-B6, Class DBBB (high) (sf)StbConfirmed
    CA
    18-Dec-20Commercial Mortgage Pass-Through Certificates, Series 2018-B6, Class X-DBBB (sf)StbConfirmed
    CA
    18-Dec-20Commercial Mortgage Pass-Through Certificates, Series 2018-B6, Class EBBB (low) (sf)StbConfirmed
    CA
    18-Dec-20Commercial Mortgage Pass-Through Certificates, Series 2018-B6, Class F-RRBB (high) (sf)StbConfirmed
    CA
    18-Dec-20Commercial Mortgage Pass-Through Certificates, Series 2018-B6, Class G-RRBB (sf)StbConfirmed
    CA
    18-Dec-20Commercial Mortgage Pass-Through Certificates, Series 2018-B6, Class J-RRB (sf)StbConfirmed
    CA
    More
    Less
Benchmark 2018-B6 Mortgage Trust
  • Date Issued:Dec 18, 2020
  • Rating Action:Confirmed
  • Ratings:AAA (sf)
  • Trend:Stb
  • Rating Recovery:
  • Issued:CA
  • Date Issued:Dec 18, 2020
  • Rating Action:Confirmed
  • Ratings:AAA (sf)
  • Trend:Stb
  • Rating Recovery:
  • Issued:CA
  • Date Issued:Dec 18, 2020
  • Rating Action:Confirmed
  • Ratings:AAA (sf)
  • Trend:Stb
  • Rating Recovery:
  • Issued:CA
  • Date Issued:Dec 18, 2020
  • Rating Action:Confirmed
  • Ratings:AAA (sf)
  • Trend:Stb
  • Rating Recovery:
  • Issued:CA
  • Date Issued:Dec 18, 2020
  • Rating Action:Confirmed
  • Ratings:AAA (sf)
  • Trend:Stb
  • Rating Recovery:
  • Issued:CA
  • Date Issued:Dec 18, 2020
  • Rating Action:Confirmed
  • Ratings:AAA (sf)
  • Trend:Stb
  • Rating Recovery:
  • Issued:CA
  • Date Issued:Dec 18, 2020
  • Rating Action:Confirmed
  • Ratings:AAA (sf)
  • Trend:Stb
  • Rating Recovery:
  • Issued:CA
  • Date Issued:Dec 18, 2020
  • Rating Action:Confirmed
  • Ratings:AA (sf)
  • Trend:Stb
  • Rating Recovery:
  • Issued:CA
  • Date Issued:Dec 18, 2020
  • Rating Action:Confirmed
  • Ratings:A (sf)
  • Trend:Stb
  • Rating Recovery:
  • Issued:CA
  • Date Issued:Dec 18, 2020
  • Rating Action:Confirmed
  • Ratings:BBB (high) (sf)
  • Trend:Stb
  • Rating Recovery:
  • Issued:CA
  • Date Issued:Dec 18, 2020
  • Rating Action:Confirmed
  • Ratings:BBB (sf)
  • Trend:Stb
  • Rating Recovery:
  • Issued:CA
  • Date Issued:Dec 18, 2020
  • Rating Action:Confirmed
  • Ratings:BBB (low) (sf)
  • Trend:Stb
  • Rating Recovery:
  • Issued:CA
  • Date Issued:Dec 18, 2020
  • Rating Action:Confirmed
  • Ratings:BB (high) (sf)
  • Trend:Stb
  • Rating Recovery:
  • Issued:CA
  • Date Issued:Dec 18, 2020
  • Rating Action:Confirmed
  • Ratings:BB (sf)
  • Trend:Stb
  • Rating Recovery:
  • Issued:CA
  • Date Issued:Dec 18, 2020
  • Rating Action:Confirmed
  • Ratings:B (sf)
  • Trend:Stb
  • Rating Recovery:
  • Issued:CA
  • US = Lead Analyst based in USA
  • CA = Lead Analyst based in Canada
  • EU = Lead Analyst based in EU
  • UK = Lead Analyst based in UK
  • E = EU endorsed
  • U = UK endorsed
  • Unsolicited Participating With Access
  • Unsolicited Participating Without Access
  • Unsolicited Non-participating

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