Fitch to Rate Babson CLO Ltd. 2016-II; Issues Presale

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Fitch Ratings expects to assign the following ratings and Rating Outlooks to Babson CLO Ltd. 2016-II:

--$2,500,000 class X notes 'AAA(EXP)sf'; Outlook Stable;

--$252,000,000 class A notes 'AAA(EXP)sf'; Outlook Stable.

Fitch does not expect to rate the class B, C, D, E notes or subordinated notes.

TRANSACTION SUMMARY

Babson CLO Ltd. 2016-II (the issuer) and Babson CLO 2016-II, LLC (the co-issuer) comprise an arbitrage cash flow collateralized loan obligation (CLO) that will be managed by Babson Capital Management LLC (Babson Capital). Net proceeds from the issuance of the secured and subordinated notes will be used to purchase a portfolio of approximately $400 million of primarily senior secured leveraged loans. The CLO will have an approximately four-year reinvestment period and two-year noncall period.

KEY RATING DRIVERS

Sufficient Credit Enhancement: Credit enhancement (CE) of 37% for class A notes, in addition to excess spread, is sufficient to protect against portfolio default and recovery rate projections in the 'AAAsf' stress scenario. The degree of CE available to the class A notes is in line with the average CE of recent CLO issuances. Class X notes are expected to be paid in full from the application of interest proceeds.

'B+/B' Asset Quality: The average credit quality of the indicative portfolio is 'B+/B', which is comparable to recent CLOs. Issuers rated in the 'B' rating category denote a highly speculative credit quality; however, in Fitch's opinion, class X and A notes are unlikely to be affected by the foreseeable level of defaults. Class X and A notes are robust against default rates of up to 100% and 62.9%, respectively.

Strong Recovery Expectations: The indicative portfolio consists of 98.5% first lien senior secured loans. Approximately 94.8% of the indicative portfolio has either strong recovery prospects or a Fitch-assigned Recovery Rating of 'RR2' or higher and the base case recovery assumption is 80%. In determining the class X and A note ratings, Fitch stressed the indicative portfolio by assuming a higher portfolio concentration of assets with lower recovery prospects and further reduced recovery assumptions of higher rating stress assumptions, resulting in a 38.3% recovery rate assumption in Fitch's 'AAAsf' scenario.

RATING SENSITIVITIES

Fitch evaluated the structure's sensitivity to the potential variability of key model assumptions including decreases in recovery rates and increases in default rates or correlation. Fitch expects the class A notes to remain investment grade even under the most extreme sensitivity scenarios, with results under these sensitivity scenarios ranging between 'A+sf' and 'AAAsf'. The class X notes are expected to remain 'AAAsf' under even the most extreme sensitivity scenarios.

Key Rating Drivers and Rating Sensitivities are further described in the accompanying presale report, which is available to investors on Fitch's website at 'www.fitchratings.com'.

DUE DILIGENCE USAGE

No third party due diligence was provided or reviewed in relation to this rating action.

The publication of a representations, warranties and enforcement mechanisms appendix is not

required for this transaction.

Additional information is available at www.fitchratings.com.

Sources of Information:

Sources of information used to assess this rating were provided by the arranger (Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC) and the public domain.

Applicable Criteria

Counterparty Criteria for Structured Finance and Covered Bonds (pub. 18 Jul 2016)

https://www.fitchratings.com/creditdesk/reports/report_frame.cfm?rpt_id=884963

Criteria for Interest Rate Stresses in Structured Finance Transactions and Covered Bonds (pub. 17 May 2016)

https://www.fitchratings.com/creditdesk/reports/report_frame.cfm?rpt_id=879815

Global Rating Criteria for CLOs and Corporate CDOs (pub. 09 Jun 2016)

https://www.fitchratings.com/creditdesk/reports/report_frame.cfm?rpt_id=882840

Global Structured Finance Rating Criteria (pub. 27 Jun 2016)

https://www.fitchratings.com/creditdesk/reports/report_frame.cfm?rpt_id=883130

Related Research

Babson CLO Ltd. 2016-II (US Structured Credit)

https://www.fitchratings.com/creditdesk/reports/report_frame.cfm?rpt_id=885618

Additional Disclosures

Dodd-Frank Rating Information Disclosure Form

https://www.fitchratings.com/creditdesk/press_releases/content/ridf_frame.cfm?pr_id=1009501

Solicitation Status

https://www.fitchratings.com/gws/en/disclosure/solicitation?pr_id=1009501

Endorsement Policy

https://www.fitchratings.com/jsp/creditdesk/PolicyRegulation.faces?context=2&detail=31

ALL FITCH CREDIT RATINGS ARE SUBJECT TO CERTAIN LIMITATIONS AND DISCLAIMERS. PLEASE READ THESE LIMITATIONS AND DISCLAIMERS BY FOLLOWING THIS LINK: HTTP://FITCHRATINGS.COM/UNDERSTANDINGCREDITRATINGS. IN ADDITION, RATING DEFINITIONS AND THE TERMS OF USE OF SUCH RATINGS ARE AVAILABLE ON THE AGENCY'S PUBLIC WEBSITE 'WWW.FITCHRATINGS.COM'. PUBLISHED RATINGS, CRITERIA AND METHODOLOGIES ARE AVAILABLE FROM THIS SITE AT ALL TIMES. FITCH'S CODE OF CONDUCT, CONFIDENTIALITY, CONFLICTS OF INTEREST, AFFILIATE FIREWALL, COMPLIANCE AND OTHER RELEVANT POLICIES AND PROCEDURES ARE ALSO AVAILABLE FROM THE 'CODE OF CONDUCT' SECTION OF THIS SITE. FITCH MAY HAVE PROVIDED ANOTHER PERMISSIBLE SERVICE TO THE RATED ENTITY OR ITS RELATED THIRD PARTIES. DETAILS OF THIS SERVICE FOR RATINGS FOR WHICH THE LEAD ANALYST IS BASED IN AN EU-REGISTERED ENTITY CAN BE FOUND ON THE ENTITY SUMMARY PAGE FOR THIS ISSUER ON THE FITCH WEBSITE.

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160726006433/en/

Fitch Ratings
Primary Analyst
Erika Tsang, CFA
Director
+1-212-908-0817
Fitch Ratings, Inc.
33 Whitehall Street
New York, NY 10004
or
Secondary Analyst
Amy Drobish
Director
+1-212-908-9194
or
Committee Chairperson
Alina Pak, CFA
Senior Director
+1-312-368-3184
or
Media Relations:
Sandro Scenga, New York, +1 212-908-0278
Email: [email protected]

Source: Fitch Ratings

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