Rating Action Commentary
ֳ Upgrades EuroMASTR Series 2007-1V Plc
Tue 31 May, 2022 - 10:11 AM ET
ֳ - London - 31 May 2022: ֳ has upgraded EuroMASTR Series 2007-1V Plc's class C and D notes of and affirmed the other notes. A full list of rating actions is below.
Transaction Summary
This transaction is a securitisation of owner-occupied (OO) and buy-to-let (BTL) mortgages originated in the UK by Victoria Mortgage Funding and now serviced by BCMGlobal Mortgage Services Limited (RPS2-/RSS2-) part of the Link Group.
KEY RATING DRIVERS
Removed From UCO: The rating actions take into account the update to ֳ's UK RMBS Rating Criteria on 23 May 2022. The class C, D and E notes' ratings have been removed from Under Criteria Observation (UCO). The new criteria assumptions result in lower expected losses in our asset analysis, driving the upgrade of the class D notes to 'Asf'.
CE Accumulation: As of the latest payment date, credit enhancement (CE) had slightly increased to 42.8%, 32.0%, 23.7%, 10.4% and 7.1% from 42.5%, 31.3%, 23.5%, 9.7% and 6.4% at the previous review for the class A, B, C, D and E notes, respectively, as the notes continue to amortise pro-rata and the reserve fund is static.
Obligor and Interest-only Concentration: There are currently 440 borrowers in the asset pool. As amortisation continues, we expect granularity to reduce and the transaction remains exposed to greater tail-end risk. This is exacerbated by most loans being interest-only. Refinancing risk could expose the junior tranches to the performance of very few loans.
Liquidity Protection Mechanism: The transaction benefits from a liquidity protection mechanism in the form of a static reserve fund, currently at target, sized at closing at 1.9% of the notes' (excluding the subordinated notes) balance. The transaction also benefits from a non-amortising liquidity facility, which is entirely dedicated to covering senior fees, and interest shortfalls for the notes. The reserve fund can be used to cover for losses. These features support the ratings.
Increased Senior Fees and Libor Transitioning: The analysis of third-party fees reported in the most recent investor report suggest the transaction has incurred increased fees, driven by professional services expenses, associated with Libor transitioning efforts. Currently, the notes and assets reference a synthetic Libor index. The increased level of fees affects excess spread availability, although our fixed fees assumption contain a buffer relative to average observed pre-Libor transitioning workstream.
RATING SENSITIVITIES
Factors that could, individually or collectively, lead to negative rating action/downgrade:
The transaction's performance may be affected by changes in market conditions and economic environment. Weakening economic performance is strongly correlated to increasing levels of delinquencies and defaults that could reduce CE available to the notes.
ֳ conducted sensitivity analyses by stressing each transaction's base case foreclosure frequency (FF) and recovery rate (RR) assumptions, and examining the rating implications on all classes of issued notes. A 15% increase in the weighted average (WA) FF and a 15% decrease in the WARR indicates a downgrade of the class E notes of no more than three notches.
Factors that could, individually or collectively, lead to positive rating action/upgrade:
Stable to improved asset performance driven by stable delinquencies and defaults would lead to increasing CE and potential upgrades. ֳ tested an additional rating sensitivity scenario by applying a decrease in the WAFF of 15% and an increase in the WARR of 15%. The results indicate upgrades of up to 10 notches for the class D and E notes.
Best/Worst Case Rating Scenario
International scale credit ratings of Structured Finance transactions have a best-case rating upgrade scenario (defined as the 99th percentile of rating transitions, measured in a positive direction) of seven notches over a three-year rating horizon; and a worst-case rating downgrade scenario (defined as the 99th percentile of rating transitions, measured in a negative direction) of seven notches over three years. The complete span of best- and worst-case scenario credit ratings for all rating categories ranges from 'AAAsf' to 'Dsf'. Best- and worst-case scenario credit ratings are based on historical performance. For more information about the methodology used to determine sector-specific best- and worst-case scenario credit ratings, visit /site/re/10111579.
USE OF THIRD PARTY DUE DILIGENCE PURSUANT TO SEC RULE 17G -10
Form ABS Due Diligence-15E was not provided to, or reviewed by, ֳ in relation to this rating action.
DATA ADEQUACY
EuroMASTR Series 2007-1V plc
ֳ has checked the consistency and plausibility of the information it has received about the performance of the asset pool[s] and the transaction[s]. ֳ has not reviewed the results of any third party assessment of the asset portfolio information or conducted a review of origination files as part of its ongoing monitoring.
ֳ did not undertake a review of the information provided about the underlying asset pool[s] ahead of the transaction's [EuroMASTR Series 2007-1V plc] initial closing. The subsequent performance of the transaction[s] over the years is consistent with the agency's expectations given the operating environment and ֳ is therefore satisfied that the asset pool information relied upon for its initial rating analysis was adequately reliable.
Overall, and together with any assumptions referred to above, ֳ's assessment of the information relied upon for the agency's rating analysis according to its applicable rating methodologies indicates that it is adequately reliable.
REFERENCES FOR SUBSTANTIALLY MATERIAL SOURCE CITED AS KEY DRIVER OF RATING
The principal sources of information used in the analysis are described in the Applicable Criteria.
ESG Considerations
EuroMASTR Series 2007-1V plc has an ESG Relevance Score of '4' for Customer Welfare - Fair Messaging, Privacy & Data Security due to compliance risks including fair lending practices, mis-selling, repossession/foreclosure practices and consumer data protection (data security), which has a negative impact on the credit profile, and is relevant to the ratings in conjunction with other factors.
EuroMASTR Series 2007-1V plc has an ESG Relevance Score of '4' for Human Rights, Community Relations, Access & Affordability due to accessibility to affordable housing, which has a negative impact on the credit profile, and is relevant to the ratings in conjunction with other factors.
Unless otherwise disclosed in this section, the highest level of ESG credit relevance is a score of '3'. This means ESG issues are credit-neutral or have only a minimal credit impact on the entity, either due to their nature or the way in which they are being managed by the entity. For more information on ֳ's ESG Relevance Scores, visit
Additional information is available on
PARTICIPATION STATUS
The rated entity (and/or its agents) or, in the case of structured finance, one or more of the transaction parties participated in the rating process except that the following issuer(s), if any, did not participate in the rating process, or provide additional information, beyond the issuer’s available public disclosure.
APPLICABLE CRITERIA
APPLICABLE MODELS
Numbers in parentheses accompanying applicable model(s) contain hyperlinks to criteria providing description of model(s).
ADDITIONAL DISCLOSURES
ENDORSEMENT STATUS
EuroMASTR Series 2007-1V plc | UK Issued, EU Endorsed |