---

       T R O U B L E D   C O M P A N Y   R E P O R T E R

                          E U R O P E

          Friday, December 11, 2020, Vol. 21, No. 248

                           Headlines



C R O A T I A

ZAGREBACKA BANKA: Fitch Affirms BB+ LT IDR, Outlook Stable


F R A N C E

INOVIE GROUP: Fitch Assigns B(EXP) IDR, Outlook Stable


G E R M A N Y

WIRECARD: Loetscher Steps Aside as Deutsche Bank Accounting Head


I R E L A N D

ANCHORAGE CAPITAL 2: Fitch Affirms B-sf Rating on Cl. F Notes
ENERGIA GROUP: Moody's Affirms B1 CFR, Alters Outlook to Positive
NORTH WESTERLY V: Fitch Affirms B-sf Rating on Class F Notes
SOUND POINT I: Fitch Affirms B-sf Rating on Class F Notes


I T A L Y

EVOCA SPA: Moody's Affirms B3 CFR, Alters Outlook to Negative
ILLIMITY BANK: Fitch Rates EUR300MM Sr. Preferred Notes 'B'
[*] ITALY: Houses of Parliament Allow Conte to Approve ESM Reform


R U S S I A

PROMSVYAZBANK: Tensions Rise in Complex Nationalization Battle


S L O V E N I A

BANKA INTESA: Fitch Withdraws BB+ LT IDR for Commercial Reasons


S P A I N

EDREAMS ODIGEO: S&P Downgrades ICR to 'CCC+', Outlook Negative


T U R K E Y

SEKERBANK TAS: Fitch Affirms B- LT IDR, Outlook Negative


U N I T E D   K I N G D O M

ARCADIA GROUP: Frasers Group Mulls Acquisition of Certain Brands
ARGUS MEDIA: S&P Alters Outlook to Negative, Affirms 'B+' ICR
AVON FINANCE 1: Moody's Upgrades GBP23.3MM Cl. E Notes to Ba1
CONTOURGLOBAL PLC: Fitch Affirms BB- LT IDR, Outlook Stable
FUNDINGSECURE: Administrators Recover GBP23.5 Million to Date

JAGUAR LAND ROVER: S&P Rates New Senior Unsecured Notes 'B'
JAGUAR LAND: Fitch Gives B(EXP) Rating to New $500MM Unsec. Notes
TRAVELODGE: Burton Hotel Among Sites to Close Under CVA
UROPA SECURITIES 2007-01B: Fitch Affirms B Rating on Cl. B2a Debt


X X X X X X X X

[*] BOOK REVIEW: Mentor X
[*] Insolvency, Restructuring Activity Remains Low Across CEE

                           - - - - -


=============
C R O A T I A
=============

ZAGREBACKA BANKA: Fitch Affirms BB+ LT IDR, Outlook Stable
----------------------------------------------------------
Fitch Ratings has affirmed Zagrebacka Banka d.d.'s (ZABA) Long-Term
Issuer Default Rating (IDR) at 'BB+' and Viability Rating (VR) at
'bb+'. The Outlook on the Long-Term IDR is Stable.

KEY RATING DRIVERS

IDRS and SUPPORT RATING (SR)

ZABA's IDRs and SR reflect Fitch's view of a moderate probability
of support, if required, from its parent, UniCredit S.p.A.
(BBB-/Stable/bbb-). The Stable Outlook on ZABA's IDR reflects that
on the parent.

Fitch believes that UniCredit has a strong propensity to support
ZABA as the Croatian subsidiary is based in the CEE region, which
is strategically important for UniCredit. This is further
underpinned by ZABA's close operational integration with its parent
and potential reputational damage for UniCredit from a subsidiary
default. ZABA's relatively small size (about 2% of UniCredit's
consolidated assets) means that potential support should be
immaterial for the parent. ZABA's IDR is notched down once from
UniCredit's IDR, in line with UniCredit's other strategically
important subsidiaries in the CEE region.

VR

ZABA's VR considers Fitch's assessment of the operating environment
in Croatia and, to a lesser extent, of the weaker operating
environment in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The latter is partly
balanced by the bank's significant credit exposure to the Croatian
sovereign (BBB-/Stable). ZABA's standalone credit profile is
underpinned by a strong franchise in the local market, robust
capitalisation and a comfortable funding and liquidity position.
However, it also factors in medium-term downside risks for ZABA's
credit profile stemming from the economic fallout from the pandemic
crisis. These risks drive the negative outlooks on its assessment
of ZABA's operating environment, asset quality and profitability.

Croatian GDP is likely to suffer the largest contraction among CEE
countries in 2020 (by about 9% according to the latest Fitch
forecast). The vulnerability of the Croatian economy is amplified
by its high reliance on tourism and tourism-related activities.
Fitch expects a moderate 3.8% recovery in 2021 before accelerating
to 6% in 2022 as pandemic effects wane and demand is boosted by the
gradual implementation of projects tied to NextGenerationEU.
Unemployment rate in Croatia, although high in regional comparison,
is expected to stay significantly below the double-digit levels
seen during the previous economic recession, which is partly
attributable to various measures supporting employment implemented
by the government.

ZABA is the largest bank in Croatia, holding high market shares in
customer loans and deposits (about 25%). The bank's strong and
domestically diversified franchise, prudent risk management and
sizeable capital buffers have underpinned its business-model
stability. Apart from Croatia, ZABA operates in Bosnia through its
99.3%-owned subsidiary Unicredit Bank dd, Mostar. At end-1H20 the
Bosnian subsidiary accounted for a moderate share (around 15%) of
ZABA's consolidated assets. The Bosnian subsidiary has a strong
domestic franchise and has been a solid contributor to the
consolidated group's profitability. In 1H20 it accounted for around
18% of consolidated pre-tax profit.

ZABA has been successfully reducing its non-performing loans (NPLs)
over the last few years, but entered the pandemic with still high
impaired loans compared with some regional peers. These were,
however, mostly robustly provisioned legacy exposures, which
reduces downside risks of additional provisioning needs related to
these portfolios. Fitch expects deterioration of ZABA's loan book
performance in 4Q20 and 2021, triggered by the expiration of most
loan repayment moratoria and as the effects of the deep economy
contraction in 2020 drive defaults up. The expected economic
recovery and potential extension of public-support measures could
partly mitigate asset-quality pressures.

In its assessment of ZABA's asset quality Fitch also considers
sizeable amount (around 36% of total assets) in cash, exposures to
the Croatian government and the Croatian central bank, low industry
concentrations and moderate single-obligor concentrations. ZABA's
direct exposure to tourism and transportation sectors (most
affected by the pandemic) was moderate at 16% of CET1 capital at
end-1H20.

In 1H20 ZABA's Stage 3 loans/gross loans deteriorated only
marginally to 6.2% (end-2019: 5.8%). However, the stock of Stage 2
loans increased substantially to 12.1% of gross loans (end-2019:
8.5%). This was largely driven by the application of more
conservative classification criteria and the restricted ability of
Croatian banks to enforce collection from April till October 2020.
As of end-1H20 ZABA had a moderate 8.8% of total gross loans under
active repayment moratoria, of which around a third was classified
as Stage 2. Provision coverage of Stage 3 loans was stable at
around 68%, while coverage of Stage 2 loans increased slightly to
7.4%.

ZABA's profitability, measured by operating profits/risk-weighted
assets (RWAs), was stable at around 2.7% in 1H20. A dominant market
position enables ZABA to maintain healthy net interest margins
through active management of funding costs and gradual changes in
the loan mix towards higher- yielding products.

Profitability is also supported by sound cost efficiency. Fitch
expects that, similar to domestic peers, ZABA will face revenue
pressures in 2H20 and 2021 stemming from margin contraction,
sluggish loan growth and pressures on some segments of fee income,
which may not be fully offset by improved cost efficiency.
Profitability is also likely to suffer in 2H20 and 2021 from high
impairment charges driven by asset-quality deterioration despite
some front-loading of expected credit losses in 1H20 when ZABA
booked impairment charges equal to around 80bp of total gross loans
(2019: 34bp).

In Fitch's view, weaker earnings and expected deterioration in loan
quality are unlikely to put significant pressure on ZABA's capital
position, which Fitch views as rating strength. Its assessment of
the bank's capitalisation considers ZABA's high CET1 ratio of 26.5%
at end-1H20, large buffers over regulatory minimums and small
unreserved Stage 3 loans, as well as the risks of the Croatian
operating environment. The CET1 ratio improved over 1H20 by around
500bp to 26.5%, owing to full retention of 2019 profits and around
9% reduction in RWAs resulting from the easing of capital
requirement regulation rules. Its tangible common equity/tangible
assets ratio of 12.8% compared well with similarly rated regional
peers'.

ZABA's comfortable funding and liquidity position is underpinned by
a strong domestic deposit franchise, low share of wholesale
funding, substantial liquidity buffers and potential parental
support. Customer deposits accounted for around 93% of total
funding excluding derivatives at end-1H20 and about 60% were
granular retail deposits. Concentration in the corporate deposit
base is low. Funding from the parent is low (around 3% of total
funding) and is extended directly to ZABA's subsidiaries. Its
loans/deposits were about 75% at end-1H20.

RATING SENSITIVITIES

IDRs and SR

Factors that could, individually or collectively, lead to negative
rating action/downgrade:

  - The bank's Long-Term IDR will be downgraded if, simultaneously,
both the VR is downgraded and parent support weakens in its view.
The latter could be triggered by a downgrade of UniCredit's
Long-Term IDR or a reduced propensity of the parent to support
ZABA.

  - A downgrade of ZABA's SR would require a multi-notch downgrade
of the parent or material weakening of its propensity to support
ZABA, for example due to weakening strategic importance of Croatia
to the wider group. Fitch believes that both are unlikely at
present.

Factors that could, individually or collectively, lead to positive
rating action/upgrade:

  - The bank's Long-Term IDR would be upgraded if UniCredit's
Long-Term IDR is upgraded and its view of the propensity of the
parent to support ZABA is unchanged

  - An upgrade of ZABA's VR would lead to an upgrade of the
Long-Term IDR; however, this would require a substantial
improvement of the operating environment in Croatia, which is
unlikely in the medium term

VR

Factors that could, individually or collectively, lead to negative
rating action/downgrade:

  - Weakening of ZABA's asset quality due to a rise in bad debts
not adequately provided for and without clear prospects for
improvement, in particular, if the impaired loans ratio rises
materially and durably above 10%.

  - Deterioration of the bank's operating profitability without
clear prospects for recovery. In particular if the bank's operating
profit/RWAs falls sustainably below 1.25%, which typically
indicates an earnings and profitability assessment in the 'b' range
for a 'bb' range operating environment.

Factors that could, individually or collectively, lead to positive
rating action/upgrade:

  - In the event ZABA is able to withstand rating pressure arising
from the pandemic, an upgrade of its VR would require a substantial
improvement of the operating environment in Croatia, which is
unlikely in the medium term.

REFERENCES FOR SUBSTANTIALLY MATERIAL SOURCE CITED AS KEY DRIVER OF
RATING

The principal sources of information used in the analysis are
described in the Applicable Criteria.

PUBLIC RATINGS WITH CREDIT LINKAGE TO OTHER RATINGS

ZABA's IDRs are driven by support available from UniCredit and
linked to the parent's Long-Term IDR.

ESG CONSIDERATIONS

Unless otherwise disclosed in this section, the highest level of
ESG credit relevance is a score of '3'. This means ESG issues are
credit-neutral or have only a minimal credit impact on the entity,
either due to their nature or the way in which they are being
managed by the entity.



===========
F R A N C E
===========

INOVIE GROUP: Fitch Assigns B(EXP) IDR, Outlook Stable
------------------------------------------------------
Fitch Ratings has assigned Inovie Group (Inovie) an expected first
time Issuer Default Rating (IDR) of 'B(EXP)'. The Outlook is
Stable. Fitch also assigned an expected senior secured rating of
'B+(EXP)' to Inovie's planned term loan B (TLB), to be issued
following the announcement of Inovie's leveraged buyout by Ardian
and co-investors.

The assignment of final ratings is contingent upon the receipt of
final documentation conforming materially to information already
received.

The 'B(EXP)' IDR of Inovie balances its view of the group's strong
position in the highly regulated and non-cyclical French
laboratory- testing market, despite its small scale relative to
rated peers', with high financial leverage. Strong profitability,
as reflected in its expectation of robust free cash flow (FCF)
generation, implies sound deleveraging capabilities, albeit subject
to the company's future financial policy.

The Stable Outlook reflects Fitch's expectation that Inovie will
maintain some deleveraging capacity, with manageable execution
risks and adequate financial flexibility to implement its future
growth strategy.

KEY RATING DRIVERS

Sustainable Business Model: Inovie is the third-largest network of
private medical testing laboratories in France, with a focus on
south and central France. Fitch expects Inovie to benefit from
stable non-COVID-19 revenue, high and resilient operating margins
and superior cash generation, due to a supportive regulation and
reimbursement regime and strong barriers to entry.

M&A to Drive Growth: Fitch assumes muted growth (0%-2%) over the
next three years of the defensive, non-cyclical and highly
regulated French private lab-testing market, with volume increases
offset by lower prices. The market is rapidly consolidating but
there are multiple independent laboratories, small and mid-sized
laboratory chains. Fitch expects Inovie to continue to build its
market share in France and to capitalise on a sound and focused M&A
strategy, targeting smaller laboratories in its existing and
adjacent regions, where it is able to maximise synergies.

Exposure to French Regulatory Risk: Inovie's lack of
diversification outside France makes the company vulnerable to
adverse regulatory decisions, especially in relation to detrimental
reimbursement changes. This risk is, however, mitigated by some
regulatory visibility until end-2022, due to the 2020-2022
triennial act and a record of stable and supportive regulation. The
latter has enabled healthy profitability, provided protection of
smaller independent laboratories and guaranteed supply in less
densely-populated areas.

Some Diversification Benefits: Fitch views Inovie's diversification
in the specialty test (around 15% of non-COVID-19 revenue) as
beneficial as these tests are less regulated (not included in the
budgetary scope governed by the triennial act) and offer long-term
growth opportunities. Fitch considers Inovie firmly placed to
withstand potential tariff pressure relative to smaller peers,
given its critical size and operational efficiencies.

Strong Cash Flow: Fitch expects Inovie's non-COVID-19 EBITDA margin
to expand towards 27% in 2021. The higher margin will mostly be
driven by the agreed re-alignment of the salary of partner
biologists to market standards, optimisation of the ratio of
biologists per lab and a reduction of reagent costs. Fitch expects
this to increase FCF margin to the high single digits, higher than
the levels achieved by Synlab and broadly similar to that of French
peers.

Positive Near-Term COVID-19 Impact: The initial lockdown
temporarily reduced the sales and profit margins of the
routine-testing business. However, Fitch expects this negative
impact to be more than offset in 2020 by highly profitable COVID-19
tests, in turn boosting margins. The French government is targeting
a high number of tests and is, at present, fully reimbursing the
COVID-19 PCR test, without the need of a prescription or symptoms
to get tested, unlike the approach taken by other countries. France
has also one of the most generous reimbursement prices for the
test, at around EUR73 including sampling cost.

COVID-19 Contribution Decline Post 2020: In 2021 Fitch expects a
reduction in the reimbursement price for PCR tests to be offset by
a high number of tests. Fitch forecasts a drastic reduction in
COVID-19 test sales and margins from 2022 onward, assuming a
successful rollout of a vaccination programme across a large
portion of the population. Fitch nonetheless assumes an on-going
additional revenue stream with margins in 2022 and 2023 that are
broadly in line with the group's EBITDA margin.

Financial Policy Drives Rating Trajectory: Fitch expects Inovie's
prudent buy-and-build M&A strategy to allow for a satisfactory pace
of deleveraging. Excluding COVID-19 activity, Fitch expects funds
from operations (FFO) adjusted gross leverage at 7.6x in 2021,
before declining to 6.7x in 2022. Discipline in future
acquisitions, multiples paid for target labs, and financing mix
will be critical to future deleveraging, and hence rating
trajectory. Fitch sees COVID-19 test activity boosting Inovie's
profitability and driving leverage under 6x in 2021. However, such
contribution will be much lower in 2022 and 2023, which Fitch
expects to be counter-balanced by revenue from newly acquired
labs.

DERIVATION SUMMARY

Inovie's 'B(EXP)' rating is in line with those of its direct
routine medical lab testing peers CAB societe d exercice liberal
par actions simplifiee (Biogroup) (B/Negative) and Synlab Unsecured
Bondco PLC (B/Positive).

Inovie's rating is supported by its expectation of strong
profitability and cash flow generation once the re-alignment of
biologists' salaries come into effect and the new debt structure is
fully in place. Inovie's expected profitability is higher than
Synlab's and similar to that of French peers.

Inovie's smaller scale than that of direct peers is compensated by
lower leverage, which is expected to be in line with a 'B' IDR at
slightly below 7.0x on FFO gross adjusted basis, compared with
above 8.0x for both Biogroup and Synlab. In addition, Inovie
differentiates itself with less aggressive external growth over
recent years, which is characterised by more prudent financing,
equity partnerships with biologists and smaller targeted
acquisitions.

Inovie is less diversified geographically than its peers, making it
more reliant on the French market, especially with regard to
potential reimbursement changes in the medium term. Synlab is
well-diversified across Europe, while Biogroup recently expanded in
Belgium. Inovie's lack of geographical diversification is somewhat
compensated by a more diversified product offering, with around 15%
of its non-COVID-19 revenue derived from specialty testing.

KEY ASSUMPTIONS

  - COVID-19 test revenue at around EUR250 million in 2020, EUR200
million in 2021, EUR40 million in 2022 and EUR20 million in 2023.
Expected EBITDA margins on COVID-19 tests at 49% in 2020, 38% in
2021 and 27.5% in 2022 and 2023 (trending towards Inovie's
average)

  - Organic sales growth of non-COVID-19 business at -1% in 2020,
2.2% in 2021 and 0.5% in 2022 and 2023

  - EBITDA margin of non-COVID-19 business at 12% in 2020, 26.5% in
2021, 27% in 2022 and 27.5% in 2023

  - Acquisition spending of EUR75 million in 2020, EUR120 million
in 2021 and 2022, and EUR150 million in 2023

  - Acquisitions for 2021-2023 at high single-digit EBITDA
multiples and expected to be partly financed with equity.

  - Operating leases at 4% of revenue, excluding COVID-19 tests,
from 2021 onwards

  - Taxes paid at 25% of EBIT until 2023

  - Capex at 3% of revenue from 2021-2023

  - No material working capital movements until 2023

  - No dividends or share buybacks expected over the next four
years

RECOVERY ANALYSIS ASSUMPTIONS

In Fitch's recovery analysis, Fitch follows a going-concern (GC)
approach as it leads to higher recoveries than the liquidation
approach.

  - GC EBITDA estimated at EUR132 million, based on a stressed
scenario versus pro-forma EBITDA in 2020, which reflects the
contribution of acquisitions secured for 2020 and early 2021. This
level of EBITDA would lead to materially lower FCF corresponding to
a minimum level of earnings required to cover its cash debt
service, tax, maintenance capex and trade working capital

  - Distressed enterprise value (EV)/EBITDA multiple of 5.5x, in
line with Biogroup's, implies a discount of 0.5x against more
geographically diversified and larger Synlab's multiple of 6.0x

  - Committed revolving credit facility (RCF) of EUR175 million
assumed fully drawn prior to distress, in line with Fitch's
Corporates Notching and Recovery Ratings Criteria

  - Half of the EUR140 million of structurally higher-ranking
senior debt at subsidiary level would be refinanced, and thus Fitch
considers EUR70 million in the debt waterfall as ranking ahead to
the RCF and TLB (EUR910 million in aggregate ranking pari passu
with each other).

  - After deducting 10% for administrative claims from the
estimated post-distress EV, its waterfall analysis generates a
ranked recovery for the senior secured debt (including RCF and TLB)
in the 'RR3' band, indicating a 'B+' instrument rating. The
waterfall analysis output percentage on current metrics and
assumptions is 57%. In the event that the operating debt is not
refinanced Fitch expects slightly lower recoveries (still within
the RR3 band). If operating company debt is fully refinanced this
would increase recovery prospects towards the mid-point of the
'RR3' range (60%).

RATING SENSITIVITIES

Factors that could, individually or collectively, lead to positive
rating action/upgrade:

  - A larger scale and/or increased product/geographical
diversification without diluting profitability by maintaining
EBITDA margin at around 27% on a sustained basis

  - FFO adjusted gross leverage trending towards 6.0x on a
sustained basis (pro forma for acquisitions)

  - FFO fixed charge coverage above 3.0x on a sustained basis (pro
forma for acquisitions)

  - FCF margin at high single digits on a sustained basis

Factors that could, individually or collectively, lead to negative
rating action/downgrade:

  - Loss of M&A target selection discipline leading to weak
operating performance, and/or adverse regulatory changes eroding
profitability

  - FFO adjusted gross leverage above 8.0x on a sustained basis
(pro forma for acquisitions)

  - FFO fixed charge coverage below 2.0x on a sustained basis (pro
forma for acquisitions)

  - FCF margin at low single digits on a sustained basis

LIQUIDITY AND DEBT STRUCTURE

Comfortable Liquidity: Fitch expects Inovie to have comfortable
liquidity after the LBO transaction, with around EUR10 million in
readily available cash, undrawn committed bank facilities of EUR175
million maturing in 2027 and no other debt maturities until 2027.
Its view of expected consistently positive FCF generation also
enhances Inovie's future financial flexibility.

REFERENCES FOR SUBSTANTIALLY MATERIAL SOURCE CITED AS KEY DRIVER OF
RATING

The principal sources of information used in the analysis are
described in the Applicable Criteria.

ESG CONSIDERATIONS

Inovie has an ESG Relevance Score of '4' for Social Impacts due to
its exposure to the French regulated French medical lab-testing
market, which is subject to pricing and reimbursement pressures as
governments seek to control national healthcare spending. Adverse
regulatory changes in the laboratory testing services sector may,
therefore, have a negative impact on Inovie's ratings. This is
mitigated by the 2020-2022 triennial plan agreement, providing some
market growth and earnings visibility until December 2022.

Unless otherwise disclosed in this section, the highest level of
ESG credit relevance is a score of '3'. This means ESG issues are
credit-neutral or have only a minimal credit impact on the entity,
either due to their nature or the way in which they are being
managed by the entity.



=============
G E R M A N Y
=============

WIRECARD: Loetscher Steps Aside as Deutsche Bank Accounting Head
----------------------------------------------------------------
Olaf Storbeck at The Financial Times reports that former EY partner
Andreas Loetscher is temporarily stepping aside as Deutsche Bank's
head of accounting after Munich prosecutors last week launched a
criminal investigation into potential violations of professional
duties during Wirecard audits.

In an email to staff seen by the FT, Germany's largest lender on
Dec. 8 announced that Brigitte Bomm, global head of tax, would
replace Mr. Loetscher with immediate effect, stressing it expected
that this change would be "of a temporary nature".

Mr. Loetscher joined Deutsche Bank in 2018 after more than two
decades at EY, the FT discloses.  From 2015 to 2017, he was one of
the lead auditing partners in charge of the Wirecard mandate, the
FT notes.

EY, the FT says, will become Deutsche Bank's auditor in 2021.

According to the FT, James von Moltke, Deutsche Bank's chief
financial officer, told staff on Dec. 8 that Mr. Loetscher's
temporary replacement was taken "at Andreas' request and in mutual
agreement", stressing that "this step is neither an acknowledgment
of wrongdoing by Andreas nor a change of perception on the part of
the bank".

Wirecard, a once high-flying German payments firm, collapsed this
summer in one of Europe's biggest postwar accounting frauds after
it disclosed that EUR1.9 billion of corporate cash did not exist,
the FT relays.

Germany's audit watchdog Apas, which is probing Mr. Loetscher along
with several other EY partners, in late September told Munich
prosecutors that the Big Four firm may have acted criminally, the
FT recounts.

Apas, the FT says, suspects that EY partners knew they were issuing
"factually inaccurate" audits for Wirecard in 2017 and 2018.  If
proved, this can be punished with up to three years in jail under
German law.

EY Germany has repeatedly rejected allegations of wrongdoing and
this week said it was "not aware of any indication of illegal
conduct", the FT relates.




=============
I R E L A N D
=============

ANCHORAGE CAPITAL 2: Fitch Affirms B-sf Rating on Cl. F Notes
-------------------------------------------------------------
Fitch Ratings has affirmed Anchorage Capital Europe CLO 2 and
revised the Outlook on the class D, E and F notes to Stable from
Negative.

RATING ACTIONS

Anchorage Capital Europe CLO 2

Class A-1 XS1875262567; LT AAAsf Affirmed previously AAAsf

Class A-2 XS1875263458; LT AAAsf Affirmed previously AAAsf

Class B XS1875263961; LT AAsf Affirmed previously AAsf

Class C XS1875264696; LT Asf Affirmed previously Asf

Class D-1 XS1875265230; LT BBBsf Affirmed previously BBBsf

Class D-2 XS1875265669; LT BBBsf Affirmed previously BBBsf

Class E XS1875266121; LT BB-sf Affirmed previously BB-sf

Class F XS1875266550; LT B-sf Affirmed previously B-sf

TRANSACTION SUMMARY

The transaction is a cash flow CLO mostly comprising senior secured
obligations. The transaction is within its reinvestment period and
is actively managed by its collateral manager.

KEY RATING DRIVERS

Stabilisation in Portfolio Performance

The portfolio performance has been stable since the last review. As
per the trustee report dated November 3, 2020, the transaction is
above target par by 0.71% and all Fitch-related portfolio profile
tests, collateral quality test and coverage tests are passing. As
at November 28, 2020, Fitch-calculated 'CCC' and below rated
obligations (including unrated names) represent 7.78% of the
portfolio, slightly above the 7.50% limit and exposure to defaulted
assets is marginal at 0.34% of target par.

Stable Outlooks Based on Coronavirus Stress

Fitch carried out a sensitivity analysis on the current portfolio
to determine the coronavirus baseline scenario. The agency notched
down the ratings for all assets with corporate issuers on Negative
Outlook regardless of sector by one notch. These assets represent
around 29% of the portfolio. This scenario demonstrates the
resilience of the ratings of all the classes with cushions.
Accordingly, Fitch has revised the Outlooks on the class D, E and F
notes to Stable.

'B'/'B-'Portfolio

Fitch assesses the average credit quality of the obligors to be in
the 'B'/'B-' category. As at November 28, 2020, the
Fitch-calculated weighted average rating factor (WARF) of the
current portfolio is 35.75 slightly higher than the
trustee-reported WARF 35.57.

High Recovery Expectations

Of the portfolio, 94.3% comprises senior secured obligations. Fitch
views the recovery prospects for these assets as more favourable
than for second-lien, unsecured and mezzanine assets. The Fitch
weighted average recovery rate (WARR) of the current portfolio is
64.88%.

Portfolio Well Diversified:

The portfolio is well diversified across obligors, countries and
industries. The top 10 obligors' concentration is 19.19% and no
obligor represents more than 2.25% of the portfolio balance. The
top Fitch and the top-three largest industries are also within the
limits of 17.5% and 40.0%, respectively.

As of November 3, 2020, semi-annual obligations represent about 40%
of the portfolio balance. An increase in semi-annual obligations
greater or equal to 20% of the aggregate collateral balance in a
due period and breach of modified senior interest coverage ratio
threshold could trigger a frequency switch event.

Cash Flow Analysis

Fitch used a customised proprietary cash flow model to replicate
the principal and interest waterfalls and the various structural
features of the transaction, as well as to assess their
effectiveness, including the structural protection provided by
excess spread diverted through the par value and interest coverage
tests. The transaction was modelled using the current portfolio
based on both the stable and rising interest-rate scenarios and the
front-, mid- and back-loaded default timing scenarios as outlined
in Fitch's criteria.

Fitch also tested the current portfolio with a coronavirus
sensitivity analysis to estimate the resilience of the notes'
ratings. Fitch's coronavirus sensitivity analysis was only based on
the stable interest rate scenario including all default timing
scenarios.

RATING SENSITIVITIES

Factors that could, individually or collectively, lead to positive
rating action/upgrade:

At closing, Fitch used a standardised stress portfolio (Fitch's
Stressed Portfolio) that was customised to the portfolio limits as
specified in the transaction documents. Even if the actual
portfolio shows lower defaults and smaller losses (at all rating
levels) than Fitch's Stressed Portfolio assumed at closing, an
upgrade of the notes during the reinvestment period is unlikely.
This is because the portfolio credit quality may still deteriorate,
not only by natural credit migration, but also because of
reinvestment. After the end of the reinvestment period, upgrades
may occur in the event of a better-than-expected portfolio credit
quality and deal performance, leading to higher credit enhancement
and excess spread available to cover for losses on the remaining
portfolio.

Factors that could, individually or collectively, lead to negative
rating action/downgrade:

Downgrades may occur if the build-up of credit enhancement
following amortisation does not compensate for a larger loss
expectation than initially assumed due to an unexpected high level
of default and portfolio deterioration. As the disruptions to
supply and demand due to the coronavirus become apparent for other
vulnerable sectors, loan ratings in those sectors would also come
under pressure. Fitch will update the sensitivity scenarios in line
with the view of its Leveraged Finance team.

Coronavirus Downside Scenario

Fitch has added a sensitivity analysis that contemplates a more
severe and prolonged economic stress caused by a re-emergence of
infections in the major economies, before halting recovery begins
in 2Q21. The downside sensitivity incorporates the following
stresses: applying a notch downgrade to all Fitch-derived ratings
in the 'B' rating category and applying a 0.85 recovery rate
multiplier to all other assets in the portfolio. For typical
European CLOs this scenario results in a rating category change for
all ratings.

USE OF THIRD-PARTY DUE DILIGENCE PURSUANT TO SEC RULE 17G -10

Form ABS Due Diligence-15E was not provided to, or reviewed by,
Fitch in relation to this rating action.

DATA ADEQUACY

The majority of the underlying assets have ratings or credit
opinions from Fitch and/or other nationally recognised statistical
rating organisations and/or European Securities and Markets
Authority-registered rating agencies. Fitch has relied on the
practices of the relevant groups within Fitch and/or other rating
agencies to assess the asset portfolio information.

Overall, Fitch's assessment of the asset pool information relied
upon for the agency's rating analysis according to its applicable
rating methodologies indicates that it is adequately reliable.

REFERENCES FOR SUBSTANTIALLY MATERIAL SOURCE CITED AS KEY DRIVER OF
RATING

The principal sources of information used in the analysis are
described in the Applicable Criteria.

ENERGIA GROUP: Moody's Affirms B1 CFR, Alters Outlook to Positive
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Moody's Investors Service changed the outlook on the ratings of
Energia Group Limited to positive from negative. Concurrently,
Moody's affirmed Energia's B1 long-term corporate family rating
(CFR) and B1-PD probability of default rating, the B1 ratings on
the Senior Secured Notes issued by Energia Group NI FinanceCo Plc
and Energia Group RoI Holdings DAC, and the Ba1 rating on Energia
Group NI Holdings Limited 's GBP225 million backed super senior
secured revolving credit facility (RCF). The outlook for Energia
Group NI FinanceCo Plc and Energia Group NI Holdings Limited was
also changed to positive from negative.

The rating action reflects Energia's resilient earnings in the
first half of 2020-21, despite weaker electricity prices and energy
demand as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. Moody's expects
that Energia's ratio of funds from operations (FFO) to debt will be
broadly stable for the full year. This is in contrast to the
agency's expectation in May 2020 that credit metrics would weaken
significantly.

RATINGS RATIONALE

The positive outlook reflects Moody's expectation that FFO/debt
will remain comfortably in the double digits in percentage terms.
FFO/debt was 13.5% in the twelve months to September 2020, compared
to 11.5% in the year to March 2020, supported by growing customer
accounts in the Republic of Ireland (ROI) and higher profits in
customer solutions and flexible generation in the first half of the
financial year, offset by weakness in renewables.

Affirmation of the B1 CFR reflects, as positives, the demonstrated
resilience of Energia's diversified utility business, including
thermal and renewable generation, price-regulated supply in
Northern Ireland (NI), unregulated energy supply across the island
of Ireland and a portfolio of contracted wind farm output, as well
as strong free cash flow supported by the group's limited capital
investment needs. The CFR also reflects Energia's good liquidity,
including EUR280 million of cash and equivalents as of September
2020 (including EU38.7 million of restricted cash at
project-financed wind farms, and before EUR40 million of dividends
were paid on October 1, 2020) and significant undrawn availability
under its credit facilities.

The CFR continues to be constrained by Energia's relatively high
leverage and uncertainty over the company's future investment
strategy. The company also remains exposed to Irish electricity
prices, which have recently weakened after a period of recovery,
and the continuing risk of business failures and unemployment in NI
and ROI, which could reduce demand and increase bad debts.
Visibility of cash flow in the company's flexible generation
segment declines after 2023-24, when the PPB contract expires and
Huntstown capacity revenues will depend on the results of future
capacity auctions.

The ratings of the RCF and senior secured debt reflect their
relative priority of proceeds on enforcement. Under the financing
terms, common collateral secures both classes of debt, but any
outstanding RCF obligations, commodity hedging obligations, and
interest rate and foreign-exchange hedging would rank senior to the
noteholders on insolvency. The Ba1 rating of the RCF reflects this
senior ranking, while the B1 rating of the senior secured debt is
in line with the CFR, reflecting the relatively small size of the
cash portion of the RCF in the context of Energia's debt.

FACTORS THAT COULD LEAD TO AN UPGRADE OR DOWNGRADE OF THE RATINGS

The ratings could be upgraded if Energia maintains a track record
of strong free cash flow, excluding growth investments, good
liquidity and Moody's-adjusted FFO to consolidated debt comfortably
in the double digits in percentage terms.

The outlook could be changed to stable if the company appears
unlikely to maintain FFO/debt comfortably in the double digits in
percentage terms or if liquidity weakened. In particular, the
outlook could be changed to stable if significant acquisitions or
capital investments reduced the group's financial flexibility or
increased business risk, or if the company adopted a more
aggressive financial policy.

The principal methodology used in these ratings was Unregulated
Utilities and Unregulated Power Companies published in May 2017.

Energia Group Limited is a diversified utility active in both ROI
and NI. The company has interests in supply, power generation
(including wind farms and gas generation) and regulated offtake
contracts.

NORTH WESTERLY V: Fitch Affirms B-sf Rating on Class F Notes
------------------------------------------------------------
Fitch Ratings has affirmed North Westerly V B.V., and revised the
Outlook on the class E and F notes to Stable from Negative.

RATING ACTIONS

North Westerly V B.V.

Class A XS1854511190; LT AAAsf Affirmed previously AAAsf

Class B-1 XS1854511604; LT AAsf Affirmed previously AAsf

Class B-2 XS1854512321; LT AAsf Affirmed previously AAsf

Class C XS1854512917; LT Asf Affirmed previously Asf

Class D XS1854513642; LT BBBsf Affirmed previously BBBsf

Class E XS1854514020; LT BBsf Affirmed previously BBsf

Class F XS1854513998; LT B-sf Affirmed previously B-sf

TRANSACTION SUMMARY

The transaction is a cash flow CLO, mostly comprising senior
secured obligations. The transaction is within its reinvestment
period and is actively managed by NIBC Bank N.V.

KEY RATING DRIVERS

Asset Performance Stable

The transaction is still in its reinvestment period and the
portfolio is actively managed by the collateral manager. Asset
performance has been stable since the last review in July 2020. The
transaction is above par by 0.2% as of the latest investor report
available. All portfolio profile tests, collateral quality test and
coverage tests are passing. Exposure to assets with a Fitch-derived
rating of 'CCC+' and below is calculated by Fitch at 1.4%, below
the 7.5% limit. The manager classifies one asset for EUR3.3 million
as current pay obligation while other CLO managers have been
reporting it as defaulted. The treatment of this asset as defaulted
has a minor impact on the analysis and is not rating relevant.

Stable Outlooks Based on Coronavirus Stress

The revision of the Outlooks on the class E and F notes to Stable
reflects that their current ratings are passing the sensitivity
analysis Fitch ran in light of the coronavirus pandemic. For the
sensitivity analysis Fitch notched down the ratings for all assets
with corporate issuers with a Negative Outlook (25.5% of the
portfolio) regardless of sector and ran the cash flow analysis
based on the stable interest rate scenario. All tranches show
resilience under the coronavirus baseline sensitivity analysis with
a cushion which is reflected in the Stable Outlooks.

'B'/'B-' Portfolio

Fitch assesses the average credit quality of the obligors to be in
the 'B'/'B-' category. The Fitch weighted average rating factor
(WARF) calculated by Fitch of the current portfolio is 33.05 and by
the trustee is 33.37, below the maximum covenant of 34.0. The Fitch
WARF would increase to 35.66 after applying the coronavirus
stress.

High Recovery Expectations

Of the portfolio, 95.1% comprises senior secured obligations. Fitch
views the recovery prospects for these assets as more favourable
than for second-lien, unsecured and mezzanine assets. The Fitch
weighted average recovery rate of the current portfolio is 63.88%.

Portfolio Well Diversified

The portfolio is well diversified across obligors, countries and
industries. The top 10 obligor concentration is 14.3%, and no
obligor represents more than 1.7% of the portfolio balance.

RATING SENSITIVITIES

Factors that could, individually or collectively, lead to positive
rating action/upgrade:

At closing, Fitch used a standardised stress portfolio (Fitch's
Stressed Portfolio) that was customised to the portfolio limits as
specified in the transaction documents. Even if the actual
portfolio shows lower defaults and smaller losses (at all rating
levels) than Fitch's Stressed Portfolio assumed at closing, an
upgrade of the notes during the reinvestment period is unlikely as
the portfolio credit quality may still deteriorate, not only
through natural credit migration, but also through reinvestments.

Upgrades may occur after the end of the reinvestment period on
better-than-expected portfolio credit quality and deal performance,
leading to higher credit enhancement and excess spread available to
cover for losses in the remaining portfolio.

Factors that could, individually or collectively, lead to negative
rating action/downgrade:

Downgrades may occur if the build-up of credit enhancement
following amortisation does not compensate for a larger loss
expectation than initially assumed due to unexpectedly high levels
of default and portfolio deterioration. As the disruptions to
supply and demand due to the pandemic become apparent, loan ratings
in those sectors will also come under pressure. Fitch will update
the sensitivity scenarios in line with the view of its Leveraged
Finance team.

Coronavirus Downside Sensitivity

Fitch has added a sensitivity analysis that contemplates a more
severe and prolonged economic stress caused by a re-emergence of
infections in the major economies, before halting recovery begins
in 2Q21. The downside sensitivity incorporates the following
stresses: applying a notch downgrade to all Fitch-derived ratings
in the 'B' rating category and applying a 0.85 recovery rate
multiplier to all other assets in the portfolio. For typical
European CLOs this scenario results in a category rating change for
all ratings.

USE OF THIRD-PARTY DUE DILIGENCE PURSUANT TO SEC RULE 17G -10

Form ABS Due Diligence-15E was not provided to, or reviewed by,
Fitch in relation to this rating action.

DATA ADEQUACY

Most of the underlying assets or risk-presenting entities have
ratings or credit opinions from Fitch and/or other nationally
recognised statistical rating organisations and/or European
Securities and Markets Authority-registered rating agencies. Fitch
has relied on the practices of the relevant groups within Fitch
and/or other rating agencies to assess the asset portfolio
information.

Overall, Fitch's assessment of the asset pool information relied on
for its rating analysis according to its applicable rating
methodologies indicates that it is adequately reliable.

REFERENCES FOR SUBSTANTIALLY MATERIAL SOURCE CITED AS KEY DRIVER OF
RATING

The principal sources of information used in the analysis are
described in the Applicable Criteria.

SOUND POINT I: Fitch Affirms B-sf Rating on Class F Notes
---------------------------------------------------------
Fitch Ratings has affirmed Sound Point Euro CLO I Funding DAC and
revised the Outlooks on the class E and F notes to Stable from
Negative.

RATING ACTIONS

Sound Point Euro CLO I Funding DAC

Class A XS1979503403; LT AAAsf Affirmed previously AAAsf

Class B-1 XS1979501969; LT AAsf Affirmed previously AAsf

Class B-2 XS1979502348; LT AAsf Affirmed previously AAsf

Class B-3 XS1983378628; LT AAsf Affirmed previously AAsf

Class C-1 XS1979502850; LT Asf Affirmed previously Asf

Class C-2 XS1979503312; LT Asf Affirmed previously Asf

Class C-3 XS1983379600; LT Asf Affirmed previously Asf

Class D XS1979504047; LT BBB-sf Affirmed previously BBB-sf

Class E XS1979504716; LT BB-sf Affirmed previously BB-sf

Class F XS1979506091; LT B-sf Affirmed previously B-sf

Class X XS1979503155; LT AAAsf Affirmed previously AAAsf

TRANSACTION SUMMARY

Sound Point Euro CLO I Funding DAC is a securitisation of mainly
senior secured loans (at least 90%) with a component of senior
unsecured, mezzanine and second-lien loans. The portfolio is
managed by Sound Point CLO C-MOA, LLC. The reinvestment period ends
in October 2023.

KEY RATING DRIVERS

Stable Outlooks Based on Coronavirus Stress

The revision of the Outlooks on the class E and F notes reflects
that their current ratings are passing the sensitivity analysis
Fitch ran in light of the coronavirus pandemic. For the sensitivity
analysis Fitch notched down the ratings for all assets with
corporate issuers with a Negative Outlook regardless of sector and
ran the cash flow analysis based on the stable interest rate
scenario. All tranches show resilience under the coronavirus
baseline sensitivity analysis with a cushion, which is reflected in
the Stable Outlooks.

Portfolio Performance Stabilises

As of the latest investor report dated November 6, 2020, the
transaction was 0.48% below par and all portfolio profile tests,
coverage tests and Fitch collateral quality tests were passing. As
of the same report, the transaction had no defaulted assets.
Exposure to assets with a Fitch-derived rating (FDR) of 'CCC+' and
below was 1.33% (excluding unrated assets). Assets with a FDR on
Negative Outlook made up 15.8% of the portfolio balance.

'B'/'B-' Portfolio Credit Quality

Fitch assesses the average credit quality of the obligors in the
'B'/'B-' category. The Fitch weighted average rating factor (WARF)
of the current portfolio is 32.6 (assuming unrated assets are
'CCC') - below the maximum covenant of 34, while the
trustee-reported Fitch WARF was 32.14. After applying the
coronavirus stress, the Fitch WARF would increase by 2.12.

High Recovery Expectations

Senior secured obligations are 98.02% of the portfolio. Fitch views
the recovery prospects for these assets as more favourable than for
second-lien, unsecured and mezzanine assets.

Diversified Portfolio

The portfolio is well-diversified across obligors, countries and
industries. The top 10 obligors represent 15.45% of the portfolio
balance with no obligor accounting for more than 1.71%. Around 28%
of the portfolio consists of semi-annual obligations but a
frequency switch has not occurred due to the transaction's high
interest coverage ratios.

Cash Flow Analysis

Fitch used a customised proprietary cash flow model to replicate
the principal and interest waterfalls and the various structural
features of the transaction, as well as to assess their
effectiveness, including the structural protection provided by
excess spread diverted through the par value and interest coverage
tests. The transaction was modelled using the current portfolio
based on both the stable and rising interest-rate scenarios and the
front-, mid- and back-loaded default timing scenarios as outlined
in Fitch's criteria. In addition, Fitch tested the current
portfolio with a coronavirus sensitivity analysis to estimate the
resilience of the notes' ratings. The coronavirus sensitivity
analysis was only based on the stable interest-rate scenario but
included all default timing scenarios.

RATING SENSITIVITIES

Factors that could, individually or collectively, lead to positive
rating action/upgrade:

The transaction features a reinvestment period and the portfolio is
actively managed. At closing, Fitch used a standardised stress
portfolio (Fitch's Stressed Portfolio) that was customised to the
portfolio limits as specified in the transaction documents. Even if
the actual portfolio shows lower defaults and smaller losses (at
all rating levels) than Fitch's Stressed Portfolio assumed at
closing, an upgrade of the notes during the reinvestment period is
unlikely, as the portfolio credit quality may still deteriorate,
not only through natural credit migration, but also through
reinvestments.

After the end of the reinvestment period, upgrades may occur in
case of better-than-initially expected portfolio credit quality and
deal performance, leading to higher credit enhancement for the
notes and excess spread available to cover for losses in the
remaining portfolio.

Factors that could, individually or collectively, lead to negative
rating action/downgrade:

Downgrades may occur if the build-up of credit enhancement
following amortisation does not compensate for a larger loss than
initially assumed due to unexpectedly high levels of defaults and
portfolio deterioration. As disruptions to supply and demand due to
the pandemic become apparent, loan ratings in those vulnerable
sectors will also come under pressure. Fitch will update the
sensitivity scenarios in line with the view of its leveraged
finance team.

Coronavirus Downside Sensitivity

Fitch has added a sensitivity analysis that contemplates a more
severe and prolonged economic stress caused by a re-emergence of
infections in the major economies, before halting recovery begins
in 2Q21. The downside sensitivity incorporates a single-notch
downgrade to all FDRs in the 'B' rating category and a 0.85
recovery rate multiplier to all other assets in the portfolio. For
typical European CLOs, this scenario results in a rating category
change for all ratings.

USE OF THIRD-PARTY DUE DILIGENCE PURSUANT TO SEC RULE 17G -10

Form ABS Due Diligence-15E was not provided to, or reviewed by,
Fitch in relation to this rating action.

DATA ADEQUACY

The majority of the underlying assets or risk-presenting entities
have ratings or credit opinions from Fitch and/or other Nationally
Recognised Statistical Rating Organisations and/or European
Securities and Markets Authority-registered rating agencies. Fitch
has relied on the practices of the relevant groups within Fitch
and/or other rating agencies to assess the asset portfolio
information.

Overall, Fitch's assessment of the asset pool information relied
upon for the agency's rating analysis according to its applicable
rating methodologies indicates that it is adequately reliable.

REFERENCES FOR SUBSTANTIALLY MATERIAL SOURCE CITED AS KEY DRIVER OF
RATING

The principal sources of information used in the analysis are
described in the Applicable Criteria.



=========
I T A L Y
=========

EVOCA SPA: Moody's Affirms B3 CFR, Alters Outlook to Negative
-------------------------------------------------------------
Moody's Investors Service changed the outlook on EVOCA S.p.A. to
negative from stable. Concurrently, Moody's has affirmed all
EVOCA's ratings, including its B3 corporate family rating (CFR),
B3-PD probability of default rating (PDR) and B3 rating of the
senior secured notes.

RATINGS RATIONALE

RATIONALE FOR THE NEGATIVE OUTLOOK

The change of the outlook to negative from stable primarily
reflects an increasing concern of Moody's about the speed of
EVOCA's deleveraging to a more sustained level and a return to a
meaningful positive free cash flow (FCF) generation in the next
12-18 months. In a challenging environment driven by the
coronavirus pandemic, EVOCA's operational performance year-to-date
September was clearly below the expectations that Moody's had in
April 2020 when it downgraded EVOCA to B3 with the stable outlook,
both in terms of EBITDA as well as FCF generation. During the first
nine months of 2020 the company's revenues and EBITDA (as adjusted
by EVOCA) declined by around 35% and 45%, respectively, and the
company reported roughly EUR30 million cumulative negative FCF
during the period (as defined and adjusted by Moody's, i.e.
including interest paid). The FCF generation was hit by a
substantial build-up of working capital in the first half of the
year, which the company has not managed to recover since then.

Given that EVOCA's business is indirectly dependent on the
management of the pandemic, the agency believes that the recent
introduction of another wave of lockdowns in Europe will further
intensify pressure on the spending in the industry. Moody's expects
that EVOCA's sales and EBITDA in the fourth quarter of 2020 as well
as in January and February 2021 will continue to be significantly
down year-on-year. This will lead to a very high Moody's adjusted
gross leverage in the mid-to-high teens in 2020, even without
considering relatively sizeable PIK notes outside of the restricted
group, placing EVOCA among the companies that will be the more
affected by the coronavirus pandemic within the Moody's rated
manufacturing universe.

The agency also sees the risk that the pandemic-induced trends,
such as more working from home and less travelling, might last for
longer, which could pressure spending related to out-of-home coffee
consumption; a market in which EVOCA operates. As such, the risk
that in the next 12-18 months EVOCA will not be able to reduce its
Moody's adjusted gross leverage below 7.0x, which is the agency's
expectation for the B3 rating, is also increasing. An elevated
leverage may also significantly affect the company's ability to
generate positive FCF, especially if the company fails to improve
its working capital days. Moody's expects that the operations of
some of EVOCA's customers, including one of its key customers
Selecta Group B.V. (Caa1 negative), will continue to be under
pressure for the foreseeable future.

RATIONALE FOR THE RATINGS AFFIRMATION

The affirmation of EVOCA's ratings primarily reflects the company's
still adequate liquidity position with low refinancing risk, given
that it will not face meaningful debt maturities before 2026. The
agency also recognizes that EVOCA has not consumed cash since the
April trough. As of the end of September, the company operated with
EUR141 million of cash on the balance sheet, including a fully
drawn EUR80 million revolving facility. EVOCA drew the facility in
the first quarter as a precautionary measure, but repaid it in
November. Moody's calculates that EVOCA would need to face a
further substantial cash burn and substantial EBITDA decline to
breach the springing covenant in the revolving facility agreement,
which is tested when revolving facility drawn loans less cash and
cash equivalents exceed 40% of revolving facility commitments. As
such, the agency considers it unlikely that EVOCA will face issues
with the covenant compliance through 2021.

Moody's also recognizes that EVOCA is not losing market share and
its profitability remains at a good level despite a significant
pressure on volumes, supported by its asset light model with a
relatively high variable costs, ongoing efficiency measures and
various government support schemes. EVOCA's EBITA margin for the 12
months to September 2020, as adjusted by Moody's, was around 7%
(based on all-in EBITDA), or around 11% when adjusted for FX losses
and various management items; down from a healthy 16.2% in 2019.
EVOCA commented that as of September it had implemented the
run-rate cost savings of almost EUR5 million, primarily relating to
a reduction in headcount over the third quarter. Leaner cost
structure could provide an uplift to EBITDA generation in 2021,
even if volumes improve only moderately.

In addition, owing to the refinancing, which the company undertook
in October last year and which effectively reduced the annual
interest bill by roughly EUR15 million, Moody's expects that
EVOCA's EBITA interest cover, as adjusted by the agency, will
return above 1x in the course of 2021. This also supports the
affirmation of the ratings.

ENVIRONMENTAL SOCIAL AND GOVERNANCE (ESG) CONSIDERATIONS

EVOCA's B3 ratings reflect the broad deterioration of its credit
quality the coronavirus pandemic has triggered. Moody's regards the
coronavirus outbreak as a social risk under its ESG framework,
given the substantial implications for public health and safety.
The ratings also factor in the company's private equity ownership,
which entails weaker reporting standards than public companies and
an aggressive financial policy, as exemplified by the company's
tolerance to a high leverage even without PIK notes outside of the
restricted group issued in October 2019, proceeds of which were
applied to minimise the exposure of the existing sponsor.
Environmental risks are currently not material to credit quality of
EVOCA.

FACTORS THAT COULD LEAD TO AN UPGRADE OR DOWNGRADE OF THE RATINGS

EVOCA's ratings could be downgraded if the company's adequate
liquidity position deteriorated, for instance due to ongoing
material negative free cash flow generation or if EVOCA's gross
debt/EBITDA, as adjusted by Moody's, remains above 7.0x for a
prolonged period.

An upgrade, which is currently unlikely, would require EVOCA to be
able to sustain its strong profitability, with its Moody's-adjusted
EBITA margin in high-teens and a healthy FCF generation, while
improving its Moody's-adjusted gross debt/EBITDA sustainably below
6.0x.

LIST OF AFFECTED RATINGS:

Issuer: EVOCA S.p.A.

Affirmations:

LT Corporate Family Rating, Affirmed B3

Probability of Default Rating, Affirmed B3-PD

Senior Secured Regular Bond/Debenture, Affirmed B3

Outlook Actions:

Outlook, Changed to Negative from Stable

PRINCIPAL METHODOLOGY

The principal methodology used in these ratings was Manufacturing
Methodology published in March 2020.

COMPANY PROFILE

Headquartered in Bergamo, Italy, EVOCA is a leading manufacturer of
professional coffee machines. As of December 2019, EVOCA operated
nine manufacturing sites and had around 2,000 employees. The
company reported revenue of around EUR350 million for 12 months to
September 2020. The company was acquired by funds controlled by the
private equity firm Lone Star in March 2016.

ILLIMITY BANK: Fitch Rates EUR300MM Sr. Preferred Notes 'B'
------------------------------------------------------------
Fitch Ratings has assigned illimity Bank S.p.A.'s (B+/Stable)
inaugural EUR300 million senior preferred issue (ISIN:
XS2270143261) a final 'B' rating.

The rating is in line with the expected rating assigned on November
27, 2020.

KEY RATING DRIVER
illimity's senior preferred debt issuance is rated one notch below
its Long-Term Issuer Default Rating (IDR), based on an estimated
Recovery Rating of 'RR5'. This reflects Fitch's view that recovery
prospects for the bank's senior preferred creditors would likely be
below average under a range of reasonable assumptions given full
depositor preference in Italy and the bank's funding structure,
which Fitch views as effectively reducing recovery prospects for
senior preferred creditors in a liquidation (its central assumption
should illimity be in distress).

illimity's funding structure mainly relies on customer deposits,
ECB funding and repurchase agreements. illimity has not issued
senior preferred debt before and has no buffers of subordinated
debt and hybrid capital that would participate in absorbing losses
ahead of senior debt.

RATING SENSITIVITIES

Factors that could, individually or collectively, lead to positive
rating action/upgrade:

The long-term senior preferred debt rating would be upgraded if
illimity's Long-Term IDR, which is itself sensitive to the bank's
Viability Rating (VR), was upgraded.

It could also be upgraded if illimity issues and maintains on a
sustained basis larger buffers of senior debt and other equally
ranking or subordinated liabilities. This is because in a
liquidation loss could be spread over a larger debt layer resulting
in smaller losses and higher expected recoveries for senior
bondholders.

Factors that could, individually or collectively, lead to negative
rating action/downgrade:

The long-term senior preferred debt rating would be downgraded if
illimity's Long-Term IDR and VR were downgraded.

It could also be downgraded if Fitch determines that expected
recoveries for senior bondholders are poor rather than
below-average.

REFERENCES FOR SUBSTANTIALLY MATERIAL SOURCE CITED AS KEY DRIVER OF
RATING

The principal sources of information used in the analysis are
described in the Applicable Criteria.

[*] ITALY: Houses of Parliament Allow Conte to Approve ESM Reform
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Giuseppe Fonte and Francesca Piscioneri at Reuters report that
Italy's two houses of parliament gave the go-ahead on Dec. 9 for
Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte to approve a contested reform of the
euro zone's bailout fund, known as the European Stability Mechanism
(ESM), at an EU summit on Dec. 10-11.

Last week, some 60 rebels from the co-ruling 5-Star Movement, which
has always opposed the reform, threatened to vote against the
government, leaving it potentially vulnerable to defeat, Reuters
relates.

However, coalition negotiations produced a resolution which most
5-Star lawmakers agreed to, authorizing Mr. Conte to approve the
ESM changes while pursuing other reforms of EU financial management
aimed at overturning austerity, Reuters discloses.

After Mr. Conte signs off on the revamped ESM at this week's
summit, the reform, which Italy has held up for months due to
5-Star's resistance, must then be ratified by national parliaments
before it comes into force on Jan. 1, 2022, Reuters notes.

Despite the fact he won the Dec. 9 twin motions, Mr. Conte still
faces bitter infighting within his coalition, particularly over the
management of a multi-billion euro economic recovery plan, which
could yet tear his premiership apart, Reuters states.

According to Reuters, proponents of the reform stress that it would
allow the ESM to act as a financial backstop for another EU kitty,
The Single Resolution Fund, set up to help failing banks.

However, 5-Star is concerned about other aspects, such as a greater
role for the ESM in assessing the debt repayment capacity of
countries that use the fund and in overseeing the reform programs
they must undertake, Reuters relays.  These tasks are performed
jointly with the European Commission, Reuters says.

Above all, 5-Star opposes a change stipulating that bonds issued by
euro zone states from 2022 have conditions attached that would make
debt restructuring easier and more orderly, Reuters discloses.

According to Reuters, critics say this will also make restructuring
more likely, hitting Italian savers and investors who hold most of
the country's sovereign debt, which amounts to around 160% of gross
domestic product.




===========
R U S S I A
===========

PROMSVYAZBANK: Tensions Rise in Complex Nationalization Battle
--------------------------------------------------------------
Laurence Fletcher at The Financial Times reports that tensions are
rising in the long-running and increasingly complex battle over the
dramatic nationalization of Russian bank Promsvyazbank.

Brothers Dmitri and Alexei Ananyev had fled Russia after the bank,
which they founded and previously owned, fell into administration
and was taken over by the country's central bank in 2017 (though
not before some rather unusual transactions in its shares), the FT
recounts.  Alexei moved to the UK, while Dmitri went to Cyprus, the
FT discloses.

Russian authorities put out a warrant for their arrest and charged
them with embezzlement of around US$1.6 billion, the FT relays.

According to the brothers, Interpol's General Secretariat says the
accusations against Dmitri and Alexei have a political dimension to
them and they are no longer subject to an Interpol notice, the FT
notes.

Now a court case in the Netherlands this week could shed further
light on what happened at PSB, as the bank is known, around the
time of its nationalization, the FT states.

This case is being brought by some of the mostly Russian savers
(including the owner of a fertilizer company and a wine merchant)
who are trying to find a way to get their money back after they
bought US$240 million of guaranteed notes sold by PSB that
subsequently defaulted, according to the FT.

The brothers have a web of offshore companies around the globe, and
claimants say they have found it hard to decide where to pursue a
legal complaint, the FT says.

However, the claimants have recently been aided by input from a
group of enthusiastic German MPs and MEPs who have taken up their
fight, the FT notes.

These politicians have been briefed on the Ananyevs by high-profile
lawyer John Sandweg -- former acting general counsel at the US
Department of Homeland Security and now a lawyer advising some
noteholders, the FT discloses.  After an industrious approach to
letter-writing to various political leaders, pressure is now
building in some jurisdictions, the FT states.

With German savers said to be among the alleged victims (and no
doubt mindful both of Commerzbank's shareholding in PSB between
2006 and 2012, as well as the embarrassment of the Wirecard fraud
back home), the German politicians have written to European
Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, UK Chancellor Rishi
Sunak, Home Secretary Priti Patel, Cyprus's Minister of Finance
Constantinos Petrides, European Commissioner for Justice Didier
Reynders, the Netherlands' Minister of Interior Kajsa Ollongren 
.  .  .  the list goes on, according to the FT.

In Russia, meanwhile, investigators recently arrested five people
and put four more on a wanted list in connection with the alleged
siphoning off of funds at PSB, the FT discloses.

In George Town in the Cayman Islands, some noteholders filed a writ
in the Grand Court in October, the FT recounts.  The claim,
published on the court's website, alleges that Dmitri's "dishonest
scheme  .   .   .  fraudulently" moved the proceeds of the
notes into his companies. Dmitri apparently has not received notice
of the case, according to the FT.

And in the Netherlands, some noteholders won a potentially
significant victory in August when a judge ruled the two directors
of a Dutch company owned by the brothers could be questioned, the
FT relates.

Noteholders hope the hearing, scheduled for this week, will help
them show whether the directors acted on the brothers' instructions
in carrying out the unusual share transactions just before PSB was
nationalized, the FT
states.

They hope that evidence could, in turn, prove useful in asking the
UK High Court to reconsider a freezing order on the brothers'
assets, the FT notes.




===============
S L O V E N I A
===============

BANKA INTESA: Fitch Withdraws BB+ LT IDR for Commercial Reasons
---------------------------------------------------------------
Fitch Ratings has affirmed Banka Intesa Sanpaolo's d.d. (ISP
Slovenia) Long Term Issuer Default Rating (IDR) at 'BB+' with a
Stable Outlook.

The ratings have been withdrawn for commercial reasons. Fitch will
no longer provide ratings or analytical coverage of ISP Slovenia.

KEY RATING DRIVERS

IDRs and SR

ISP Slovenia's IDRs and Support Rating (SR) are driven by its view
of a moderate probability of support from Intesa Sanpaolo S.p.A.
(ISP, BBB-/Stable/bbb-), in case of need. This reflects its view of
the bank's strategic importance to ISP, strong synergies and high
level of management and operational integration with the parent. In
its assessment of support propensity, Fitch also considers the high
reputational risk to ISP in case of the subsidiary bank's default.
Fitch believes any required support would be immaterial relative to
its ability to provide it. The Stable Outlook reflects that on the
parent.

VR

Fitch sees risks to Slovenian banks' standalone credit profiles as
a result of the coronavirus pandemic and its economic implications.
Fitch's baseline is for Slovenian GDP to contract 7.4% this year,
before returning to 5% growth in 2021. However, Fitch sees
significant downside risks to this scenario given the resurgence of
infections in 2H20. ISP Slovenia entered the downturn with
reasonable capital buffers and comfortable liquidity, and without
large stocks of unreserved problem loans. However, the need to set
aside additional provisions resulted in the bank just breaking even
in 1H20.

The VR of ISP Slovenia reflects its small size and modest
franchise, which constrain the bank's overall credit profile and
weigh on its profitability. The bank's solid capitalisation,
healthy funding and liquidity and reasonable asset quality compare
well with peers' and are underpinned by a conservative and tested
risk appetite.

Capitalisation is a rating strength underpinned by high capital
ratios, low encumbrance by unprovisioned impaired loans and a
conservative risk appetite. Its assessment of capital also
considers ordinary support from the parent. ISP Slovenia's internal
capital generation has been modest pre-pandemic and Fitch expects
it to remain weak in the foreseeable future given pressure on
profitability stemming from the economic fallout of the pandemic.

Asset quality remains reasonable, supported by a conservative risk
appetite, the solid quality of new loans and consistent resolution
of legacy problem loans. Fitch expects pressure on asset quality to
increase in 2021 as various state support programmes and loan
moratoria expire. However, the bank's tested and conservative risk
appetite and fairly low utilisation of loan moratoria should
moderate the risk of a significant rise in bad debts, despite
material loan portfolio concentration.

Profitability has been a rating weakness with operating
profit/risk-weighted assets averaging about 1% over 2015-2019,
reflecting limited scale efficiencies with modest revenue
generation relative to fixed operating costs. Loan impairment
charges have been less volatile than peers. However, the bank
recorded a 91bp risk charge in 1H20 to cover expected portfolio
deterioration from the effects of the pandemic. This, together with
weakened revenue generation, resulted in the bank just breaking
even in 1H20. Fitch expects impairment charges to remain high in
the short term and therefore do not see significant improvement in
profitability over the next 12 months.

ISP Slovenia is primarily funded with granular customer deposits,
which have been stable. Deposit concentrations are limited. The
bank's liquidity profile is solid with a gross loans/customer
deposits ratio of about 80% at end-1H20. Liquid assets cover about
30% of customer deposits and regulatory liquidity ratios remain
solid and well above the minimum requirements.

RATING SENSITIVITIES

Rating sensitivities are no longer relevant given the rating
withdrawal.

REFERENCES FOR SUBSTANTIALLY MATERIAL SOURCE CITED AS KEY DRIVER OF
RATING

The principal sources of information used in the analysis are
described in the Applicable Criteria.

PUBLIC RATINGS WITH CREDIT LINKAGE TO OTHER RATINGS

ISP Slovenia IDRs and Support Rating are linked to the IDR of ISP.

ESG CONSIDERATIONS

Unless otherwise disclosed in this section, the highest level of
ESG credit relevance is a score of '3'. This means ESG issues are
credit-neutral or have only a minimal credit impact on the entity,
either due to their nature or the way in which they are being
managed by the entity.



=========
S P A I N
=========

EDREAMS ODIGEO: S&P Downgrades ICR to 'CCC+', Outlook Negative
--------------------------------------------------------------
S&P Global Ratings lowered its long-term issuer credit and issue
ratings on Spanish online travel agent eDreams ODIGEO S.A.'s
(eDreams)  and its debt to 'CCC+' from 'B-'.

The negative outlook demonstrates the downside risk to the ratings
in the next 12 months if eDreams underperforms against its
base-case forecast, increasing the stress on its capital structure
and liquidity.

S&P said, "We have revised down our forecast for global air traffic
volumes because a second wave of lockdowns and travel restrictions
has been implemented in many regions, especially in Europe and the
U.S.   The recent spike in COVID-19 cases in many regions increases
the risk to global air traffic and, thus to online travel agent
revenue. Air traffic volumes have been severely affected in 2020
and we estimate volumes for the year will be 65%-80% lower than in
2019. Given the latest restrictions, we anticipate that a slower
recovery in global air traffic from 2021. Compared with the 2019
baseline, air traffic is now expected to be 40%-60% lower, where we
previously estimated it at 30%-40% lower.

"Our estimate incorporates the recent consensus among health
experts that a vaccine may be widely available by the middle of
2021.   In forecasting a slower recovery in air traffic from 2021,
we incorporate the high degree of uncertainty about the evolution
of the pandemic and its potential impact on the pace of border
openings, airline fleet capacity, route planning, as well as
passenger confidence and, subsequently, demand. Air traffic volumes
should gradually pick up from 2021; but we do not expect them to
return to 2019 levels until 2024, when the current health and
safety concerns have been addressed and consumer confidence
rebounds."

S&P Global Ratings-adjusted EBITDA will be negative in the
financial year ending March 31, 2021 (FY2021), and we expect it to
remain subdued in FY2022.  This will likely result in very high
leverage and negative free operating cash flows (FOCF). Demand has
been hard hit in FY2021 and will likely grow only modestly in
FY2022. S&P said, "In FY2022, our adjusted EBITDA is likely to
remain muted leading to very high adjusted leverage before falling
to below 10x in FY2023. Positive working capital inflow from
gradually growing bookings might help offset some of the pressure
on FOCF, but we expect that FOCF will likely remain negative until
at least FY2022. In our view, this will weigh on the group's
capital structure in the medium term, making it reliant on
favorable macroeconomic and business conditions to meet its
financial commitments."

Although liquidity is likely to remain adequate for at least the
next 12 months, external factors could cause a rapid deterioration.
S&P said, "In our view, eDreams has ample availability under its
revolving credit facilities (RCFs) to cover its operating costs,
capital expenditure (capex), and interest payments for the next 12
months, assuming operating performance recovers in line with our
base case. As of Oct. 31, 2020, of the EUR175 million RCF, EUR113
million remained available. We expect booking volumes to be subdued
during the third quarter of 2020 because of the second round of
lockdowns. A gradual pickup near Christmas and New Year could bring
a gradual inflow of working capital, which would ease the strain on
liquidity."

S&P said, "However, our base case assumes a slower recovery in
global air traffic from 2021.   If air traffic is 40%-60% lower
than 2019, the company could see further cash burn (excluding
working capital) of around EUR60 million for the next 12 months. In
such a scenario, we expect that eDreams would need to extend the
waiver on its RCF covenant to maintain full access to the RCF, and
thus adequate liquidity." The covenants on the RCF are only tested
when the RCF is 30% drawn.

S&P Global Ratings believes there remains a high degree of
uncertainty about the evolution of the coronavirus pandemic.  

Reports that at least one experimental vaccine is highly effective
and might gain initial approval by the end of the year are
promising, but this is merely the first step toward a return to
social and economic normality; equally critical is the widespread
availability of effective immunization, which could come by the
middle of next year. S&P said, "We use this assumption in assessing
the economic and credit implications associated with the pandemic.
As the situation evolves, we will update our assumptions and
estimates accordingly."

Environmental, social, and governance (ESG) credit factors for this
credit rating change:

-- Health and safety.

The negative outlook reflects a one-in-three chance of downside
risks to the rating in the next 12 months if eDreams underperforms
against S&P's base-case forecasts, resulting in increased stress on
the capital structure or its liquidity position. This could occur,
for example, if further lockdown measures restrict mobility or the
recession and consumer environment are worse than expected,
resulting in a slower or muted recovery.

S&P could lower the ratings if it sees an increased risk of default
in the next 12 months. This could occur if:

-- The magnitude and length of disruption caused by the pandemic
exceeds S&P's current base case, increasing the likelihood of
specific default events in the next 12 months, such as a debt
restructuring or a debt purchase below par value.

-- If liquidity remained stressed at the end of FY2021 and eDreams
failed to extend the waiver on its RCF covenant, reducing the
availability of the RCF and triggering a potential shortfall in
liquidity.

In S&P's view, ratings upside could build if:

-- eDreams' activity started normalizing faster than expected on
the back of an improving macroeconomic and operating environment,
which would make business performance more predictable and prompt a
recovery in demand and consumer confidence;

-- There was no risk of default events occurring, such as a
purchase of the group's debt below par, a debt restructuring, or an
interest forbearance.

-- The capital structure proved sustainable in the longer term,
with leverage more likely to return to 2019 levels and positive
FOCF.




===========
T U R K E Y
===========

SEKERBANK TAS: Fitch Affirms B- LT IDR, Outlook Negative
--------------------------------------------------------
Fitch Ratings has affirmed Sekerbank's T.A.S.'s (Sekerbank) 'B-'
Long-Term Issuer Default Ratings (IDRs) and 'b-' Viability Rating
(VR), respectively, and removed the ratings from Rating Watch
Negative (RWN). The Outlooks on the LT IDRs are Negative.

The removal of RWN follows the successful completion of the bank's
TRY702 million rights issue in November 2020. The bank has
registered and publicly disclosed a 60% increase in its paid-in
capital, reflecting the near 100% participation rate of its
shareholders in the rights issue. Final regulatory approvals are
expected shortly, while the impact of the capital increase will be
reflected in the bank's year-end results.

Fitch placed Sekerbank's ratings on RWN in June 2020 due to its
weakened capital position amid the coronavirus fallout and
uncertainty surrounding the sufficiency and timeliness of core
capital- strengthening measures. Sekerbank breached its 8.57%
minimum Tier 1 requirement at end-1Q20, notwithstanding support
from regulatory forbearance.

The capital injection in Sekerbank will provide a 183bp uplift to
its consolidated Tier-1 capital ratio, restoring compliance with
its minimum requirement and strengthening its capital buffers. The
Tier 1 ratio has risen to 10.35% (including forbearance) as a
result of the capital increase, reflecting adequate headroom above
the bank's regulatory Tier 1 minimum. This underpins the
affirmation of Sekerbank's ratings at the 'B-' level and reflects
its view that immediate risks to the bank's capital position have
abated.

Nevertheless, risks remain to the downside, as reflected in the
Negative Outlook on the bank's IDRs, reflecting still heightened
risks to asset quality, capitalisation and profitability in the
challenging Turkish operating environment.

KEY RATING DRIVERS

IDRS, VR

The IDRs of Sekerbank are driven by its standalone
creditworthiness, as reflected in its VR. This reflects the bank's
weak capitalisation, heightened asset-quality risks, weak internal
capital generation and the concentration of operations in the
volatile Turkish operating environment.

Sekerbank has a limited franchise in Turkey (end-9M20: around 0.6%
of sector assets). However, it has a meaningful regional presence
in Anatolia, supported by a large network and its long history.
This underpins the bank's SME franchise (a segment in which
Sekerbank competes with the largest banks in Turkey), agro-lending
operations and granular deposit base.

Risks to the bank's standalone credit profile were already
significant prior to the pandemic and have been heightened by the
coronavirus outbreak, weak macro outlook and financial-market
volatility. The lira has depreciated 24% since end-2019. Fitch
forecasts Turkey's GDP will contract 3.2% in 2020 followed by a
sharp recovery (5%) in 2021. A sharper-than-expected weakening in
economic growth and an ensuing weaker recovery in 2021 could add to
existing pressures on the bank's standalone creditworthiness.

Sekerbank's asset-quality metrics have significantly underperformed
the sector average in recent years. This reflects the bank's focus
on the high-risk SME segment (end-9M20: 52% of loans, including
micro-SMEs) - which is highly sensitive to macro-economic
conditions - exposure to the construction sector (16% of loans,
largely to contractors) and agro sector (10%) and weaknesses in
underwriting standards. Material foreign-currency (FC) lending also
heightens credit risks given the lira's depreciation. The bank's
asset-quality metrics have also been affected by loan deleveraging
since 2018.

Loan growth was 3% (FX-adjusted) in 9M20 and the bank's impaired
loans (NPL) ratio improved slightly to 10.8% in 9M20 (end-2019:
13.4% of loans), due to lower NPL inflows - reflecting the
tightening of its underwriting standards as part of transformation
efforts - and better collection performance. Excluding regulatory
forbearance, Sekerbank's NPL ratio was around 80bp higher at
end-9M20. Stage 2 loans were also fairly high at 12.6% of gross
loans, 60% of which were restructured.

NPLs were only 83% covered (consolidated basis) by total loan loss
allowances at end-9M20 (sector: 127%, solo basis) reflecting
Sekerbank's reliance, as an SME-oriented bank, on collateral, which
could be difficult to realise in the challenging Turkish operating
environment.

Sekerbank's core capital ratios compare weakly with those of peers.
Capitalisation is tight given its risk profile, asset-quality
pressures, concentration risk, potential further lira depreciation
(due to the inflation of FC risk-weighted assets) and small size.

Internal capital generation is also weak (9M20: TRY88 million of
net profit), although the bank's operating profit-to-risk-weighted
assets rose to 0.6% (annualised) in 9M20 (2019: -4%). The
improvement was driven by the bank's lower cost of risk and cost of
deposits, as Sekerbank took a more targeted approach to
deposit-pricing under its transformation plan.

Loan impairment charges still absorbed a high 82% of pre-impairment
profit, however, and Fitch expects profitability to remain under
pressure from asset-quality weakness, low growth and, in the short
term at least, from rising funding costs in a higher lira
interest-rate environment.

In November 2020 Sekerbank's shareholders injected TRY702 million
of cash into the bank, as part of the rights issue, while
simultaneously repaying TRY234 million of AT1 capital. This
resulted in a 274bp uplift to the bank's consolidated common equity
tier-1 (CET-1) ratio and 183bp to its consolidated Tier-1 and total
capital adequacy ratios (CAR) (on a net basis), respectively.
Consequently, the bank's Tier 1 and total capital ratios rose to
10.28%, 10.35% and 14.93% (including around 100bp uplift from
regulatory forbearance) based on end-9M20 figures. Nevertheless,
capitalisation remains tight and is a constraint on the VR given
still heightened asset-quality risks, lira weakness and weak
profitability.

Sekerbank is mainly deposit-funded (9M20: 83% of total funding) and
benefits from a stable, although costly, regional deposit base. Its
loans/deposits ratio was a solid 92% at end-9M20 (sector: 108%,
solo basis). The bank has reduced FC wholesale funding (equal to 7%
of funding) as it has deleveraged lending. New FC borrowings are
likely to be limited given its moderate growth appetite and focus
on local-currency lending.

The bank's FC liquidity - comprising largely cash and interbank
balances (including those placed with the Central Bank of Turkey),
maturing FX swaps and government securities - is reasonable,
allowing the bank to cope with a short-lived market closure given
its limited short-term refinancing needs. However, FC deposits
comprised a high 53% of customer deposits at end-9M20 (sector: 54%)
and FC liquidity could come under pressure in case of FC deposit
instability.

NATIONAL RATING

The RWN on the National Long-Term Rating has been removed following
its affirmation at 'BB+(tur)'. The affirmation of the National
Rating reflects its view that the bank's creditworthiness in local
currency relative to that of other Turkish issuers has not
changed.

SUBORDINATED DEBT

Sekerbank's subordinated notes' rating is notched from the VR
anchor rating. The RWN on the Sekerbank's subordinated notes has
been removed following their affirmation at 'CCC'.

SUPPORT RATING AND SUPPORT RATING FLOOR

The '5' Support Rating and 'No Floor' Support Rating Floor reflect
Fitch's view that support from the Turkish authorities cannot be
relied upon, given the bank's small size and limited systemic
importance. In addition, support from Sekerbank's shareholders,
while possible, cannot be relied upon.

RATING SENSITIVITIES

IDRS VR AND NATIONAL RATING

Factors that could, individually or collectively, lead to negative
rating action/downgrade:

The bank's ratings could be downgraded on marked deterioration in
the operating environment that puts further pressure on asset
quality. Ratings could also be downgraded if core capital metrics
weaken below their respective minimum regulatory requirements in
the absence of remedial actions.

A downgrade could also result from a further sharp weakening in
profitability that erodes capital ratios, or a weakening in FC
liquidity, due to deposit outflows or an inability to refinance
maturing external obligations.

Sekerbank's National Ratings are sensitive to a change in the
entity's creditworthiness relative to other rated Turkish issuers.
A negative rating action on the Long-Term Local-Currency IDR could
lead to a negative rating action on the National Rating.

Factors that could, individually or collectively, lead to positive
rating action/upgrade:

The Outlook on the bank's IDRs could be revised to Stable if
economic conditions stabilise, supporting the bank's asset quality,
earnings and capital.

A material strengthening of core capital could lead to an Outlook
revision to Stable, as long as asset- quality risks are contained.

The National Rating is sensitive to changes in the bank's Long-Term
Local-Currency IDR and also in relative creditworthiness of
Sekerbank to other Turkish issuers. A positive rating action on the
Long-Term Local-Currency IDR could lead to a positive rating action
on the National Rating.

An upgrade of the bank's ratings is unlikely in the near-term given
the Negative Outlook.

SUBORDINATED DEBT RATING

The subordinated debt rating is primarily sensitive to a change in
Sekerbank's VR anchor rating. Therefore, a downgrade of Sekerbank's
VR would lead to a downgrade of the subordinated debt rating. The
debt rating could also be downgraded should Fitch adversely change
its assessment of non-performance risk.

SUPPORT RATING AND SUPPORT RATING FLOOR

The Support Rating and Support Rating Floor are sensitive to
changes in Fitch's view on the likelihood of Sekerbank receiving
extraordinary support from the Turkish authorities, in case of
need. A positive reassessment of these ratings, although not
impossible, is unlikely given Sekerbank's limited systemic
importance and the limited ability of the sovereign to provide
support in FC.

REFERENCES FOR SUBSTANTIALLY MATERIAL SOURCE CITED AS KEY DRIVER OF
RATING

The principal sources of information used in the analysis are
described in the Applicable Criteria.

ESG CONSIDERATIONS

Unless otherwise disclosed in this section, the highest level of
ESG credit relevance is a score of 3. This means ESG issues are
credit-neutral or have only a minimal credit impact on the entity,
either due to their nature or to the way in which they are being
managed by the entity.



===========================
U N I T E D   K I N G D O M
===========================

ARCADIA GROUP: Frasers Group Mulls Acquisition of Certain Brands
----------------------------------------------------------------
BBC News reports that Mike Ashley's Frasers Group has confirmed it
is considering buying Arcadia brands such as Topshop.

"We do tend to look at almost everything on the High Street,"
Frasers' chief financial officer Chris Wootton told the BBC's Today
program.

He also said Frasers Group was still in discussions around
potentially buying Debenhams, BBC notes.

The Sports Direct owner has reported a rise in profits, despite a
fall in sales, BBC discloses.

According to BBC, the company said this was partly due to business
rates relief, particularly for its House of Fraser stores.

The once-mighty Arcadia retail empire, which also includes Burton
and Dorothy Perkins, entered administration on Nov. 30, putting
13,000 jobs at risk, BBC recounts.

Mr. Wootton, as cited by BBC, said it was still the case that
Frasers Group is interested in Arcadia brands "but the process has
only just started so there's a long way to go as to ascertain what
-- if anything -- we look at with that".

Last week, Debenhams said that its 124 stores would close - and
12,000 workers would lose their jobs - unless a last-ditch buyer
could be found, BBC relays.

Both Debenhams and Arcadia's brands had been struggling before the
pandemic, but were hit hard by the loss in sales caused by
lockdowns, BBC notes.


ARGUS MEDIA: S&P Alters Outlook to Negative, Affirms 'B+' ICR
-------------------------------------------------------------
S&P Global Ratings revised its outlook on Fleet Topco Ltd., Argus
Media's parent company, to negative from stable. At the same time,
S&P affirmed its 'B+' issuer credit rating on the group and its
'B+' issue rating on its senior secured debt.

The negative outlook indicates that Argus has little headroom to
absorb any further deterioration in its operating performance, and
that it could lower the ratings if adjusted debt to EBITDA exceeds
5.0x on a sustainable basis.

The weaker global macroeconomic environment and commodity markets
will likely lead to weaker growth prospects for Argus in short
term.   S&P forecasts the group's revenue growth will be 1%-3% in
FY2021, down from its historical average of about 10%-15%. A sharp
decline in O&G prices and in the profitability of Argus' clients in
the commodity trading market harmed the group's operating
performance in 2020. Argus' growth rate in the O&G sector--a key
end market--declined from the group's historical average, which
weakened subscription revenue. Furthermore, social distancing
measures and travel restrictions severely harmed Argus'
nonrecurring business, especially the conferencing segment, with
nonrecurring revenue down by about 29% in the first quarter of
FY2021. That said, the decline in nonrecurring revenue does not
materially affect the group's total revenue given that it only
accounts for about 6% of it.

S&P said, "The financial policy of Argus' private equity owners is
more aggressive than we anticipated when we first assigned the
ratings in 2019.  We previously expected the group would
progressively reduce adjusted leverage to below 4.0x by FY2022 and
pay no cash interest on the shareholder instruments. However, in
FY2020, the group paid cash interest on shareholder loan
instruments, despite pressures on operating performance, and we
expect it will continue to do so in FY2021-FY2022. This, coupled
with weaker earning growth, will lead to adjusted leverage
remaining close to 5x in 2020, higher than our previous forecast of
4.0x-4.5x. We now expect slower leverage reduction over the medium
term. Furthermore, our previous assessment took into account that
General Atlantic (GA) was a relatively nonaggressive sponsor. In
January 2020, GA sold its 24% stake to private equity firm HG
Capital, and the two sponsors combined now own about 48.2% of
economic rights and 54% voting rights. In our view, HG Capital has
a track record of a more aggressive approach in its financial
policy and higher tolerance for leverage." However, given that 45%
voting rights are still with Argus' chairman, Mr. Adrian Binks, key
financial policy decisions require his approval before being
implemented.

Adjusted leverage will stay at about 5x in FY2021 but there is
uncertainty regarding further leverage reduction due to the
challenging economic environment.   S&P said, "Specifically, we
expect adjusted debt to EBITDA to be below 5.5x as of September
2020 and marginally below 5.0x at the end of FY2021. We forecast
the group's adjusted EBITDA to increase by about 5%-8% in FY2021,
with an adjusted EBITDA margin improving to 36%-37%, reflecting a
focus on cost control. The group demonstrated this in 2020 when it
reduced salaries to temporarily reduce fixed costs, variable
costs--such as travel, marketing, and sales--and other costs in
response to the pandemic. Furthermore, our base case assumes that
the group will pay down on its GBP50 million revolving credit
facility (RCF), which should help bring down the adjusted debt,
which is the gross debt including leases and excluding shareholder
instruments. However, there is a degree of uncertainty because we
base our assumptions on macroeconomic factors such as the
progression of the pandemic and the economic recovery of the
group's key end markets."

S&P said, "Our view of Argus's robust business model and relatively
stable and predictable free cash flows supports the rating.   Argus
has an approximate 16% market share, behind the incumbent number
one, S&P Global Platts, which has an approximate 52% market share.
Argus is approximately twice the size of the next largest
competitor and it had exhibited one of the fastest growth rates in
the industry prior to 2020. Key smaller competitors with which
Argus competes include OPIS, a division of IHS Markit, and ICIS, a
division of RELX PLC. The nature of the group's products result in
a typically sticky customer base and reasonable earnings
visibility. In FY2020, Argus had an approximate 95% retention rate
for existing customers. Some factors that contribute to customer
churn include customer mergers and customers exiting the industry.
In FY2020, Argus lost no net customers from its current top 150
customer relationships. Of the group's top 25 customers, 95% have
been customers for more than 20 years. Furthermore, the players in
the market are not competing over prices because the cost of Price
Reporting Agency (PRA) products is not a primary determinant of
their usage, with the average cost often a very small fraction of
an overall commodity physical trade or shipment. We understand the
key to usage depends more on customer relationships, first mover
advantage, and proliferation of the product in a network,
particularly in the case of participants using and referencing an
index or benchmark, and participants' satisfaction with the
methodology and quality of pricing assessments." Finally, Argus'
stable customer base, pricing power, and asset light model helps
the group generate solid and predictable free operating cash flows
(FOCF), with FOCF after leases of above GBP40 million resulting in
FOCF to debt above 10% on a consistent basis.

S&P continues to view the group's shareholder instruments as
equity-like, as per its criteria.   Argus has two shareholder
instruments in its capital structure: Preference shares (various
classes) and loan notes (including payment-in-kind [PIK] notes and
discretionary PIK notes). Argus currently treats both instruments
as debt in its financial accounts. S&P considers the instruments as
equity-like because they:

-- Comprise no contractual payment requirements;
-- Contain a stapling requirement to transfer;
-- Are not held by a third party;
-- Are subordinated to senior credit facilities;
-- Have no security or guarantees; and
-- Cannot trigger an event of default or accelerate in the case of
a default.

The loan notes are 100% held by entities affiliated with GA and HG
Capital, while the primary class of preference shares (B class) are
held by Mr. Binks, with other management holding the remaining
classes. S&P could reassess its treatment of these instruments if
Argus continued to pay cash interest on the instruments when the
operating cash flows did not cover it, amended any of the existing
material terms, or transferred or sold the instruments to third
parties.

S&P said, "The negative outlook reflects our view that Argus has
little headroom under the 'B+' rating to absorb any operating
underperformance in the challenging macroeconomic environment, and
that weaker earnings growth could lead to adjusted leverage of
above 5x for a prolonged period.

"We could lower the rating in the next 12 months if adjusted
leverage remains above 5x or FOCF to debt falls toward 5%. This
could occur if Argus underperforms our base case due to weaker
revenue and earnings growth, deteriorating liquidity, or if the
group adopts a more aggressive financial policy focusing on
shareholder remuneration rather than leverage reduction.

"We could revise the outlook to stable if the group reduced
adjusted leverage below 5x and maintained FOCF to debt above 5% in
line with our base case, while maintaining adequate liquidity and
covenant headroom. An outlook revision to stable would require
financial policy commitment of maintaining adjusted leverage below
5.0x on a sustainable basis."


AVON FINANCE 1: Moody's Upgrades GBP23.3MM Cl. E Notes to Ba1
-------------------------------------------------------------
Moody's Investors Service upgraded the rating of the Class E Notes
issued by Avon Finance No. 1 plc.

GBP23.3M Class E Mortgage-Backed Floating Rate Notes, Upgraded to
Ba1 (sf); previously on Aug 4, 2020 Assigned Ba2 (sf)

RATINGS RATIONALE

The upgrade is prompted by the correction of an input error in the
cash flow model related to the Principal deficiency ledger
mechanism so the Principal Residual Certificates were not captured
properly. During the original assignment of the ratings the
omission of the Principal deficiency ledger mechanism for the
Principal Residual Certificates, meant the modelled waterfall did
not fully reflect all transaction features.

PRINCIPAL METHODOLOGY

The principal methodology used in this rating was "Moody's Approach
to Rating RMBS Using the MILAN Framework" published in May 2020.

The analysis undertaken by Moody's at the initial assignment of
ratings for RMBS securities may focus on aspects that become less
relevant or typically remain unchanged during the surveillance
stage.

Factors that would lead to an upgrade or downgrade of the rating:

Factors or circumstances that could lead to an upgrade of the
rating include: (1) performance of the underlying collateral that
is better than Moody's expected; (2) an increase in available
credit enhancement; (3) improvements in the credit quality of the
transaction counterparties; and (4) a decrease in sovereign risk.

Factors or circumstances that could lead to a downgrade of the
rating include: (1) an increase in sovereign risk; (2) performance
of the underlying collateral that is worse than Moody's expected;
(3) deterioration in the notes' available credit enhancement; and
(4) deterioration in the credit quality of the transaction
counterparties.

CONTOURGLOBAL PLC: Fitch Affirms BB- LT IDR, Outlook Stable
-----------------------------------------------------------
Fitch Ratings has affirmed ContourGlobal Plc's (CGPLC) Long-Term
Issuer Default Rating (IDR) at 'BB-' with a Stable Outlook
following the announcement of an acquisition of a portfolio of
gas-fired and combined heat and power assets in the US and Trinidad
and Tobago for USD837 million. In its view the acquisition
strengthens CGPLC's business profile but also increases leverage
and eliminates rating headroom.

Fitch has also assigned ContourGlobal Power Holdings S.A.'s (CGPH)
proposed euro senior secured notes an expected rating of 'BB(EXP)'.
CGPLC is expected to use the proceeds to refinance its EUR450
million notes due 2023, and to partially finance the acquisition.
CGPH is a financing subsidiary of CGPLC and the ratings of its debt
obligations benefit from a guarantee from CGPLC. The final bond
rating is contingent upon the receipt by Fitch of final documents
conforming to information already received.

Fitch has also affirmed CGPH's senior secured notes at 'BB' and
affirmed the company's super senior revolver at 'BB+'.

KEY RATING DRIVERS

Acquisition Enhances Business Profile: The acquisition of a
portfolio of generation assets of 1.5 gigawatt, mainly gas-fired
power plants in the US, from Western Generation Partners, LLC (WGP)
is a sizeable addition to CGPLC's existing portfolio increasing the
company's installed capacity by almost 30%. The acquisition also
increases CGPLC's diversification by geography, with an entry into
the US market, and by technology, adding low-carbon assets.

Contracted Cash Flows: The assets have long-term contracted cash
flows with an average remaining term of nine years (compared with
about 10 years for CGPLC's existing portfolio), resulting in
limited exposure to production volumes and power prices. The assets
have also a higher average counterparty rating (BBB+) than CGPLC's
existing portfolio (BBB-).

Leverage Temporarily Above Sensitivity: Fitch forecasts that after
the acquisition CGPLC will have holdco-only funds from operations
(FFO) leverage above its negative rating sensitivity of 4.5x in
2021. Leverage should return to within the rating sensitivity in
2022-2023, albeit with limited rating headroom. Failure to reduce
leverage post-acquisition may lead to a negative rating action.
Ability and flexibility to reduce leverage in next 18-24 months is
supported by CGPLC's record of integrating assets acquired in the
past five years, expected growth in cash flows to holdco and the
group's financial policy of maintaining a financial profile
consistent with current ratings.

Acquisition Financing: The purchase price of USD627 million
(excluding about USD210 million of existing project debt) will be
financed through holdco's existing cash and an acquisition
financing facility of up to USD460 million, which will be
refinanced by parent company and/or project-finance debt. The
acquisition is expected to complete in 1Q21, subject to certain
closing conditions.

Expanding, More Diversified Asset Base: The Stable Outlook reflects
predictable cash flows of CGPLC's portfolio of generation assets,
supported by long-term contracts, regulated capacity or regulated
cost of service payments and with limited exposure to changes in
electricity demand. These strengths have been highlighted by the
company's reasonably stable performance during the pandemic as
activities have only been mildly affected.

Deconsolidated Approach: Fitch rates CGPLC using a deconsolidated
approach. The main credit metric is holdco-only FFO leverage, which
Fitch calculates as recourse debt (excluding project-finance debt
at subsidiaries) divided by holdco-only FFO before interest paid
(dividends from subsidiaries - excluding one-off transactions, such
as the VAT refund in Mexican assets, and proceeds from sell-downs
of minority stakes in projects - less holdco operating expenses and
taxes).

Long-Term Re-contracting Risks: Two large power-purchase agreements
(PPAs) will expire over its five-year rating horizon. This includes
Maritsa's PPA in Bulgaria (representing 13% of pro-forma for
acquisitions' proportionately adjusted EBITDA for 2019) expiring in
2024 and Arrubal's PPA in Spain (9% of EBITDA) in 2021. Fitch
conservatively assumes substantially lower EBITDA from these two
projects after the expiration of the existing PPAs, particularly
for Arrubal given the Spanish plant's weaker market position and
transformation of the Spanish electricity market.

No Impact from Parent Linkage: CGPLC is 71%-owned by ContourGlobal
L.P., whose ultimate parent is Reservoir Capital Group, a privately
held investment firm with an opportunistic hybrid investment
approach. Fitch assesses the legal and operational links between
CGPLC and Reservoir as weak based on its Parent and Subsidiary
Rating Linkage Criteria due to factors including the absence of
guarantees, financial covenants at CGPLC level and a separate
treasury. Fitch therefore rates CGPLC on a standalone basis.

DERIVATION SUMMARY

Fitch rates CGPLC based on a deconsolidated approach as the
company's operating assets are largely financed with non-recourse
project debt. CGPLC is comparable with Terraform Power Operating
LLC (TERPO: BB-/Stable), Nextera Energy Partners, L.P. (NEP,
BB+/Stable) and Atlantica Sustainable Infrastructure Plc
(Atlantica, previously Atlantica Yield plc, BB/Stable) in operating
scale.

Fitch views TERPO's and NEP's US-dominated portfolio of renewable
assets as superior to those of CGPLC, which are roughly equally
split between renewables and thermal generation, and carry
re-contracting risk and political and regulatory risks in emerging
markets. Atlantica's portfolio of assets is also superior to
CGPLC's, in its view, given the focus on renewables, largely solar
(about 68% of power generation capacity), longer remaining
contracted life (18 years vs. 10 years) and better geographic split
(largely North America and Europe). This is partly mitigated by the
larger size of CGPLC's portfolio than Atlantica's.

CGPLC's holdco leverage metric is stronger than that of TERPO but
weaker than Atlantica's.

KEY ASSUMPTIONS

Fitch's Key Assumptions Within Its Rating Case for the Issuer:

  - Acquisition of assets from WGP to close by end-1Q21

  - Additional equity investments of about USD260 million in
2021-2023, largely for new assets (holdco's share in acquisition
funding)

  - Substantially lower EBITDA from the Arrubal gas-fired power
plant in Spain following the expiration of existing PPA in 2021

  - Lower EBITDA of the Maritsa lignite-fired power plant in
Bulgaria following the expiration of existing PPA in 2024

  - Holdco's dividends rising 10% per year in 2020-2022 in line
with management's dividend policy

  - Share buy-back programme for up to GBP30 million in line with
company announcement

RATING SENSITIVITIES

Factors That Could, Individually or Collectively, Lead to Positive
Rating Action/Upgrade

  - Holdco-only FFO leverage below 3.5x on a sustained basis and
FFO interest coverage higher than 5x

  - Materially reduced counterparty concentration risks such that
EBITDA from any single off-taker is consistently less than 15%

Factors That Could, Individually or Collectively, Lead to Negative
Rating Action/Downgrade

  - Holdco-only FFO leverage above 4.5x on a sustained basis and
FFO interest coverage lower than 3x, due to opportunistic recourse
debt financing, for example

  - Major PPAs experiencing unexpected and material price reduction
or termination

  - More than 40% of total revenue becoming uncontracted

  - A change in strategy to invest in more speculative,
non-contracted assets or a material decline in cash flow from
contracted power-generation assets

  - Future projects experiencing material cost overruns and delays,
not being prudently financed or encountering substantial political
interference, causing financial distress at the project level or
parent level so that CGPLC breaches its rating sensitivities on a
sustained basis.

LIQUIDITY AND DEBT STRUCTURE

Sufficient Liquidity: CGPLC has sufficient liquidity at holdco
level with no debt maturities until 2023. Project-finance debt
maturities at operating subsidiaries, comprising the vast majority
of consolidated debt, are evenly balanced due to debt amortisation
with no substantial refinancing risk in 2021.

Holdco level cash was USD188 million at end-June 2020, together
with an undrawn revolving credit facility of EUR75 million expiring
in November 2021.

Fitch rating case assumes successful issue of the proposed bonds
with the proceeds to refinance the EUR450 million notes due 2023,
and to partially fund the acquisition of WGP assets.

REFERENCES FOR SUBSTANTIALLY MATERIAL SOURCE CITED AS KEY DRIVER OF
RATING

The principal sources of information used in the analysis are
described in the Applicable Criteria.

ESG CONSIDERATIONS

Unless otherwise disclosed in this section, the highest level of
ESG credit relevance is a score of '3'. This means ESG issues are
credit-neutral or have only a minimal credit impact on the entity,
either due to their nature or the way in which they are being
managed by the entity.

FUNDINGSECURE: Administrators Recover GBP23.5 Million to Date
-------------------------------------------------------------
Kathryn Gaw at Peer2Peer Finance News reports that the
administrators for collapsed peer-to-peer lending platform
FundingSecure have recovered almost GBP23.5 million to date, amid a
court battle regarding the payment of investor fees to the defunct
lender.

According to Peer2Peer Finance News, this includes total gross loan
realisation of just over GBP11.9 million, which was recovered in
the six months between April and October 2020.  A further three
loans have completed but the funds cannot be released to investors
at present, Peer2Peer Finance News notes.

In a report covering the period between April 23 and October 22,
2020, administrators CG&Co confirmed that the administration
process will last for several more years, Peer2Peer Finance News
relates.

"It is not possible to provide an estimate on timing for dealing
with the remaining assets, in particular the property assets, given
the impact that the Covid-19 pandemic is having on the property
market and the ability of the joint administrators to take certain
actions," Peer2Peer Finance News quotes the report as saying.

At the date of the report, there were 119 remaining defaulted
loans, and no performing loans remaining, Peer2Peer Finance News
notes.  The total capital invested amounted to GBP56,689,498.56,
Peer2Peer Finance News discloses.

CG&Co, as cited by Peer2Peer Finance News, said that GBP606,500 of
the overall loan portfolio has now been written off as bad loans.

This latest administrator report also confirmed that there had been
an expression of interest to purchase the company's bespoke
software, Peer2Peer Finance News relays.  However, the initial
offer was deemed "derisory" and the administrators have concluded
that there will be "no realisation from this source", according to
Peer2Peer Finance News.

The administrators also provided an update on an ongoing fee
dispute which has been brought before the courts, Peer2Peer Finance
News discloses.

"In addition to the asset realisations, there is a matter of
concern by the investors, which relates to the fee that is levied
by [FundingSecure] in accordance with the terms and conditions
between [FundingSecure] and the investors," Peer2Peer Finance News
quotes the administrators as saying.

"In accordance with the agreement, the company is entitled to levy
a five per cent charge of the loan value from the net redemption in
priority to the repayment of investors."

Some investors have claimed that they were not aware that such a
fee existed, while other investors have stated that the company had
on various occasions waived this fee, Peer2Peer Finance News
relates.

The next court hearing has been scheduled for January 19, 2021,
Peer2Peer Finance News discloses.


JAGUAR LAND ROVER: S&P Rates New Senior Unsecured Notes 'B'
-----------------------------------------------------------
S&P Global Ratings said it assigned its 'B' issue rating and '3'
recovery rating to the proposed benchmark sized senior unsecured
notes to be issued by Jaguar Land Rover Automotive PLC (JLR;
B/Negative/--). S&P expects JLR to use the proceeds of this new
issuance for general corporate purposes, noting that it has GBP300
million senior unsecured notes maturing in January 2021.

As the COVID-19 pandemic exacerbates economic instability,
liquidity has become critical for all companies affected. However,
due to multiple positive actions taken through the fiscal year
ending March 31, 2020 (FY2020) and FY2021 to bolster its liquidity
position, JLR is in a good position to weather short-term
uncertainty. These actions include EUR1 billion of new bonds issued
in November and December 2019, GBP625 million of UK Export Finance
funding signed in October 2019 (of which GBP510.4 million is
currently outstanding with GBP31.25 million amortization due in
December 2020), and a GBP113 million fleet buyback facility agreed
in November 2019 (currently GBP110 million drawn). The company then
repaid a $500 million bond due November 2019 and its $500 million
bond due March 2020 from cash on the balance sheet. In the fiscal
quarter ended June 30, 2020, JLR secured and drew down on a GBP567
million, three-year revolving credit facility (RCF) in China, and
GBP80 million of new additional working capital funding. JLR issued
a benchmark bond of $700 million in October 2020. Management
continues to actively seek further new sources of funding. S&P
views this proposed benchmark issuance as aligning with JLR's
funding strategy for FY2021, as the group's management previously
informed the market.

As of Sept. 30, 2020, JLR had about GBP5 billion of liquidity,
including about GBP3.05 billion of cash and short-term investments
and a GBP1.935 billion undrawn committed RCF, less about GBP300
million that S&P considers restricted. The company then issued a
$700 million bond in October 2020, which further bolstered
liquidity. The group has a very well-spread-out debt maturity
profile, with GBP141 million maturing this year and GBP425 million
maturing in 2021.

S&P Global Ratings acknowledges a high degree of uncertainty about
the evolution of the coronavirus pandemic. The current consensus
among health experts is that COVID-19 will remain a threat until a
vaccine or effective treatment becomes widely available, which
could be around mid-2021. S&P said, "We are using this assumption
in assessing the economic and credit implications associated with
the pandemic. As the situation evolves, we will update our
assumptions and estimates accordingly."

Issue Ratings--Recovery Analysis

Key analytical factors

-- S&P's issue rating on JLR's existing senior unsecured notes and
its proposed benchmark senior unsecured notes is 'B'.

-- The '3' recovery rating reflects its expectation of meaningful
recovery (50%-70%; rounded estimate: 65%) in the event of a
default.

-- Although nominal recovery prospects might exceed 70%, S&P caps
the recovery rating at '3' due to the debt's unsecured nature and
the potential for JLR to increase debt that could rank above the
unsecured notes--for example, the $700 million receivables
securitization facility (S&P considers this facility a priority
liability ranking ahead of the unsecured notes in a default).

-- S&P's default scenario assumes a deterioration in operating
performance amid competitive market conditions, shifting consumer
preferences, and delays in the introduction of new models, among
other factors.

-- S&P thinks this would lead to a steady decline in revenue,
deteriorating profitability, weaker cash flow, and weaker
liquidity.

-- S&P values the company as a going concern, given its notable
market positions and strong brand name.

Simulated default assumptions

-- Year of default: 2022 (first half)

-- Jurisdiction: U.K.

Simplified waterfall

-- Emergence EBITDA: GBP1.37 billion

-- Maintenance capex: 3% of revenue, in line with similar large
auto original equipment manufacturers

    --Cyclical adjustment of 15% (standard for the sector)

-- Multiple: 5.5x

-- Gross recovery value: GBP7.54 billion, after adjusting for
priority pension claims

-- Net recovery value for waterfall after administration expenses
(5%): GBP7.17 billion

-- Prior-ranking liabilities: GBP715 million

-- Recovery value available for secured debt holders: GBP6.45
billion

-- Senior secured claims: None

-- Recovery value available for unsecured debt holders: GBP6.45
billion

-- Unsecured claims: GBP8.37 billion

    --Recovery range: 50%-70% (rounded estimate: 65%; recovery
rating capped at '3')

All debt amounts include six months of prepetition interest. S&P
assumes the RCF will be 85% drawn at default.


JAGUAR LAND: Fitch Gives B(EXP) Rating to New $500MM Unsec. Notes
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Fitch Ratings has assigned Jaguar Land Rover Automotive plc's (JLR;
B/Negative) proposed benchmark USD500 million senior unsecured
notes due 2028 a 'B(EXP)' expected rating. The notes will be
guaranteed by Jaguar Land Rover Limited and Jaguar Land Rover
Holdings Limited and will be used for general corporate purposes.

The assignment of the final rating is contingent on the receipt of
final documents materially conforming to the information already
reviewed.

JLR's Standalone Credit Profile (SCP) of 'b' reflects Fitch's view
that the recovery in demand in JLR's end-markets due to the
Covid-19 pandemic remains uncertain.

Production risks relating to Covid-19 have substantially reduced
and free cash flow (FCF) in 1HFY21 (April to September) was better
than Fitch had expected at a negative GBP1.2 billion. However, the
Negative Outlook reflects the uncertainty regarding positive cash
flow generation in 2HFY21, particularly as the company still faces
tightening emission regulations, the potential for supply-chain
disruption from Brexit as well as WTO-related tariffs being imposed
on exports.

The rating also reflects Fitch's assessment of the moderate linkage
between JLR and its 100% parent Tata Motors Limited (TML) and its
assessment that TML's credit profile is weaker than JLR's.

KEY RATING DRIVERS

Substantially Reduced Volumes: Fitch expects JLR's volumes and
revenue to fall 16% in FY21 (financial year ending March) as the
company's key markets have been substantially affected by
lockdowns. Annual retail volumes in FY20 fell 12% to just under
510,000. Retail volumes in 1HFY21 were down 27% year on year,
reflecting factory and dealership closures and limited deliveries
during lockdown. Fitch believes global auto sales will fall around
20% in 2020 as a result of the pandemic.

Improved FCF: JLR's cumulative FCF in 1HFY21 was better than
Fitch's expectations at a negative GBP1.2 billion, compared with
Fitch's previous forecast of a negative GBP2 billion, driven by the
substantial reduction in operating costs, tighter inventory control
and lower investment spending. JLR's working capital profile
improved substantially in 2QFY21 with a working capital inflow of
GBP740 million. This followed a GBP1.1 billion outflow in 1QFY21.
Fitch expects FCF to remain negative in FY21 and FY22 but to
gradually improve towards break-even in FY23, supported by stronger
underlying funds from operations (FFO) in FY22 and FY23 and further
release in working capital.

Operating Costs Limited: JLR took immediate actions to reduce its
exposure to coronavirus, including suspending production at its
factories and furloughing staff with the support of the UK
government. Fitch believes government-support measures such as the
furlough scheme have reduced both operating costs and cash outflow.
Fitch expects JLR to continue its cost-cutting exercise to support
unit margins and to limit dealer stocks to contain working
capital.

Capex Rolled Back: Fitch expects JLR's capex programme for FY21 to
be reduced to GBP2.5 billion as non-essential projects are stopped
or delayed. However, Fitch expects new product development to
continue as it believes this is crucial to ensure new models reach
the market according to current timelines. Investment will also
support the development of new facilities relating to electric
propulsion. JLR has now launched plug-in and mild hybrid versions
of most of its SUV and saloon offerings to help the company meet
its fuel emission target. Fitch expects capex to rise to around
GBP3 billion in FY22.

Parent-Subsidiary Linkage: JLR's 'B' IDR reflects its assessment of
TML's credit quality and of moderate linkages between the two
entities. TML has a weaker credit profile than JLR, and apart from
the restricted payment covenants within the UK export finance debt
facility, there are no other major restrictions limiting TML's
ability to extract cash from JLR.



JLR has an ESG Relevance Score of 4 for GHG Emissions & Air
Quality. It faces stringent CO2 emissions targets, particularly in
Europe. This is expected to remain a challenge for JLR as its
product portfolio is weighted towards larger, less fuel-efficient
SUVs. In Europe, JLR has warned that it may miss its CO2 target for
2020 and according to current sales projections estimates that the
potential fine will be around GBP90 million.

JLR is optimistic that it will meet emissions target for 2021 as it
will offer electrified powertrain options on all new models from
2020. However, uncertainties regarding electric vehicle penetration
and a decline in diesel sales in Europe pose a risk to meeting
these emission targets.

DERIVATION SUMMARY

JLR competes in the premium car segment with Daimler AG's Mercedes
(BBB+/Stable), BMW AG and Volkswagen AG (BBB+/Stable), notably VW's
Audi brand. JLR is much smaller than its German peers and has a
more limited product portfolio. This limits JLR's economies of
scale and means that the required capex to launch new models and
meet emission targets represents a greater share of revenue than at
larger peers. JLR's production is also more concentrated than
peers', and despite the opening of the manufacturing facility in
Slovakia, the majority of production is still in the UK.

JLR's weak profitability and cash flow generation will be
negatively impacted by the pandemic, but Fitch expects a reduction
in capex and cost-cutting measures to offset some of this impact.
Fitch forecasts both JLR and Renault S.A. (BB/Negative) to have a
negative EBIT margin in FY21 and 2020, respectively. After an
increase in FFO net leverage to 1.5x in FY21, Fitch forecasts JLR's
FFO net leverage to decline to 1.3x in FY22. This is in line with
higher rated Fiat Chrysler Automobiles N.V. (BBB-/Stable) for which
Fitch forecasts FFO net leverage to increase to 1.6x in 2020 before
falling to 1.1x in 2021.

KEY ASSUMPTIONS

Fitch's Key Assumptions Within Its Rating Case for the Issuer

  - Revenue to decline around 16% in FY21, driven by lower sales
volumes, before recovering in FY22 to grow around 10%

  - EBIT margin to turn negative in FY21 before turning slightly
positive in FY22

  - Capex of GBP2.5 billion in FY21, increasing to GBP3 billion in
FY22

  - No dividend payment in FY21 and FY22

Recovery Assumptions

  - Fitch uses a going-concern approach as Fitch believes creditors
are likely to maximise their recoveries by restructuring JLR or
selling it as a going-concern as opposed to liquidation

  - Fitch has applied a going-concern EBITDA of around GBP1.15
billion, which is Fitch's view of a sustainable,
post-reorganisation EBITDA

  - A distressed multiple of 4x is used, which is in line with that
of other auto peers

  - Based on the principal waterfall whereby JLR's GBP110 million
fleet financing facility ranks senior to the company's unsecured
revolving credit facility, unsecured bonds and other unsecured debt
(which are pari passu), and after a 10% deduction for
administrative claims, its analysis generates a ranked recovery of
'RR4' (43%), indicating a rating of 'B' for the company's senior
unsecured debt

RATING SENSITIVITIES

Factors that could, individually or collectively, lead to positive
rating action/upgrade:

  - The Outlook could be revised to Stable if JLR demonstrates
positive cash flow in 2QFY21-4QFY21

  - Positive FCF margin for FY22 and beyond
  
  - Operating margin above 1% on a sustained basis

  - Improvement of TML's credit profile or weakening of the linkage
between JLR and TML

Factors that could, individually or collectively, lead to negative
rating action/downgrade:

  - Shutdown of operations extended as a result of further
government lockdown

  - FCF failing to materialise over the next 12 months

  - Deterioration of TML's credit profile

LIQUIDITY AND DEBT STRUCTURE

Stabilising Liquidity: At end-September 2020, JLR reported around
GBP3 billion of cash and short-term investments and committed
undrawn facilities of GBP1.94 billion maturing in 2022. Short-term
maturities consist of GBP125 million of loan amortisations, a
GBP300 million bond maturing in January 2021, a GBP110 million
fleet buyback facility maturing in December 2020 and GBP81 million
of receivables financing.

Liquidity was supported by positive FCF in 2QFY21 and agreement of
a three-year, RMB5 billion syndicated revolving loan facility
relating to its Chinese operations, which is subject to annual
review. The additional USD500 million proposed notes further
bolster liquidity and follows the issue in October 2020 of a USD700
million bond maturing in 2025 with a 7.75% interest rate.

REFERENCES FOR SUBSTANTIALLY MATERIAL SOURCE CITED AS KEY DRIVER OF
RATING

The principal sources of information used in the analysis are
described in the Applicable Criteria.

PUBLIC RATINGS WITH CREDIT LINKAGE TO OTHER RATINGS

JLR has a moderate linkage to its 100% owner TML

ESG CONSIDERATIONS

JLR: GHG Emissions & Air Quality: '4'

JLR has an ESG Relevance Score of '4' for GHG Emissions & Air
Quality as it is facing stringent C02 emissions regulation,
particularly in Europe, which has a negative impact on the credit
profile, and is relevant to the rating in conjunction with other
factors.

Unless otherwise disclosed in this section, the highest level of
ESG credit relevance is a score of '3'. This means ESG issues are
credit-neutral or have only a minimal credit impact on the entity,
either due to their nature or the way in which they are being
managed by the entity.

TRAVELODGE: Burton Hotel Among Sites to Close Under CVA
-------------------------------------------------------
Helen Kreft at StaffordshireLive reports that hotel customers have
been told that a Burton budget hotel could be shutting after the
national chain which owns it entered into an insolvency agreement.

Travelodge, based at the former Midland Grain Warehouse building,
in Derby Street, Burton, is one of a small number of the chain's
hotels which will close or transfer to other operators,
StaffordshireLive discloses.  The firm retain the bulk of its
hotels, which are set to reopen depending on covid restrictions in
their areas, StaffordshireLive notes.

The majority of Travelodges were temporarily shut from March to
July amid the coronavirus pandemic and, in June, the firm later
proposed a temporary rent reduction with its landlords of up to
GBP144 million, by way of a company voluntary arrangement (CVA)
where it declared insolvency, StaffordshireLive relates.

The reduction in revenues from the closure continues to
significantly affect the short-term performance of the business,
which normally generates approximately 70% of its annual
profitability in the period from April to September,
StaffordshireLive states.

It has now been announced by the firm that it is shaving a "small
number" of its 590 hotels which will either close or transfer to
other hotel operators, StaffordshireLive relays.

It is understood the 68-bed Travelodge at Midland Grain Warehouse
-- known as Travelodge Burton upon Trent Central -- is one of those
which will close, StaffordshireLive says.

The Travelodge has been based in the Midland Grain Warehouse since
2012.


UROPA SECURITIES 2007-01B: Fitch Affirms B Rating on Cl. B2a Debt
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Fitch Ratings has upgraded four tranches of the Uropa RMBS Series,
and affirmed the others.

RATING ACTIONS

Uropa Securities plc Series 2007-01B

Class A3a XS0311807753; LT AAAsf Affirmed previously AAAsf

Class A3b XS0311808561; LT AAAsf Affirmed previously AAAsf

Class A4a XS0311809452; LT AAAsf Affirmed previously AAAsf

Class A4b XS0311809882; LT AAAsf Affirmed previously AAAsf

Class B1a XS0311815855; LT BBsf Affirmed previously BBsf

Class B1b XS0311816150; LT BBsf Affirmed previously BBsf

Class B1b cross currency swap; LT BBsf Affirmed previously BBsf

Class B2a XS0311816408; LT Bsf Affirmed previously Bsf

Class M1a XS0311810385; LT AA+sf Upgrade previously AAsf

Class M1b XS0311811193; LT AA+sf Upgrade previously AAsf

Class M2a XS0311813058; LT A-sf Upgrade previously BBBsf

Uropa Securities Plc Series 2008-1

Class A XS0406658624; LT AAAsf Affirmed previously AAAsf

Class M1 XS0406667534; LT AAAsf Affirmed previously AAAsf

Class M2 XS0406668938; LT AAAsf Upgrade previously AAsf

TRANSACTION SUMMARY

The transactions are securitisations of non-conforming mortgages
purchased by ABN AMRO (Uropa Securities plc Series 2007-01B; U2007)
and Topaz Finance Plc (Uropa Securities Plc Series 2008-1; U2008).

KEY RATING DRIVERS

Coronavirus-related Additional Assumptions

Fitch expects a generalised weakening in borrowers' ability to keep
up with mortgage payments due to the economic impact of the
coronavirus pandemic and the related containment measures. As a
result, Fitch has applied additional coronavirus assumptions to the
mortgage portfolio.

The combined application of revised 'Bsf' representative pool
weighted average foreclosure frequency (WAFF), revised rating
multiples and arrears adjustment resulted in a multiple to the
current FF assumptions of about 1.4x at 'Bsf' and of about 1.1x at
'AAAsf' in each transaction. The additional coronavirus assumptions
are more modest for higher rating levels as the corresponding
rating assumptions are already meant to withstand more severe
shocks.

Increasing Credit Enhancement (CE)

The transactions closed in 2007 (U2007) and 2008 (U2008) and are
well-seasoned. As a result, CE has built up through note
amortisation, and U2007 currently has a fully funded reserve fund.
Despite three months plus arrears for both transactions being
approximately 6.5%, performance has remained stable overall,
contributing to the affirmations and upgrades.

Adequate Liquidity Support

Borrowers on payment holidays represented less than 2% of the
portfolio balances as of the end of October 2020. For this reason,
Fitch has not applied any stress to payment holidays in its
cash-flow analysis and does not view payment holidays as a
liquidity risk in the transactions. Both transactions benefit from
sizeable liquidity support that mitigates payment interruption
risk. U2007 has an undrawn liquidity facility (LF) and U2008 has a
liquidity reserve fund (LRF) of currently 22.9% and 16.8% of the
outstanding notes' balance, respectively. The LF and LRF can no
longer amortise due to irreversible breaches in the cumulative loss
performance triggers.

Pro-Rata Repayment

Since the last review, sequential repayment of the bonds has been
triggered by reserve fund/liquidity drawings for both transactions.
For U2008, Fitch has considered the ongoing accumulation of an
uncleared principal deficiency ledger on the class D notes and the
lack of excess spread available to the structure, due to available
funds being substantially absorbed by the BBR (Bank of England Base
Rate) swap agreement. U2007 returned to pro-rata amortisation in
October 2020 following the replenishment of the reserve fund to its
target. Fitch considered the amortisation triggers in its liability
modelling and concluded that current CE levels and structural
mitigants support the affirmations and upgrades.

Performance Volatility Risk

83% and 91% (U2007/U2008, respectively) of the collateral are loans
advanced on an interest-only basis, a substantial portion of which
are made to owner-occupied borrowers. This high proportion of
interest-only loans may lead to performance volatility as the
repayment date is reached and borrowers are required to redeem the
principal balance. The potential for performance volatility is
increased due to the concentration of loan maturity dates and the
reducing number of assets remaining. To account for this risk Fitch
has floored the performance adjustment factor for the
owner-occupied sub-pool at 100% in its analysis.

RATING SENSITIVITIES

Factors that could, individually or collectively, lead to positive
rating action/upgrade:

Stable to improved asset performance driven by stable delinquencies
and defaults would lead to increasing CE and potentially upgrades.
Fitch tested an additional rating sensitivity scenario by applying
a decrease in the FF of 15% and an increase in the recovery rate
(RR) of 15% and found the ratings of U2007's subordinated notes
could be upgraded by one to two categories.

Factors that could, individually or collectively, lead to negative
rating action/downgrade:

The broader global economy remains under stress due to the
coronavirus pandemic, with surging unemployment and pressure on
businesses stemming from social-distancing guidelines. Recent
government measures related to the pandemic introduced a suspension
on tenant evictions for three months and mortgage payment holidays,
also for up to three months. Fitch acknowledges the uncertainty of
the path of coronavirus-related containment measures and has
therefore considered more severe economic scenarios.

As outlined in "Fitch Ratings Coronavirus Scenarios: Baseline and
Downside Cases", Fitch considers a more severe downside coronavirus
scenario for sensitivity purposes whereby a more severe and
prolonged period of stress is assumed with a halting recovery from
2Q21. Under this scenario, Fitch assumed a 15% increase in WAFF and
a 15% decrease in WARR. The results indicate downgrades of up to
two rating categories for the class B notes in U2007 and no impact
on U2008.

The transactions' performance may be affected by changes in market
conditions and the economic environment. Weakening economic
performance is strongly correlated to increasing levels of
delinquencies and defaults that could reduce CE available to the
notes.

Additionally, unanticipated declines in recoveries could also
result in lower net proceeds, which may make certain note ratings
susceptible to potential negative rating actions depending on the
extent of the decline in recoveries. Fitch conducts sensitivity
analyses by stressing both a transaction's base-case FF and RR
assumptions, and examining the rating implications on all classes
of issued notes.

USE OF THIRD-PARTY DUE DILIGENCE PURSUANT TO SEC RULE 17G -10

Form ABS Due Diligence-15E was not provided to, or reviewed by,
Fitch in relation to this rating action.

DATA ADEQUACY

Fitch has checked the consistency and plausibility of the
information it has received about the performance of the asset
pools and the transactions. There were no findings that affected
the rating analysis. Fitch has not reviewed the results of any
third-party assessment of the asset portfolio information or
conducted a review of origination files as part of its ongoing
monitoring.

Fitch did not undertake a review of the information provided about
the underlying asset pools ahead of the transactions' initial
closing. The subsequent performance of the transactions over the
years is consistent with the agency's expectations given the
operating environment and Fitch is therefore satisfied that the
asset pool information relied upon for its initial rating analysis
was adequately reliable.

Overall and together with the assumptions referred to above,
Fitch's assessment of the information relied upon for the agency's
rating analysis according to its applicable rating methodologies
indicates that it is adequately reliable.

REFERENCES FOR SUBSTANTIALLY MATERIAL SOURCE CITED AS KEY DRIVER OF
RATING

The principal sources of information used in the analysis are
described in the Applicable Criteria.

ESG CONSIDERATIONS

U2007 and U2008 have an ESG Relevance Score of '4' for Human
Rights, Community Relations, Access & Affordability due to pool
with limited affordability checks and self-certified income, which
has a negative impact on the credit profile, and is relevant to the
ratings in conjunction with other factors.

U2007 and U2008 have an ESG Relevance Score of '4' for Customer
Welfare - Fair Messaging, Privacy & Data Security due to a material
concentration of interest only loans, which has a negative impact
on the credit profile, and is relevant to the ratings in
conjunction with other factors.

Unless otherwise disclosed in this section, the highest level of
ESG credit relevance is a score of '3'. This means ESG issues are
credit-neutral or have only a minimal credit impact on the entity,
either due to their nature or the way in which they are being
managed by the entity.



===============
X X X X X X X X
===============

[*] BOOK REVIEW: Mentor X
-------------------------
The Life-Changing Power of Extraordinary Mentors
Author: Stephanie Wickouski
Publisher: Beard Books
Hard cover: 156 pages
ISBN: 978-1-58798-700-7
List Price: $24.75

Order this Book: https://is.gd/EIPwnq

Long-time bankruptcy lawyer Stephanie Wickouski at Bryan Cave
impressively tackles a soft problem of modern professionals in an
era of hard data and scientific intervention in her third published
book entitled Mentor X. In an age where employee productivity is
measured by artificial intelligence and resumes are prescreened by
computers, Stephanie Wickouski adds spirit and humanity to the
professional journey.

The title is disarmingly deceptive and book browsers could be
excused for assuming this work is just another in a long line of
homogeneous efforts on mentorship. Don't be fooled; Mentor X is
practical, articulate and lively. Most refreshingly, the book
acknowledges the most important element of human development: our
intuition.

Mrs. Wickouski starts by describing what a mentor is and
distinguishes that role from a teacher, coach, role model, buddy or
boss. Younger professionals may be skeptical of the need for a
mentor, but Mrs. Wickouski deftly disabuses that notion by relating
how a mentor may do nothing less than change the course of a
protege's life. Newbies to this genre need little convincing
afterwards.

One of the book's worthiest contributions is a definition of mentor
that will surprise most readers. Mentors are not teachers, the
latter of which impart practical knowledge. Instead, according to
Mrs. Wickouski, her mentors "showed me secrets that I could learn
nowhere else. They showed me how doors are opened. They showed me
how to be an agent of change and advance innovative and
controversial ideas." What ambitious professional doesn't want more
of that in their life?

The practicality of the book continues as Mrs. Wickouski outlines
the qualities to look for in a mentor and classifies the various
types of mentors, including bold mentors, charismatic mentors, cold
and distant mentors, dissolute mentors, personally bonded mentors,
younger mentors, and unexpected mentors. Mentor X includes charts
and workbooks which aid the reader in getting the most out of a
mentor relationship. In a later chapter, Mrs. Wickouski provides an
enormously helpful suggestion about adopting a mentor: keep an open
mind. Often, mentors will come in packages that differ from our
expectations. They may be outside of our profession, younger, less
educated, etc . . . but the world works in mysterious ways and Mrs.
Wickouski encourages readers to think about mentors broadly.  In
this modern era of heightened workplace ethics, Mrs. Wickouski
articulates the dark side of mentors. She warns about "dementors"
and "tormentors" -- false mentors providing dubious and sometimes
self-destructive advice, and those who abuse a mentor relationship
to further self-interested, malign ends, respectively. She
describes other mentor dysfunctions, namely boundary-crossing,
rivalry, corruption, and a few others. When a mentor manifests such
behaviors, Mrs. Wickouski counsels it's time to end the
relationship.

Mrs. Wickouski tells readers how to discern when the mentor
relationship is changing and when it is effectively over. Those
changes can be precipitated by romantic boundaries crossed,
emergence of rivalrous sentiment, or encouragement of unethical
behavior or corruption. Mrs. Wickouski aptly notes that once
insidious energies emerge, the mentorship is effectively over. At
this point, certain readers may say to themselves, "Okay, I've got
it. Now I can move on." Or, "My workplace has a formal mentorship
program. I don't need this book anymore." Or even, "Can't modern
technology handle my mentor needs, a Tinder of mentorship, so to
speak?"

Mrs. Wickouski refutes that notion. She analyzes how many mentoring
programs miss the mark. In one of the best passages in the book,
Mrs. Wickouski writes, "Assigning or brokering mentors negates the
most critical components of a true mentor–protege relationship:
the individual process of self-awareness which leads a person to
recognize another individual who will give the advice singularly
needed. That very process is undermined by having a mentor assigned
or by going to a mentoring party." She does not just criticize; she
offers a solution with three valuable tips for choosing the right
mentor and five qualities to ascertain a true mentor in the
unlimited sea of possibilities.

Next, Mrs. Wickouski distinguishes between good advice and bad
advice. She punctuates that discussion with many relevant and
relatable examples that are easy to read and colorfully enjoyable.
This section includes interviews with proteges who have had
successful mentorships. The punchline: in the best mentorships, the
parties harmoniously share personal beliefs and values. Also
important, the protege draws inspiration and motivation from the
mentor. The book winds down as usefully as it started: Mrs.
Wickouski interviews proteges, asking them what they would have
done differently with their mentors if they could turn back the
clock. A common thread seems to be that the proteges would have
gone deeper with their mentors -- they would have asked more
questions, spent more time, delved into their mentors' thinking in
greater depth.

The book wraps up lightly by sharing useful and practical
suggestions for maintenance of the mentor relationship. She answers
questions such as, "Do I invite my mentor to my wedding?" and "Who
pays for lunch?"

Mentor X is an enjoyable read and a useful book for any
professional in any industry at, frankly, any point in time.
Advanced individuals will learn much from the other side, i.e., how
to be more effective mentors. Mrs. Wickouski does a wonderful job
of encouraging use of that all knowing aspect of human existence
which never fails us: proper use of our intuition.

                         About The Author

Stephanie Wickouski is widely regarded as an innovator and
strategic advisor. A nationally recognized lawyer, she has been
named as one of the 12 Outstanding Restructuring Lawyers in the US
by Turnarounds & Workouts and as one of US News' Best Lawyers in
America. She is the author of two other books: Indenture Trustee
Bankruptcy Powers & Duties, an essential guide to the legal role of
the bond trustee, and Bankruptcy Crimes, an authoritative resource
on bankruptcy fraud. She also writes the Corporate Restructuring
blog.


[*] Insolvency, Restructuring Activity Remains Low Across CEE
-------------------------------------------------------------
Mihai Cristea at Business Review reports that insolvency and
restructuring activity remained low across Central and Eastern
Europe (CEE), since the beginning of the pandemic, except Romania,
which has recorded an increase in the number of insolvencies, and
Czech Republic, which saw an increasing trend in restructuring,
according to PwC "Global Restructuring Trends" report.

"To date, both insolvency rates and pressure to restructure have
generally been held in check by government intervention, with
measures such as postponement of tax payments, loan guarantees,
wage subsidies for workers put on furlough.  However, governments
will not provide support indefinitely and as soon as this is
withdrawn, we expect insolvencies to grow.  That's why, in order to
have a higher chance of survival, companies must consider
strategies to reconfigure plans and operations before the
government withdraws its support.  Some companies have already
initiated restructuring plans as early as this last quarter of 2020
and this activity is expected to intensify in the first quarter of
2021," Business Review quotes Dinu Bumbacea, Partner and Advisory
Leader, PwC Romania, as saying.

According to Business Review, the report said insolvencies are
expected to increase in Q4 2020 and into 2021 globally, especially
for those companies that operate in heavily COVID-19-affected
industries that may take much longer to recover, such as leisure,
travel, hospitality, tourism, accommodation, non-food retail.  The
key industries which remain under pressure in the CEE region are
automotive, retail, tourism and hospitality, Business Review
discloses.

In the case of Romania, the number of insolvencies was increasing
in 2020, Business Review relays, citing the data of The National
Trade Register Office.  Thus, the number of insolvent entities rose
from 1,392 in April this year to 4,606 in October, Business Review
notes.  However, the number remains below the value recorded in the
same month of last year, Business Review states.

In the first phases of the novel coronavirus pandemic, businesses
have mainly focused on preserving liquidity by drawing on the
government support structures, as well as cost reduction and
stabilization of supply chains, according to Business Review.  From
now on, companies need to focus also on dealing with the debts
accumulated during lockdown, financial restructuring, consolidation
or divestment of non-core assets, Business Review discloses.



                           *********


S U B S C R I P T I O N   I N F O R M A T I O N

Troubled Company Reporter-Europe is a daily newsletter co-
published by Bankruptcy Creditors' Service, Inc., Fairless Hills,
Pennsylvania, USA, and Beard Group, Inc., Washington, D.C., USA.
Marites O. Claro, Rousel Elaine T. Fernandez, Joy A. Agravante,
Julie Anne L. Toledo, Ivy B. Magdadaro, and Peter A. Chapman,
Editors.

Copyright 2020.  All rights reserved.  ISSN 1529-2754.

This material is copyrighted and any commercial use, resale or
publication in any form (including e-mail forwarding, electronic
re-mailing and photocopying) is strictly prohibited without prior
written permission of the publishers.

Information contained herein is obtained from sources believed to
be reliable, but is not guaranteed.

The TCR Europe subscription rate is US$775 per half-year,
delivered via e-mail.  Additional e-mail subscriptions for
members of the same firm for the term of the initial subscription
or balance thereof are US$25 each.  For subscription information,
contact Peter Chapman at 215-945-7000.


                * * * End of Transmission * * *