DBRS Morningstar Assigns Credit Rating to Cars Alliance Auto Loans France Master, Series 2023-09, Class A Notes and Discontinues Credit Rating on Series 2023-05, Class A Notes

DBRS Ratings GmbH (DBRS Morningstar) assigned AAA (sf) credit ratings to the EUR 164.4 million Series 2023-09, Class A Notes issued by Cars Alliance Auto Loans France Master (the Issuer). DBRS Morningstar assigned the credit ratings following the note issuance on the 21 September 2023 payment date. As of the payment date, all portfolio revolving conditions had been met. Additionally, DBRS Morningstar discontinued its AAA (sf) credit rating on the EUR 166.2 million Series 2023-05, Class A Notes because they were repaid in full.

The credit ratings on the Class A Notes address the timely payment of interest and the ultimate repayment of principal by the legal final maturity date in August 2034.

DBRS Morningstar does not rate the Class B Notes also issued in this transaction.

The Issuer is a master trust securitisation backed by a pool of auto loan receivables related to new and used motor vehicles originated and serviced by Diac S.A., a French subsidiary of RCI Banque SA. The transaction’s revolving period extends until the July 2024 payment date, subject to certain portfolio conditions being met. During the revolving period, the Issuer may acquire additional receivables and issue a further series of Class A Notes with a different expected maturity date.

The transaction closed on 25 May 2012. Since closing, replenishment of the underlying receivables has met the portfolio revolving conditions on each payment date.

PORTFOLIO PERFORMANCE
As at the September 2023 payment date, loans that were one to two months delinquent and two to three months delinquent represented 0.5% and 0.2% of the portfolio net discounted balance, respectively. The cumulative gross default ratio was 1.6% of the original portfolio and cumulative transferred receivables, with principal cumulative recoveries of 78.0% so far.

PORTFOLIO ASSUMPTIONS AND KEY RATING DRIVERS
DBRS Morningstar maintained its base-case probability of default (PD) and loss given default (LGD) assumptions in the eight different cash flow scenarios to take the dynamic credit enhancement mechanism into consideration. DBRS Morningstar assumes the subordination of the Class B Notes to range from 6.5% to 15.9%, the PD assumptions to range from 2.1% to 3.8%, and the LGD assumptions to range from 51.5% to 57.2%. The assumptions are based on the potential portfolio migration and the replenishment criteria set forth in the transaction legal documents.

CREDIT ENHANCEMENT
Credit enhancement to the outstanding series of Class A Notes is provided by the subordination of the Class B Notes and a general reserve fund. The current credit enhancement to the Class A Notes is 14.67%.

The structure includes an amortising cash reserve account, which is available to cover senior expenses and missed interest payments on the Class A Notes. This account is currently funded with EUR 7.44 million, with a target balance equal to 1.0% of the notes’ aggregate balance. In a stressed scenario where DBRS Morningstar assumes no collections, the cash reserve would cover approximately six months of senior fees and interest payments on the Class A Notes.

Société Générale, S.A. acts as the account bank for the transaction. Based on the reference rating on Société Générale, S.A. at AA (low) (which is one notch below its DBRS Morningstar Long Term Critical Obligations Rating of AA), the downgrade provisions outlined in the transaction documents, and other mitigating factors inherent in the transaction structure, DBRS Morningstar considers the risk arising from the exposure to Société Générale, S.A. to be consistent with the ratings assigned to the notes, as described in DBRS Morningstar’s “Legal Criteria for European Structured Finance Transactions” methodology.

DBRS Morningstar’s credit rating on the Class A Notes addresses the credit risk associated with the identified financial obligations in accordance with the relevant transaction documents.

DBRS Morningstar’s credit rating does not address nonpayment risk associated with contractual payment obligations contemplated in the applicable transaction documents that are not financial obligations.

DBRS Morningstar’s long-term credit ratings provide opinions on risk of default. DBRS Morningstar considers risk of default to be the risk that an issuer will fail to satisfy the financial obligations in accordance with the terms under which a long-term obligation has been issued.

ENVIRONMENTAL, SOCIAL, GOVERNANCE CONSIDERATIONS
There were no Environmental/Social/Governance factors that had a significant or relevant effect on the credit analysis.

A description of how DBRS Morningstar considers ESG factors within the DBRS Morningstar analytical framework can be found in the “DBRS Morningstar Criteria: Approach to Environmental, Social, and Governance Risk Factors in Credit Ratings” at https://www.dbrsmorningstar.com/research/416784/dbrs-morningstar-criteria-approach-to-environmental-social-and-governance-risk-factors-in-credit-ratings.

Notes:
All figures are in euros unless otherwise noted.

The principal methodology applicable to the credit ratings is: “Master European Structured Finance Surveillance Methodology” (7 February 2023). https://www.dbrsmorningstar.com/research/409485/master-european-structured-finance-surveillance-methodology

Other methodologies referenced in this transaction are listed at the end of this press release.

A review of the transaction legal documents was not conducted as the legal documents have remained unchanged since the most recent credit rating action.

In DBRS Morningstar’s opinion, the changes under consideration do not warrant the application of the entire principal methodology. Given the master trust structure, no asset or cash flow analysis was conducted as the asset portfolio complies with the composition limits set forth in the transaction legal documents and current transaction performance is within expectations.

For a more detailed discussion of the sovereign risk impact on Structured Finance credit ratings, please refer to “Appendix C: The Impact of Sovereign Ratings on Other DBRS Morningstar Credit Ratings” of the “Global Methodology for Rating Sovereign Governments” at: https://www.dbrsmorningstar.com/research/401817/global-methodology-for-rating-sovereign-governments.

The DBRS Morningstar Sovereign group releases baseline macroeconomic scenarios for rated sovereigns. DBRS Morningstar analysis considered impacts consistent with the baseline scenarios as set forth in the following report: https://www.dbrsmorningstar.com/research/384482/baseline-macroeconomic-scenarios-application-to-credit-ratings.

The sources of data and information used for this credit rating include investor reports provided by EuroTitrisation SA (the management company).

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

At the time of the initial credit ratings, DBRS Morningstar was not supplied with third-party assessments. However, this did not impact the credit rating analysis.

DBRS Morningstar considers the data and information available to it for the purpose of providing this credit rating to be of satisfactory quality.

DBRS Morningstar does not audit or independently verify the data or information it receives in connection with the credit rating process.

This credit rating concerns a newly issued financial instrument. This is the first DBRS Morningstar credit rating on this financial instrument.

The last credit rating action on this transaction took place on 21 August 2023, when DBRS Morningstar assigned a AAA (sf) credit ratings to the Series 2023-08, Class A Notes and discontinued its credit rating on the Series 2023-04, Class A Notes because they were repaid in full.

Information regarding DBRS Morningstar credit ratings, including definitions, policies, and methodologies, is available on www.dbrsmorningstar.com.

Sensitivity Analysis: To assess the impact of changing the transaction parameters on the credit rating, DBRS Morningstar considered the following stress scenarios, as compared to the parameters used to determine the credit rating (the base case):

-- DBRS Morningstar expected a base-case PD and LGD for the portfolio 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 3.1% and 54.2%, respectively.
-- The risk sensitivity overview below illustrates the credit 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 credit rating on the Class A Notes would be expected to fall to AA (high) (sf), assuming no change in the PD. If the PD increases by 50%, the credit rating on the Class A Notes would be expected to fall to AA (sf), assuming no change in the LGD. Furthermore, if both the PD and LGD increase by 50%, the credit rating on the Class A Notes would be expected to fall to A (high)(sf).

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

For further information on DBRS Morningstar historical default rates published by the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) in a central repository, see: https://registers.esma.europa.eu/cerep-publication/. For further information on DBRS Morningstar historical default rates published by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in a central repository, see https://data.fca.org.uk/#/ceres/craStats.

This credit rating is endorsed by DBRS Ratings Limited for use in the United Kingdom.

Lead Analyst: Preben Cornelius Overas, Assistant Vice President
Rating Committee Chair: Alfonso Candelas, Senior Vice President
Initial Rating Date: 25 May 2012

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

-- Legal Criteria for European Structured Finance Transactions (30 June 2023), https://www.dbrsmorningstar.com/research/416730/legal-criteria-for-european-structured-finance-transactions.
-- Master European Structured Finance Surveillance Methodology (7 February 2023), https://www.dbrsmorningstar.com/research/409485/master-european-structured-finance-surveillance-methodology.
-- Operational Risk Assessment for European Structured Finance Originators (15 September 2022), https://www.dbrsmorningstar.com/research/402773/operational-risk-assessment-for-european-structured-finance-originators.
-- Operational Risk Assessment for European Structured Finance Servicers (15 September 2022), https://www.dbrsmorningstar.com/research/402774/operational-risk-assessment-for-european-structured-finance-servicers.
-- Rating European Consumer and Commercial Asset-Backed Securitisations (19 October 2022), https://www.dbrsmorningstar.com/research/404212/rating-european-consumer-and-commercial-asset-backed-securitisations.
-- Rating European Structured Finance Transactions Methodology (15 July 2022), https://www.dbrsmorningstar.com/research/399899/rating-european-structured-finance-transactions-methodology.
-- DBRS Morningstar Criteria: Approach to Environmental, Social, and Governance Risk Factors in Credit Ratings (4 July 2023), https://www.dbrsmorningstar.com/research/416784/dbrs-morningstar-criteria-approach-to-environmental-social-and-governance-risk-factors-in-credit-ratings.

A description of how DBRS Morningstar analyses structured finance transactions and how the methodologies are collectively applied can be found at: https://www.dbrsmorningstar.com/research/278375.

For more information on this credit or on this industry, visit www.dbrsmorningstar.com or contact us at [email protected].