Approximately EUR 13.0 billion of debt securities affected
Paris, December 21, 2010 -- Moody's Investors Service has today placed on review for possible downgrade
the senior ratings of seven Greek RMBS and six Greek ABS. As a
result of today's action all senior ratings on the nine outstanding
Greek RMBS, 15 outstanding Greek ABS and one Greek CDO are now on
review for possible downgrade. Moody's has also placed on
review the ratings of three mezzanine and junior classes of one Greek
SME ABS Anaptyxi 2006-1 Plc. A complete list of all 16 affected
tranches placed on review for downgrade is at the end of this press release.
Today's rating actions result from Moody's decision on December
16 to review for possible downgrade the Ba1 ratings of Greece's
government bonds. For some of the affected transactions,
today's reviews also consider Moody's announcement that it
had placed the majority of Greek bank ratings on review for possible downgrade
on December 17.
Today's rating action addresses the ratings on the notes issued
by Ariadne S.A. and Titlos Plc, two ABS transactions
sponsored by the Greek government. The credit quality of the Greek
government primarily determines the ratings of these notes.
In addition to the notes that Moody's placed on review today,
Moody's has maintained the senior note ratings on two RMBS ,
nine ABS and one CDO on review for possible downgrade since the previous
rating action on Greek structured finance transactions in July 2010.
At that time Moody's left these notes on review for possible downgrade
pending the implementation of restructuring. For these 12 transactions,
Moody's rating review will also take into account the conclusion
of the sovereign rating review.
Sovereign and Operational Risks
Today's rating actions reflect Moody's concerns about the
exposure of Greek structured finance transactions to country risks as
well as operational risks in extreme scenarios. The concerns which
might lead to a multi-notch downgrade of Greece's government
debt rating (as described in Moody's announcement published on December
16 -- "Moody's places Greece's Ba1 rating on review for possible
downgrade ") could imply significantly higher levels of stress for the
underlying obligors over the term of these transactions. Moreover,
the review for downgrade of six Greek banks poses additional operational
risks for the outstanding structured finance transactions for which those
banks perform servicing and other operational functions. The review
of the banks' deposit and debt ratings results primarily from a
potential weakening of the government's capacity to provide support
to its banking system.
Key Review Parameters
Key factors in the review will be the assessment of country risk and operational
risk. Moody's will examine the exposure of the transactions to
country risks, including economic resiliency,systemic support
and the uncertainty related to the performance of securitised assets in
scenarios of high sovereign stress. Moody's will also assess
in detail the operational risks associated with the Greek banks acting
as transaction parties performing functions such as servicing, cash
management and hedging.
The decision to place the mezzanine and junior notes of Anaptyxi 2006-1
reflect Moody's concerns about the performance of the securitised
pool of revolving SME loans under stressful refinancing conditions taking
into account the available level of credit enhancement.
Timing of Structured Finance Rating Actions
Once Moody's has concluded its review of the Greek government rating and
the ratings of the Greek banks, it will finalize the review of the
structured finance ratings for the affected transactions.
List of Affected Tranches
RMBS:
Issuer: Estia Mortgage Finance II PLC
....EUR1137.5M A Notes, Baa1
(sf) Placed Under Review for Possible Downgrade; previously on Jul
15, 2010 Downgraded to Baa1 (sf)
Issuer: Grifonas Finance No. 1 Plc
....EUR897.7M A Certificate,
Baa1 (sf) Placed Under Review for Possible Downgrade; previously
on Jul 15, 2010 Downgraded to Baa1 (sf)
Issuer: KATOIKIA I MORTGAGE FINANCE PLC
....EUR886.6M A Notes, A3 (sf)
Placed Under Review for Possible Downgrade; previously on Jul 15,
2010 Confirmed at A3 (sf)
Issuer: Themeleion Mortgage Finance PLC
....EUR693.5M A Notes, Baa1 (sf)
Placed Under Review for Possible Downgrade; previously on Jul 15,
2010 Downgraded to Baa1 (sf)
Issuer: Themeleion II Mortgage Finance Plc
....EUR690M A Certificate, Baa1 (sf)
Placed Under Review for Possible Downgrade; previously on Jul 15,
2010 Downgraded to Baa1 (sf)
Issuer: Themeleion III Mortgage Finance Plc S.r.I.
....EUR900M A Certificate, Baa1 (sf)
Placed Under Review for Possible Downgrade; previously on Jul 15,
2010 Downgraded to Baa1 (sf)
Issuer: Themeleion IV Mortgage Finance Plc
....EUR1352.9M A Certificate,
Baa1 (sf) Placed Under Review for Possible Downgrade; previously
on Jul 15, 2010 Downgraded to Baa1 (sf)
ABS:
Issuer: ANAPTYXI 2006-1 PLC
....EUR1750M A Certificate, Baa2 (sf)
Placed Under Review for Possible Downgrade; previously on Jul 15,
2010 Downgraded to Baa2 (sf)
....EUR150M B Certificate, Ba1 (sf)
Placed Under Review for Possible Downgrade; previously on Jul 15,
2010 Downgraded to Ba1 (sf)
....EUR125M C Certificate, Ba2 (sf)
Placed Under Review for Possible Downgrade; previously on Jul 15,
2010 Downgraded to Ba2 (sf)
....EUR225M D Certificate, B1 (sf) Placed
Under Review for Possible Downgrade; previously on Jul 15,
2010 Downgraded to B1 (sf)
Issuer: Ariadne S.A. Secured Notes
....EUR650M A Notes, Ba1 (sf) Placed
Under Review for Possible Downgrade; previously on Jun 22,
2010 Downgraded to Ba1 (sf)
Issuer: IRIDA PLC
....EUR261.1M A Certificate,
A2 (sf) Placed Under Review for Possible Downgrade; previously on
Jul 15, 2010 Downgraded to A2 (sf)
Issuer: Misthosis Funding Plc
....EUR363.9M A Certificate,
A2 (sf) Placed Under Review for Possible Downgrade; previously on
Jul 15, 2010 Confirmed at A2 (sf)
Issuer: Synergatis Plc
....EUR1414.5M A Certificate,
A3 (sf) Placed Under Review for Possible Downgrade; previously on
Jul 15, 2010 Confirmed at A3 (sf)
Issuer: Titlos plc
....EUR5100M A Certificate, Ba2 (sf)
Placed Under Review for Possible Downgrade; previously on Jun 22,
2010 Downgraded to Ba2 (sf)
All principal methodologies that Moody's applies when rating structured
finance transactions are available on www.moodys.com in
the Rating Methodologies sub-directory under the Research &
Ratings tab. Other methodologies and factors that may have been
considered in the process of rating these transactions can also be found
in this Rating Methodologies sub-directory. In addition,
Moody's publishes a weekly summary of structured finance credit,
ratings and methodologies, available to all registered users of
Moody's website, at www.moodys.com/SFQuickCheck.
For further information, please visit Moody's website directly
or contact Moody's Client Service Desk (+44 20) 7772 5454.
Paris
Ariel Weil
Vice President - Senior Analyst
Structured Finance Group
Moody's France SAS
JOURNALISTS: 44 20 7772 5456
SUBSCRIBERS: 44 20 7772 5454
Paris
Carole Gintz
VP - Senior Credit Officer
Structured Finance Group
Moody's France SAS
JOURNALISTS: 44 20 7772 5456
SUBSCRIBERS: 44 20 7772 5454
Moody's France SAS
96 Boulevard Haussmann
Paris 75008
France
JOURNALISTS: 44 20 7772 5456
SUBSCRIBERS: 44 20 7772 5454
Moody's places the ratings of 13 Greek structured finance transactions on review for possible downgrade