The Credit Story
Strengths Concerns and mitigating factors
The underwriting criteria target prime, professional landlords
with no adverse credit history. Lending criteria were
tightened during the COVID-19 pandemic by reducing
leverage and maximum loan size. They returned to normal in
mid-2021. In 2022 the maximum original loan-to-value
(OLTV) ratio was increased to 85% from 80%. Citi maintains
significant oversight in operations and due diligence is
conducted by an external company, Fortrum, which
completes an underwriting audit of all the loans before a
binding mortgage offer can be issued.
Although we view the lending standards of all three originators positively, all three
are new lenders in the Dutch BTL market, with a very limited track record given
the low seasoning of the loans that have been originated to date. However, the
key characteristics of their mortgage books are aligned with peers in terms of
OLTV ratio distribution (most of the loans are in the 70%-80% bucket); DSCR
distribution; loan purpose distribution; geographic distribution; and concentration
on professional landlords. Overall performance has been good since the inception
of all three lenders, with limited arrears and no losses recorded. We received a
clean audit on the pool, performed by Deloitte. We have considered these factors
in our analysis through an appropriate originator adjustment, and we used proxy
data from comparable lenders in the Dutch market to supplement our analysis.
The weighted-average OLTV ratio of 74.1% is in line with
peers operating in the Dutch BTL market. The pool has a
relatively low current indexed LTV ratio of 74.0%, which
makes it more likely to incur lower loss severities if the
borrowers default.
Of the remortgage loans within the portfolio, a significant portion were
remortgaged or mortgaged for the first time to withdraw equity. They account for
47.3% of the pool. We consider loans for this purpose--rather than to purchase a
property--to be higher risk. This is reflected in our credit analysis.
Of the pool, 20.0% are remortgage loans from other lenders,
and all remortgages are subject to an underwriting audit. The
remortgage loans would not have been accepted by all three
originators if they had been in arrears in the past three years.
The transaction contains some loans advanced to limited liability companies
rather than directly to individuals. However, all of these loans benefit from
personal guarantees and a first-ranking charge on the security property.
All valuations are full external and internal inspections on
every property conducted selected from a certified valuer's
panel. For all three originators, a periodic sample verification
of valuations performed by these selected valuers is carried
out.
All the loans revert to a floating rate at the end of their fixed-rate periods. This is
somewhat unusual in the Dutch market, and the borrowers are at risk of payment
shock if interest rates rise. Most loans in the pool will switch to a floating rate in
2026 or 2027. We have considered this in our analysis.
The transaction does not allow for any further advances or
automatic product switches.
Some of the loans may switch from an amortized to an interest-only repayment
should the LTV ratio of the loan fall below 80%. The switch is not automatic and
depends on a valuation to be carried at the expense of the borrower. So far, the
originators registered a limited number of loans in which this provision was
applied. Given the strict conditions for the switch to be performed and the few
cases observed, we have not applied any stress in our cash flow analysis.
The performance of loans by all three originators has been
relatively robust during the COVID-19 pandemic. No losses
were incurred on the books of the originators since they
started lending and very few arrears were recorded. In the
pool to be securitized, no loan is on payment holiday and
there are no arrears.
The pool has a few exception mortgage loans, meaning that their characteristics
diverge from the underwriting criteria of the originators. They account for 4.8% of
the pool balance. We have been provided with the list of those exception
mortgage loans. In our view, the variations from underwriting criteria are minor.
Given the small share of the pool and the minor nature of variations, we have not
applied any stress to those loans.
Servicing is outsourced to BCMGlobal Netherlands B.V.
BCMGlobal is one of the largest mortgage service providers
in the Netherlands and has the requisite staffing and systems
in place to carry out its role as required under the transaction
documentation.
Credit enhancement for the junior notes is mostly provided through excess spread
rather than subordination. We have considered this in our cash flow analysis by
applying prepayment stresses to assess the impact of a reduction in excess
spread.
A liquidity reserve fund is available to meet interest shortfalls
on the class A loan. Any excess in the liquidity reserve over
the required amount will be released to the principal priority
of payments.
If the notes are not redeemed on the optional redemption date (January 2027), the
weighted-average cost of the notes will increase, reducing the excess spread
available, which we also considered in our cash flow analysis. We assume the
notes are not redeemed and we have incorporated this into our analysis of the
long-term transaction cash flows.
The transaction can also use principal receipts to pay for
interest shortfalls on the most senior class of debt.
Commingling risk might arise if the collection foundation account bank defaults.
However, a pledge contract applies to the three collection accounts for the benefit
of the security trustee. If the account bank defaults, the security trustee is entitled
to recover the collected amounts held on the collection accounts.
The capital structure is fully sequential regarding the
application of principal proceeds. Credit enhancement can
therefore build up over time for the rated debt, enabling the
capital structure to withstand performance shocks.
Our credit and cash flow analysis and related assumptions consider the
transaction's ability to withstand higher defaults, longer recovery timing, and
additional liquidity stresses. Considering these factors, we believe that the
available credit enhancement is commensurate with the ratings assigned.
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