Announcements
Drinks
Scope takes no action on the Class A notes issued by Credico Finance 18 Srl – Italian SME ABS
Scope Ratings GmbH (Scope) monitors and reviews its credit ratings on an ongoing basis and at least annually, or every six months in the case of sovereigns, sub-sovereigns and supranational organisations.
Scope performs monitoring reviews to determine whether material changes and/or changes in macroeconomic or financial market conditions could have an impact on the credit ratings. Scope considers all available and relevant information when undertaking the monitoring review.
Monitoring reviews are conducted by performing a peer comparison, benchmarking against the rating-change drivers, and/or reviewing the credit ratings’ performance over time, as deemed appropriate by the Lead Analyst or Analytical Team Head, in addition to an assessment of all aspects of the relevant methodology/ies, including key rating assumptions and model(s). Scope publicly announces the completion of each monitoring review on its website.
Scope completed the monitoring review of the following notes issued by Credico Finance 18 Srl on 17 October 2022 and considered investor and payment reports available up the 12 October 2022. The credit ratings remain as follows:
Class A1 (IT0005391096), EUR 0.0m outstanding: withdrawn
Class A2 (IT0005391146): EUR 57.7m outstanding: AAASF
Class J (Floating Rate Notes): EUR 229.4m outstanding: not rated
Credico Finance 18 S.r.l. is a static cash securitisation of a EUR 438.3m portfolio (EUR 519.4m at closing) comprised of secured and unsecured loans issued to Italian small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The loans were originated by 14 Italian cooperative banks (BCCs), who also individually service their respective loans in the securitised portfolio. The transaction closed on 5 December 2019.
The review was conducted considering available investor reports up to the 12 October 2022. This monitoring note does not constitute a credit rating action, nor does it indicate the likelihood that Scope will conduct a credit rating action in the short term. Information about the latest credit rating action connected with this monitoring note along with the associated rating history can be found on www.scoperatings.com.
Key rating factors
Since the full repayment of Class A1 in January 2021, Class A2 is the most senior tranche outstanding, receiving all portfolio principal repayments. The tranche’s credit enhancement has increased to 83.3% from 46.4% since closing. This credit enhancement build-up is mainly driven by structural deleveraging due to portfolio amortisation (55.3%) since closing. An EUR 11.6m non-amortising reserve fund also serves as a form of credit enhancement, in addition to providing liquidity coverage for senior fees and interest.
Asset performance has generally been good considering the stressed macro-economic environment during the Covid-19 pandemic, followed by the pick-up in inflation and interest rates as well as the Ukraine war. Total delinquencies as of the October 2022 are at 3.6%, a slight increase from the 3.1% one year ago. Late-stage arrears are low at 0.9%. Strong liquidity coverage and considerable credit enhancement protect the rated notes in the event of any further macro-economic stresses that may impact underlying borrowers. The BCCs have repurchased 1.52% of the portfolio since closing. Cumulative defaults are low at 0.05%. All transaction counterparties continue to support the ratings.
CREDIT-POSITIVE (+)
Substantial credit enhancement: Class A2 has credit enhancement of 83.3% from a combination of subordination and a non-amortising reserve fund.
Liquidity coverage: The non-amortising reserve fund covers approximately 2.8 years of stressed senior fees, interest based on the latest investor report and the 3-month Euribor at 1.288% (7 October 2022).
CREDIT-NEGATIVE (-)
Italian economy: The Italian economy is expected to continue its post-Covid recovery, which is however challenged with the high inflation environment, rising interest rates and the war in Eastern Europe. Despite the uncertainty, the high level of credit enhancement provides a strong protection even against a deep recession scenario in Italy.
The methodologies applicable for the reviewed ratings and/or rating Outlooks (General Structured Finance Rating Methodology, 17 December 2021; the SME ABS Rating Methodology, 16 May 2022; Counterparty Risk Methodology, 14 July 2022) are available on https://scoperatings.com/governance-and-policies/rating-governance/methodologies.
This monitoring note is issued by Scope Ratings GmbH, Lennéstraße 5, D-10785 Berlin, Tel +49 30 27891-0.
Lead analyst Vittorio Maniscalco, Specialist
Potential conflicts
See www.scoperatings.com under Governance & Policies/EU Regulation/Disclosures for a list of potential conflicts of interest related to the issuance of Credit Ratings. A member of the Board of Trustees of Scope Foundation has a significant relationship with Société Generale SA, a related third party to this transaction. The Scope Foundation is a 20% shareholder of Scope Management SE, the general manager of Scope SE & Co KGaA (“Scope Group”). Scope Foundation has no financial or economic interest in Scope SE & Co KGaA and the main function of the foundation is to preserve the European identity of the shareholder structure of Scope Group.
© 2022 Scope SE & Co. KGaA and all its subsidiaries including Scope Ratings GmbH, Scope Ratings UK Limited, Scope Analysis GmbH, Scope Investor Services GmbH, and Scope ESG Analysis GmbH (collectively, Scope). All rights reserved. The information and data supporting Scope’s ratings, rating reports, rating opinions and related research and credit opinions originate from sources Scope considers to be reliable and accurate. Scope does not, however, independently verify the reliability and accuracy of the information and data. Scope’s ratings, rating reports, rating opinions, or related research and credit opinions are provided ‘as is’ without any representation or warranty of any kind. In no circumstance shall Scope or its directors, officers, employees and other representatives be liable to any party for any direct, indirect, incidental or other damages, expenses of any kind, or losses arising from any use of Scope’s ratings, rating reports, rating opinions, related research or credit opinions. Ratings and other related credit opinions issued by Scope are, and have to be viewed by any party as, opinions on relative credit risk and not a statement of fact or recommendation to purchase, hold or sell securities. Past performance does not necessarily predict future results. Any report issued by Scope is not a prospectus or similar document related to a debt security or issuing entity. Scope issues credit ratings and related research and opinions with the understanding and expectation that parties using them will assess independently the suitability of each security for investment or transaction purposes. Scope’s credit ratings address relative credit risk, they do not address other risks such as market, liquidity, legal, or volatility. The information and data included herein is protected by copyright and other laws. To reproduce, transmit, transfer, disseminate, translate, resell, or store for subsequent use for any such purpose the information and data contained herein, contact Scope Ratings GmbH at Lennéstraße 5 D-10785 Berlin.