Morningstar DBRS Confirms Credit Rating on Bumper UK 2021-1 Finance plc

DBRS Ratings Limited (Morningstar DBRS) confirmed its AAA (sf) credit rating on the Class A Notes issued by Bumper UK 2021-1 Finance plc.

The credit rating on the Class A Notes addresses the timely payment of interest and the ultimate payment of principal on or before the legal final maturity date in December 2030.

The confirmation follows an annual review of the transaction and is based on the following analytical considerations:
-- Portfolio performance, in terms of delinquencies, defaults, and losses, as of the January 2024 payment date;
-- Probability of default (PD), loss given default (LGD), residual value (RV) haircut, and expected loss assumptions on the remaining receivables; and
-- Current available credit enhancement to the Class A Notes to cover the expected losses at the AAA (sf) credit rating level.

The transaction is a securitisation of auto lease agreements originated and serviced by LeasePlan UK Limited and granted to corporate, small and medium-size enterprises, retail, and public-sector clients in England and Wales (Scottish and Northern Irish lessees are excluded). RV claims related to the auto leases are securitised. The transaction had a one-year revolving period, which ended in April 2022.

PORTFOLIO PERFORMANCE
As of the January 2024 payment date, loans two to three months in arrears represented 0.1% of the outstanding portfolio balance and loans more than three months in arrears represented 0.3%. Cumulative defaults amounted to 1.4%.

PORTFOLIO ASSUMPTIONS AND KEY DRIVERS
Morningstar DBRS conducted an analysis of the current pool of receivables and updated its expected PD, LGD, and RV haircut assumptions to the following:
-- Expected PD of 3.1%;
-- Expected LGD of 40.7%; and
-- RV haircut of 3.96%.

CREDIT ENHANCEMENT
As of the January 2024 payment date, credit enhancement to the Class A Notes was 81.4%, up from 39.2% at the time of Morningstar DBRS’ previous annual review. Credit enhancement consists of the subordination of the junior notes.

The transaction benefits from a liquidity reserve, which covers senior fees, swap payments, and interest payments on the Class A Notes. The liquidity reserve is currently funded to its floor of GBP 2,000,000.

The transaction also benefits from a maintenance reserve, which may be drawn upon to cover maintenance costs upon the occurrence of certain triggers. The maintenance reserve is currently not funded.

BNP Paribas London Branch (BNPP) acts as the account bank for the transaction. Based on Morningstar DBRS’ private credit rating on BNPP, the downgrade provisions outlined in the transaction documents, and other mitigating factors inherent in the transaction structure, Morningstar DBRS considers the risk arising from the exposure to the account bank to be consistent with the credit rating assigned to the Class A Notes, as described in Morningstar DBRS’ "Legal Criteria for European Structured Finance Transactions" methodology.

Banco Santander SA (Santander) acts as the swap counterparty for the transaction. Morningstar DBRS’ public Long Term Critical Obligations Rating of AA (low) on Santander is consistent with the first rating threshold, as described in Morningstar DBRS' "Derivative Criteria for European Structured Finance Transactions" methodology.

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

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

Morningstar DBRS’ long-term credit ratings provide opinions on risk of default. Morningstar DBRS 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, AND GOVERNANCE CONSIDERATIONS
There were no Environmental/Social/Governance factors that had a significant or relevant effect on the credit analysis.

A description of how Morningstar DBRS considers ESG factors within the Morningstar DBRS analytical framework can be found in the Morningstar DBRS Criteria: Approach to Environmental, Social, and Governance Risk Factors in Credit Ratings at https://dbrs.morningstar.com/research/427030.

Morningstar DBRS analysed the transaction structure in Intex DealMaker.

Notes:
All figures are in British pound sterling unless otherwise noted.

The principal methodology applicable to the credit ratings is the Master European Structured Finance Surveillance Methodology (11 December 2023), https://dbrs.morningstar.com/research/425148.

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

Morningstar DBRS has applied the principal methodology consistently and conducted a review of the transaction in accordance with the principal methodology.

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

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 Morningstar DBRS Credit Ratings” of the “Global Methodology for Rating Sovereign Governments” at: https://dbrs.morningstar.com/research/421590.

The sources of data and information used for this credit rating include investor reports provided by LeasePlan UK Limited and loan-level data provided by the European DataWarehouse GmbH.

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

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

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

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

The last rating action on this transaction took place on 24 February 2023, when Morningstar DBRS confirmed its credit rating on the Class A Notes at AAA (sf).

The lead analyst responsibilities for this transaction have been transferred to Petter Wettestad.

Information regarding Morningstar DBRS credit ratings, including definitions, policies, and methodologies, is available at https://dbrs.morningstar.com.

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

-- Morningstar DBRS expected a lifetime base case PD, LGD, and RV haircut 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.

-- Expected PD of 3.1%;
-- Expected LGD of 40.7%; and
-- RV haircut of 3.96%.

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

For further information on Morningstar DBRS 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 Morningstar DBRS 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 GmbH for use in the European Union.

Lead Analyst: Petter Wettestad, Assistant Vice President
Rating Committee Chair: Mark Wilder, Senior Vice President
Initial Rating Date: 22 February 2021

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

-- Legal Criteria for European Structured Finance Transactions (30 June 2023), https://dbrs.morningstar.com/research/416730
-- Master European Structured Finance Surveillance Methodology (11 December 2023), https://dbrs.morningstar.com/research/425148
-- Morningstar DBRS Criteria: Approach to Environmental, Social, and Governance Risk Factors in Credit Ratings (23 January 2024), https://dbrs.morningstar.com/research/427030
-- Operational Risk Assessment for European Structured Finance Servicers (15 September 2023), https://dbrs.morningstar.com/research/420572
-- Rating European Consumer and Commercial Asset-Backed Securitisations (8 January 2024),
https://dbrs.morningstar.com/research/426219
-- Interest Rate Stresses for European Structured Finance Transactions (15 September 2023),
https://dbrs.morningstar.com/research/420602
-- Derivative Criteria for European Structured Finance Transactions (18 September 2023),
https://dbrs.morningstar.com/research/420754
-- Rating CLOs Backed by Loans to European SMEs (22 October 2023) and SME Diversity Model v2.6.1.4,
https://dbrs.morningstar.com/research/422274
-- Rating European Structured Finance Transactions Methodology (11 December 2023),
https://dbrs.morningstar.com/research/425149

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

For more information on this credit or on this industry, visit dbrs.morningstar.com or contact us at info-DBRS@morningstar.com.