Effective Date: May 30, 2016
Owner:
Applies to:
Global Corporate Finance and Global Structured Finance
All DBRS Covered Personnel
The Rating Actions, Commentaries and Press Releases Global Policy (“Policy”) provides the framework for
DBRS to issue rating actions, commentaries and press releases. This Policy applies globally and should be read in conjunction all related DBRS policies and procedures in effect.
Credit ratings, as defined in the Credit Ratings Global Policy, may be assigned, upgraded, downgraded, placed Under Review with the appropriate Implications designation, confirmed and discontinued. Certain ratings are also assigned rating trends that may change over time. The Structured Finance and Covered
Bonds Rating Committee Global Procedure, Corporate Finance Rating Committee Global Procedure, and
Issuing Press Releases Global Procedure detail the processes DBRS follows for each rating action when applicable.
A.
Ratings “Under Review”
In practice, DBRS maintains continuous surveillance of the entities that it rates and therefore all ratings are monitored on an ongoing basis. Accordingly, when a significant event occurs that directly impacts the credit quality of a particular entity or group of entities, DBRS will attempt to provide an immediate rating opinion. However, if there is uncertainty regarding the outcome of the event, and DBRS is unable to provide an objective, forward-looking opinion in a timely fashion, then the rating(s) of the issuer(s) will be placed “Under Review”.
DBRS also places ratings “Under Review” in situations where there has been no major announcement or event for the issuer, but in the opinion of DBRS the current rating on the security may no longer be appropriate due to a change in the credit status of the issuing entity for other reasons, such as the ongoing results of the company and/or the outlook for the industry. In most such cases, where additional time is required for further analysis DBRS will place the rating “Under
Review”.
Furthermore, DBRS may also place a rating “Under Review” if DBRS has announced that one or more of its methodologies that apply to such a rating is being revised and the announcement indicates that the outcome of the rating affected by the revision is uncertain.
Effective Date: May 30, 2016
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A rating that is “Under Review” remains outstanding; however, this status acts as a warning signal indicating that the outstanding rating may no longer be appropriate.
Using “Under Review Positive” or “Under Review Negative” is a more significant action than changing a rating trend to positive or negative as rating changes are considered more likely with the former than the latter.
When a decision is made by DBRS to place a rating “Under Review”, DBRS will generally take the following actions:
1.
Provide initial guidance as to the opinion of DBRS by noting whether the Under Review action has positive, negative or developing implications. These qualifications indicate the preliminary evaluation of DBRS of the impact on the credit quality of the security or issuer; however as situations and potential rating implications may vary, its final rating conclusion may depart from the preliminary assessment.
2.
Remove the existing rating trend(s) of Stable, Positive or Negative, replace the existing rating trend(s) with “--“, and indicate that the rating trend(s) will be reinstated when the rating(s) is removed from Under Review status. See section C below for more details on rating trends.
In those cases where a rating is placed on Under Review status, DBRS views this as a temporary situation; therefore DBRS strives to complete the review and remove the rating from this status as soon as it is appropriate to do so.
In the event that a lengthy Under Review period is anticipated, DBRS may provide such guidance in a press release and may, if appropriate, provide guidance as to the anticipated rating that would emerge under a proposed scenario.
In the event that DBRS decides to discontinue a rating that is Under Review, DBRS endeavors to resolve the Under Review status prior to the discontinuation.
B.
Ratings “Interest in Arrears”
On occasion, there may be Structured Finance transactions or deals, such as commercial mortgagebacked securities ("CMBS"), where interest payments are in arrears but the cumulative or on-going shortfall is expected to be ultimately recoverable or paid. Where the interest shortfall is a question of timing in the shorter term, and not of ultimate payment, DBRS notes this with the 'Interest in
Arrears' rating action for the class affected. An example where this may occur is where one or more of the loans within a CMBS deal has been subject to an appraisal reduction event, which is a structural feature within CMBS which prompts a servicer to advance a partial payment based on a lower valuation. This event may cause a particular class to have an interest shortfall, however the interest is ultimately recoverable at the time the loan is resolved.
Using this action allows DBRS to recognize that the interest shortfall does not impact the overall credit quality and to maintain an appropriate credit risk rating.
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C.
Rating Trends
DBRS uses “rating trends” for its ratings in the Corporate Finance sector (except for Income Fund
Stability Ratings) and its ratings for the global CMBS sector. Rating trends provide guidance in respect of DBRS’s opinion regarding the outlook for a rating. Rating trends have three categories:
“Positive”, “Stable” or “Negative”. The rating trend indicates the direction in which DBRS considers the rating may move if present circumstances continue, or in certain cases as it relates to the
Corporate Finance sector, unless challenges are addressed by the issuer.
Within the Corporate Finance sector, in general, DBRS assigns rating trends based primarily on an evaluation of the issuing entity or guarantor itself, but may also include consideration of the outlook for the industry or industries in which the issuing entity operates giving consideration to developments that could positively or negatively impact the sector or the company’s debt position within the sector. Rating trends in the CMBS sector may be changed if there are performance trends within the underlying loans or assets securing the transaction that are generally positive or negative such as occupancy declines, concentrations in a certain property type or market and/or asset level cash flow changes that may be viewed as sustainable. Additionally, within the CMBS sector, a
Positive Trend may be assigned if the credit support has improved, but the impact of adverse selection is still being evaluated. Alternatively, a Negative Trend may be assigned if there is an increase in watch list loans or specially serviced loans.
It is often the rating trend that reflects the initial pressures or benefits of a changing environment rather than an immediate change in the rating. A Positive or Negative Trend is not an indication that a rating change is imminent. Rather, a Positive or Negative Trend represents an indication that there is a greater likelihood that the rating could change in the future than would be the case if a Stable
Trend was assigned to the security.
Generally, the conditions that lead to the assignment of a Negative or Positive Trend are resolved within a twelve month period. However, in some instances, new factors emerge which may cause the Positive or Negative Trend to be maintained, even as the original factors become clarified or resolved. DBRS generally notes any changes to the basis for the Positive or Negative Trend.
D.
Discontinued Ratings
When an entity retires all of its outstanding securities within a particular category of rated instruments and has no plans to reissue in the near future (e.g., commercial paper, long-term debt, or preferred shares), DBRS may discontinue its rating. Other circumstances where DBRS may also discontinue ratings include situations where the rated debt is no longer in the public market, where a defeasance structure removes the credit risk of the issuer as a consideration, where the debt comes to be held by a few large institutions that do not require ongoing DBRS ratings, or where
DBRS elects to discontinue its public rating coverage of a particular entity or security.
In the specific case where an issuer’s ratings have been downgraded to “D”, DBRS may maintain or discontinue the rating. In rendering this decision DBRS will consider:
1.
the value for investors of DBRS continuing to have ratings coverage of the issuer; and
2.
the likelihood of the rated debt being upgraded as the default situation is remedied, which
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may include a debt restructuring action.
In cases where neither of these factors supports continuing coverage, the rating will generally be discontinued.
A commentary is a method by which DBRS makes its opinions known to the market without taking a rating action.
DBRS issues a commentary, in the form of a short press release or a longer document, to address situations that may have implications for a specific issuer, a group of issuers or an entire industry, often following a new release of information or announcement.
Press releases cover topics including, but not limited to, DBRS public rating opinions,
1 new and changed
rating methodologies, the availability of industry-specific studies and commentaries, and significant regulatory-related events.
DBRS endeavors to issue all press releases in a timely manner, placing a high priority on informing the public of its credit rating opinions in respect of the public credit ratings maintained by DBRS, as soon as possible following the rendering of the decision by the rating committee.
© 2016, DBRS Limited, DBRS, Inc. and DBRS Ratings Limited (collectively DBRS). All rights reserved.
1 This does not apply to private credit ratings or credit ratings for certain private placement transactions.
Effective Date: May 30, 2016
Document Control Number: 20160505-032 4