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       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

          Wednesday, December 30, 2020, Vol. 21, No. 261

                           Headlines



D E N M A R K

FAERCH MIDCO: S&P Places B- ICR on CreditWatch Positive


F R A N C E

SIACI SAINT: S&P Lowers Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating to CCC+
VERALLIA SA: S&P Upgrades Long-Term ICR to BB+, Outlook Stable


G E O R G I A

SILKNET JSC: Moody's Completes Review, Retains B1 CFR


G E R M A N Y

INFINEON TECHNOLOGIES: Egan-Jones Cuts Sr. Unsec. Ratings to BB+
PLATIN 1425: S&P Cuts Rating to 'B-', Outlook Stable
TELE COLUMBUS: Fitch Puts 'B-' LT IDR on Rating Watch Positive
THYSSENKRUPP AG: Moody's Affirms B1 CFR, Outlook Developing
TRAVIATA BV: S&P Downgrades ICR to B- on Weak Credit Metrics



G R E E C E

PUBLIC POWER: Fitch Assigns First-Time 'BB-' Long-Term IDR


I R E L A N D

BAIN CAPITAL 2020-1: S&P Assigns B- (sf) Rating on Class F Notes
BANNA RMBS: S&P Affirms CCC(sf) Rating on Class E-Dfrd Notes
BRIDGEPOINT CLO 1: S&P Assigns B- (sf) Rating on Class F Notes
CAPITAL FOUR II: S&P Assigns Prelim B- (sf) Rating on Cl. F Notes


I T A L Y

ENGINEERING SPA: S&P Assigns 'B' Long-Term ICR, Outlook Stable
POPOLARE BARI 2017: DBRS Lowers Class B Notes Rating to CCC


K A Z A K H S T A N

ATFBANK JSC: S&P Affirms 'B-/B' ICRs Despite Deposit Outflows
BASEL INSURANCE: S&P Assigns B Long-Term ICR, Outlook Stable


L U X E M B O U R G

CURIUM BIDCO: Fitch Corrects Dec. 18 Ratings Release
LSF11 SKYSCRAPER: S&P Assigns B Long-Term ICR, Outlook Stable
MATTERHORN TELECOM: Moody's Completes Review, Retains B2 CFR
PLT VII FINANCE: Moody's Completes Review, Retains B2 Rating


M O N T E N E G R O

MONTENEGRO AIRLINES: Halts Operations Following Mounting Losses


N E T H E R L A N D S

GLOBAL UNIVERSITY: Moody's Affirms B2 CFR, Alters Outlook to Neg.
MAGOI B.V.: DBRS Confirms B Rating on Class F Notes


R U S S I A

ABSOLUT BANK: Moody's Reviews B2 Bank Deposit Rating for Downgrade
ALFASTRAKHOVANIE: S&P Affirms BB+ IFS Rating, Alters Outlook to Pos
BASHKORTOSTAN: Moody's Completes Review, Retains Ba1 Rating
KHANTY-MANSIYSK AO: Moody's Completes Review, Retains Ba1 Rating
KOMI REPUBLIC: Moody's Completes Review, Retains Ba3 Rating

KRASNODAR CITY: Moody's Completes Review, Retains Ba3 Rating
KRASNOYARSK KRAI: Moody's Completes Review, Retains Ba3 Rating
MOSCOW OBLAST: Moody's Completes Review, Retains Ba1 Rating
NIZHNIY NOVGOROD: Moody's Completes Review, Retains Ba3 Rating
OMSK CITY: Moody's Completes Review, Retains B1 Rating

OMSK OBLAST: Moody's Completes Review, Retains Ba3 Rating
POLYUS PJSC: S&P Ups ICR to 'BB+' on Strong Operating Performance
ST. PETERSBURG: Moody's Completes Review, Retains SUE's Ba1 Rating


S P A I N

IM BCC 2: DBRS Confirms CCC Rating on Class B Notes
IM SABADELL 11: DBRS Upgrades Series B Notes Rating to B (high)


S W E D E N

DOMETIC GROUP: S&P Alters Outlook to Stable, Affirms 'BB-' LT ICR


S W I T Z E R L A N D

SWISSPORT GROUP: S&P Cuts ICR to 'D' Then Withdraws Rating
VAT GROUP: S&P Alters Outlook to Stable, Affirms 'BB' ICR


U N I T E D   K I N G D O M

GKN HOLDINGS: S&P Lowers ICR to BB+ on Weaker Credit Metrics
GONZO'S TEA: Owed Creditors GBP224K at Time of Liquidation
KCA DEUTAG: Moody's Completes Review, Retains Caa2 CFR
MAXWELL'S RESTAURANTS: Goes Into Liquidation, 400 Jobs Affected
MEADOWHALL FINANCE: S&P Lowers Class C1 Notes Rating to 'BB (sf)'

NEWDAY FUNDING 2018-1: DBRS Confirms BB (low) Class E Notes Rating
OPTIMUS WEALTH: Enters Liquidation, Clients Can Now File Claims
TEESSIDE GAS: Goes Into Liquidation After Court Battle Loss
UNIQUE PUB: S&P Keeps 'BB+' Class A Notes Rating on Watch Neg.
[*] DBRS Downgrades 6 Tranches on 5 EUR RMBS Transactions


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D E N M A R K
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FAERCH MIDCO: S&P Places B- ICR on CreditWatch Positive
-------------------------------------------------------
S&P Global Ratings placed its 'B-' long-term issuer credit and
issue ratings on Faerch Midco ApS and Faerch Bidco ApS and the
senior secured facilities on CreditWatch with positive
implications.

S&P's 'B-' issue rating on the senior secured facilities is
unchanged.

Advent International, the owner of Denmark-based plastic packaging
company Faerch Group A/S (Faerch), announced that it has agreed to
sell Faerch to A.P. Moller Holding. Completion is subject to
regulatory approvals and expected in the first quarter of 2021.

Faerch's acquisition by A.P. Moller could improve its credit
metrics.  In December 2020, Advent International announced that it
had agreed to sell Faerch to A.P. Moller for about EUR1.9 billion.
The transaction is subject to regulatory approvals and completion
is expected in the first quarter of 2021. A.P. Moller is a
privately held investment company based in Denmark. Although the
details of the potential transaction have not been disclosed, we
believe that A.P. Moller may pursue a less aggressive financial
strategy than private-equity firm Advent International. A.P.
Moller's financial standing in credit markets could also lead to
lower funding costs for Faerch when it refinances its existing debt
facilities. S&P said, "We understand that a debt refinancing would
be a requirement under the current senior debt agreement. As a
result, we are placing our 'B-' long-term issuer credit ratings on
Faerch Midco ApS and Faerch Bidco ApS on CreditWatch with positive
implications. We are also placing our 'B-' issue rating on the
senior secured facilities on CreditWatch with positive
implications."

S&P said, "In resolving the CreditWatch positive placement, we will
evaluate the transaction's benefits for Faerch's credit profile and
financial policy. We expect to resolve the CreditWatch in the next
90 days, upon completion of the transaction.

"We could raise our long-term issuer credit rating on Faerch if we
believe there to be a material improvement in the company's
financial risk profile after its acquisition by A.P. Moller."




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F R A N C E
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SIACI SAINT: S&P Lowers Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating to CCC+
--------------------------------------------------------------
S&P Global Ratings lowered its long-term issuer credit rating on
French insurance broker Siaci Saint Honore (Siaci) and its issue
rating on its senior secured debt to 'CCC+' from 'B-'. S&P's
recovery rating on this debt remains unchanged at '4' (45%).

The negative outlook reflects S&P's view that Siaci may face a
liquidity shortfall in the coming 12 months without an additional
equity injection or new debt issuance to meet the
acquisition-related debt payments due in 2021.

Siaci Saint Honore (Siaci) has seen higher exceptional costs,
primarily due to its ongoing transformation program ("Olympe"), but
also to the impact of the pandemic. To date, the impact of the
pandemic has been limited to specific parts of certain business
segments, such temporary workers within the health, protection, and
pensions segments and within the student business in North America,
which is part of the international mobility segment. Revenue growth
versus 2019 has remained marginally positive to date, even during
the pandemic. However, the company has incurred higher revenue
shortfalls and one-off costs as a result of the pandemic than our
prior forecast, although the ongoing transformation initiatives are
now winding down. These one-off costs have a negative impact on our
S&P Global Ratings-adjusted EBITDA calculation.

S&P said, "We assess Siaci's liquidity as weak due to our
expectation that its liquidity sources will not cover its liquidity
needs in the coming 12 months. We expect the initiatives that Siaci
has implemented to date to improve its EBITDA margin in the next
two years. However, Siaci's investment needs will continue to weigh
on its ability to generate positive free operating cash flow
(FOCF). As a result, we forecast that the group will generate
negative FOCF in 2020 and 2021, and expect that the company's
own-cash balance will remain negative at year-end 2020, despite the
EUR32.5 million in capital injections it received in the fourth
quarter of 2019 and the third quarter of 2020. These injections
were lower than the EUR65 million we initially expected. We
anticipate that Siaci will have limited liquidity sources to make
the acquisition-related debt payments due in 2021 in cash. Although
we understand that the company might be able to defer some of the
payments to 2022, we would still consider its liquidity as weak in
view of its fully drawn capital expenditure (capex) facility and
negative own-cash balance."

Siaci's adjusted leverage has increased since we initially assigned
the ratings, and we forecast limited deleveraging in the coming
years. S&P siad, "Continued transformation costs, high
digitalization investment needs, and an aggressive acquisition
strategy in the past two years have resulted in very high adjusted
leverage, which we expect will remain above 15x in 2021. Adjusted
leverage includes convertible bonds and preference shares that we
view as debt-like. Excluding these instruments, leverage is still
close to 10x, which we think could become unsustainable if the
company does not deleverage as we anticipate in the coming years."

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."

S&P said, "The negative outlook reflects our view that Siaci may
face a liquidity shortfall in the coming 12 months without an
additional equity injection or new debt issuance to meet the
acquisition-related debt payments due in 2021, even if it succeeds
in negotiating a deferral of these payments with its minority
shareholders.

"We could lower the ratings if Siaci faced a liquidity shortfall
such that it was unable to meet its upcoming acquisition-related
debt commitments, if we considered it likely to consider a
distressed debt buyback or restructuring, or if we expected a
breach of its financial covenant.

"We could revise the outlook to stable if Siaci's operations
outperformed our expectations such that we no longer expected Siaci
to burn cash in 2021, or if the company received additional
liquidity sources such as a capital injection, which would improve
our liquidity assessment. In addition, a revision of the outlook to
stable would mean that we expected the company to deleverage from
the current elevated level."


VERALLIA SA: S&P Upgrades Long-Term ICR to BB+, Outlook Stable
--------------------------------------------------------------
S&P Global Ratings raised its long-term issuer credit rating on
glass packaging producer Verallia S.A. (Verallia) and Verallia
Packaging S.A.S. to 'BB+' from 'BB-'.

S&P said, "The stable outlook reflects our expectation that the
company will continue building a track record of adhering to a
conservative financial policy on a sustained basis. It also
reflects our forecast for modest revenue and EBITDA growth in
2021.

"The upgrade reflects our view that the company will now pursue a
more conservative financial policy."

Apollo recently reduced its ownership stake in Verallia to 36.9%
from 46.9% and now only appoints two of the 12 members on
Verallia's board. S&P thinks Apollo will now have a more limited
influence on the company's financial policy. This, together with
Verallia's public net debt to EBITDA target of 2.0x-3.0x (3.2x-4.2x
on an S&P Global Ratings-adjusted basis) for 2020-2022, leads us to
think Verallia will now pursue a more moderate financial policy.

Verallia's credit metrics also support the upgrade.

S&P expects adjusted debt to EBITDA of about 3.1x-3.3x and FFO to
debt of about 24%-26% over the next 12 months. These credit metrics
are commensurate with both a significant financial risk profile and
the 'BB+' issuer credit rating.

S&P expects Verallia's revenue to decline by 1% in 2020 before
recovering beyond 2019's levels in 2021.

The decline stems from the closure of hotels, restaurants, and
cafes as part of measures to contain the spread of COVID-19. This
has resulted in lower demand for spirits and sparkling and still
wines. Favorable demand for nonalcoholic beverages and food jars
only partly offset the negative impact of social distancing
measures. In 2021, S&P expects a modest recovery in demand in the
alcoholic beverages segment will result in 2% revenue growth.

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

While the early approval of a number of vaccines is a positive
development, countries' approval of vaccines 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 mid-2021. 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."

S&P said, "The stable outlook indicates that we expect the company
to continue building a track record of adhering to a conservative
financial policy on a sustained basis. It also reflects our
expectation of modest revenue and EBITDA growth in 2021.

"We could raise our ratings if the group's financial policy and
track record supported adjusted debt to EBITDA remaining
sustainably below 3.0x."

S&P could lower its rating if:

-- Verallia pursued a more aggressive financial policy, such as
large debt-funded acquisitions or shareholder distributions; or

-- Adjusted net debt to EBITDA exceeded 4.0x on a sustained
basis.




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G E O R G I A
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SILKNET JSC: Moody's Completes Review, Retains B1 CFR
-----------------------------------------------------
Moody's Investors Service has completed a periodic review of the
ratings of Silknet JSC and other ratings that are associated with
the same analytical unit. The review was conducted through a
portfolio review in which Moody's reassessed the appropriateness of
the ratings in the context of the relevant principal methodology,
recent developments, and a comparison of the financial and
operating profile to similarly rated peers. The review did not
involve a rating committee. Since January 1, 2019, Moody's practice
has been to issue a press release following each periodic review to
announce its completion.

This publication does not announce a credit rating action and is
not an indication of whether or not a credit rating action is
likely in the near future. Credit ratings and outlook/review status
cannot be changed in a portfolio review and hence are not impacted
by this announcement.

KEY RATING CONSIDERATIONS

Silknet JSC's B1 corporate family rating primarily reflects the
company's strong position as a leading convergent operator in
Georgia's telecommunications market, its reasonably well invested
network, its high EBITDA margin, and improving cash flow generation
capacity.

However, the rating is mainly constrained by Silknet's small size
which also reflects the relatively small size of Georgia's market,
the strong competition from the local mobile market leader MagtiCom
LLC, the company's elevated leverage following the acquisition of
the second-largest local mobile operator Geocell LLC, and the
company's significant foreign-currency exposure, given a currency
mismatch between its predominantly dollar-denominated debt and
revenue.

The principal methodology used for this review was
Telecommunications Service Providers published in January 2017.



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G E R M A N Y
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INFINEON TECHNOLOGIES: Egan-Jones Cuts Sr. Unsec. Ratings to BB+
----------------------------------------------------------------
Egan-Jones Ratings Company, on December 14, 2020, downgraded the
foreign currency and local currency senior unsecured ratings on
debt issued by Infineon Technologies AG to BB+ from BBB-.

Headquartered Neubiberg, Germany, Infineon Technologies AG designs,
manufactures, and markets semiconductors.


PLATIN 1425: S&P Cuts Rating to 'B-', Outlook Stable
----------------------------------------------------
S&P Global Ratings lowered its ratings on Platin 1425 GmbH and its
debt to 'B-' from 'B'. The recovery rating remains unchanged at
'4', with a rounded estimate of 30% recovery in the event of
default.

The stable outlook reflects S&P's view that Platin will generate
positive free operating cash flow and its ratio of funds from
operations (FFO) to cash interest will be more than 1.5x, alongside
its expectation of the stabilization of its end markets, sound
order intake and backlog, and high share of aftermarket
contribution

The issuance of senior secured notes to fund the Baker Perkins
acquisition and a deferred purchase price payment will increase
debt beyond the thresholds of the previous rating on Platin.

In order to fund the EUR35 million acquisition (cash and debt
free), including related fees and expenses, and the deferred
purchase price payment of EUR40 million to the previous owners,
Platin is issuing EUR75 million of senior secured notes, ranking
pari passu with its existing EUR550 million senior secured notes.
The notes will be privately placed over the coming days. This will
elevate the group's debt, as adjusted by S&P Global Ratings, to
EUR680 million. The increased debt translates into a pro forma
adjusted debt-to-EBITDA ratio above 9.5x in 2020, then about 7.5x
in 2021. Funds from operations (FFO) cash interest coverage will be
between 1.5x and 2.0x. S&P expects that, over the next 12-18
months, the group will fund only smaller bolt-on acquisitions, if
any, with cash on the balance sheet. In addition, its understand
that there is no further deferred purchase price payment payable.

Platin reported solid operating performance during the first half
of 2020.   Thanks to the high share of aftermarket sales (more than
50%) and decent order backlog of about EUR300 million as of
end-June, similar to one year earlier, Platin's operating
performance will likely remain resilient over the coming 12-18
months, also supported by the expected recovery of the global
economy. S&P said, "For 2020, we expect revenue to decline by about
5% to about EUR600 million, from EUR632 million in 2019. We
anticipate an acceleration of revenue growth in 2021 due to a
strong sales pipeline and recovery in its end markets, with revenue
increasing by about 17% to roughly EUR750 million."

Profitability will be somewhat muted.  Platin will see lower
revenue in 2020 and an increase in capitalized IT costs. S&P said,
"We also expect ongoing restructuring charges of EUR12
million-EUR18 million annually to streamline its production
footprint in Europe and to integrate Baker Perkins' operations. We
forecast the EBITDA margin will decline to 10.5%-11.0% in 2020 from
13.0% in 2019, then rise to about 12% in 2021, primarily driven by
higher volumes and better mix effects."

Free operating cash flow (FOCF) will likely be neutral in 2020 and
return to positive in 2021.   With the tap issuance, interest
expenses will increase, but rising EBITDA and working capital
inflow will propel positive FOCF in 2021. S&P also expects FFO cash
interest coverage of about 1.9x next year. These are key elements
that support the current rating.

S&P said, "The stable outlook reflects our expectation that Platin
will generate positive FOCF despite the challenging macroeconomic
environment. We expect that, thanks to the stabilizing of its end
markets, resilient order intake and backlog, and a high share of
aftermarket contribution, the group will generate FFO cash interest
coverage of more than 1.5x and leverage will decline to about 7.5x
in 2021.

"We could lower the rating if Platin fails to generate at least
neutral FOCF over the next 12-18 months or if FFO cash interest
coverage ratio falls below 1.5x. This could occur because of
higher-than-expected restructuring charges, including integration
costs, or if its end markets don't recover and operational
performance doesn't return to growth as anticipated, making its
capital structure unsustainable. We could also lower the rating if
higher-than-expected cash outflow, for example related to
additional restructuring measures, or deteriorating operating and
financial performance raised liquidity concerns.

"In our view, prospects for an upgrade over the next 12 months are
limited because of the increase in debt to EBITDA to above 9.5x in
2020 and about 7.5x in 2021. We could consider raising the rating
if Platin's profitability and credit metrics materially
strengthened and there was a clear trend toward reducing debt to
EBITDA to 6.5x sustainably while maintaining positive FOCF and FFO
cash interest coverage of about 2.5x. An upgrade would also hinge
on a more conservative financial policy that supports a sustainable
improvement in the aforementioned metrics."


TELE COLUMBUS: Fitch Puts 'B-' LT IDR on Rating Watch Positive
--------------------------------------------------------------
Fitch Ratings has placed Tele Columbus AG (TC) Long-Term Issuer
Default Rating (IDR) of 'B-' and senior secured debt rating of 'B'
on Rating Watch Positive (RWP) following a public takeover offer by
UNA 422. Equity Management GmbH (BidCo) backed by Morgan Stanley
Infrastructure Partners.

Fitch expects TC's funds from operations (FFO) gross leverage to
fall below the upgrade threshold of 6.0x in 2021 following the
completion of the takeover offer and a subsequent partial debt
repayment with the proceeds from a capital increase of EUR475
million via a rights issue. The company guides for more than 1x of
leverage reduction but the exact amount of debt repayment is yet to
be announced. The remaining proceeds will be spent on capex.

The capital increase is subject to the successful takeover offer, a
receipt of waiver from the existing creditors on the
change-of-control clause and regulatory approval. Fitch will
resolve the RWP following a successful takeover and right issue in
line with the terms announced.

KEY RATING DRIVERS

One Notch Upgrade Likely: Fitch estimates that the repayment of
more than EUR260 million of the existing debt with the rights issue
proceeds would lead to FFO gross leverage declining below Fitch’s
upgrade threshold of 6.0x in 2021, from an estimated 7.1x at
end-2020. Some pressure on EBITDA margin is likely in 2021 due to
ramp-up of costs associated with TC's new fibre strategy, but
profitability should start improving from 2022 once these costs
have been incurred. Partial capex funding with equity should be
supportive for the leverage profile in 2021-2022.

Two-notch Upgrade Possible for Secured Debt: The current senior
secured debt rating of 'B'/'RR3'/65% should benefit not only from a
potential IDR upgrade once leverage has been reduced but also from
improved recovery prospects as a result of the total debt
reduction. Fitch does not expect to change Fitch’s Recovery
Rating assumptions hence the reduction of debt will likely lead to
a higher recovery percentage and implies a two-notch uplift to the
secured debt from the IDR to 'RR2' versus the current one-notch
uplift to 'RR3'.

Fibre Champion Strategy Positive: Fitch expects the new Fibre
Champion strategy to improve the operating profile of TC in the
long term. Deployment of the faster broadband technology would
secure the sustainability of the existing customer base and protect
its competitive position via its ability to wholesale its network
to peers in case a customer wants to switch. The Fibre Champion
strategy envisages a total EUR2 billion investment for network
upgrades over the next 10 years. TC primarily targets its existing
footprint of 2.4 million of IP-enabled households with an upgrade
from hybrid fiber-coaxial to fibre-to-the building and fibre-to-the
home.

Migration to Faster Tariffs a Risk: Fitch believes that the main
risk for the Fibre Champion strategy is the uncertainty around
customers' willingness to migrate to faster, and hence more
expensive, tariffs after fibre connections are made available.
Currently, TC's tariff plans offer up to 1Gbps internet speed with
the most popular tariff being for 200Mbps, which a large number of
customers may deem sufficient. Hence, Fitch believes that the main
benefit of the Fibre Champion strategy is to protect TC's existing
competitive position while average revenue per user growth and
revenue improvement are likely to be gradual.

New Ownership Supportive: Fitch believes the majority ownership of
TC by the infrastructure-focused BidCo would be supportive for the
long-term development of the company. The Fibre Champion strategy
requires long-term commitment of investors to a period of high
capex. Infrastructure funds tend to prioritise long-term
development and do not chase quick returns on investments. BidCo is
also committed to provide an additional EUR75 million of equity
capital to fund TC's Fibre Champion strategy.

DERIVATION SUMMARY

TC's rating is supported by the company's established long-term
relationships with housing associations, which provides good cash
flow visibility.

TC has significantly smaller operational scale than its cable peers
that benefit from larger footprints and sustained strong FCF. Cable
companies Virgin Media Inc, UPC Holding BV and Telenet Group
Holdings N.V are rated 'BB-' due to lower leverage, solid financial
profiles and stronger market positions. VodafoneZiggo has a
stronger operating profile and slightly lower leverage, and as a
result is rated 'B+'. Cable companies typically have looser
leverage thresholds than mobile and fixed-line operators due to the
more sustainable nature of their business and stronger FCF. High
leverage and limited visibility of FCF generation are constraints
on TC's ratings.

KEY ASSUMPTIONS

Fitch's key assumptions within Fitch’s rating case for the issuer
include:

-- Revenue growth in low-single digits in 2021 with an
    acceleration to mid-single digits from 2022.

-- Fitch-defined EBITDA margin of 46% in 2020, reducing to around
    43.5% in 2021 due to costs associated with the launch of the
    Fibre Champion strategy and wholesale network services,
    followed by an improvement to 45.7% by 2023.

-- Capex to increase to above 40% of revenue from 2021 to fund
    the Fibre Champion strategy.

-- Working capital outflow of around EUR5 million per year in
    2021-2024.

-- No M&A transactions for the next four years.

-- No dividend payments for the next four years.

KEY RECOVERY RATING ASSUMPTIONS

The recovery analysis is performed for the existing debt structure
without considering any potential debt repayments

-- The recovery analysis assumes that TC would be considered a
    going concern in bankruptcy and that the company would be
    reorganised rather than liquidated.

-- A 10% administrative claim.

-- The going-concern EBITDA estimate of EUR180 million reflects
    Fitch's view of a sustainable, post-reorganisation EBITDA
    level upon which Fitch bases the valuation of the company. A
    portion of company-reported non-recurring items is treated as
    an ongoing cost and Fitch assumes likely operating challenges
    at the time of distress.

-- An enterprise value (EV) multiple of 6x is used to calculate a
    post-reorganisation valuation and reflects a conservative mid
    cycle multiple.

-- EUR3 million loans at operating subsidiaries will have a
    priority over senior secured instruments.

-- Fitch estimates the total amount of secured debt for claims at
    EUR1.48 billion, which includes EUR882 million senior secured
    term loans, EUR650 million secured notes and assume that the
    EUR10 million revolving credit facility (RCF) is fully drawn.

-- Fitch estimates the expected recoveries for senior secured
    debt at 65%. This results in the senior secured debt being
    rated 'B'/'RR3', one notch above the IDR.

RATING SENSITIVITIES

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

-- Successful completion of the takeover offer and rights issue
    in line with the announced terms

-- Improvement in operating performance accompanied by stable
    subscriber metrics as well as EBITDA growth

-- FFO gross leverage sustainably below 6.0x

-- Adequate financing and liquidity to fund the fiber rollout

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

-- FFO gross leverage above 8.0x on a sustained basis without a
    clear path for deleveraging

-- Significant shortening of the remaining contract life with
    housing associations

-- Pressure on liquidity

-- Cancellation of the planned takeover would lead us to remove
    the RWP and affirm the IDR at 'B-'

BEST/WORST CASE RATING SCENARIO

International scale credit ratings of Non-Financial Corporate
issuers have a best-case rating upgrade scenario (defined as the
99th percentile of rating transitions, measured in a positive
direction) of three notches over a three-year rating horizon; and a
worst-case rating downgrade scenario (defined as the 99th
percentile of rating transitions, measured in a negative direction)
of four notches over three years. The complete span of best- and
worst-case scenario credit ratings for all rating categories ranges
from 'AAA' to 'D'. Best- and worst-case scenario credit ratings are
based on historical performance.

LIQUIDITY AND DEBT STRUCTURE

Satisfactory Liquidity: TC's liquidity as of end-3Q20 was supported
by EUR56 million of cash and EUR10 million available RCF. Fitch
expects the company to keep a substantial amount of cash on its
balance sheet to address working capital swings and other liquidity
needs.

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.

THYSSENKRUPP AG: Moody's Affirms B1 CFR, Outlook Developing
-----------------------------------------------------------
Moody's Investors Service has affirmed the B1 corporate family
rating and the B1-PD probability of default rating of German steel
and diversified industrial company thyssenkrupp AG. At the same
time, Moody's affirmed the B1 ratings on the group's senior
unsecured debt instruments, including the (P)B1 euro debt issuance
programme rating and the NP/(P)NP short-term ratings. The outlook
on all ratings remains developing.

"The rating affirmation balances tk's weaker than expected
operating performance in its financial year ended September 2020,
which was severely hit by the coronavirus pandemic, with an
improved liquidity profile following the sale of its elevator
division", says Goetz Grossmann, Moody's lead analyst for tk. "The
developing outlook reflects persistent uncertainty as to
implemented restructuring enabling the group to achieve its
targeted profitability and cash flow improvements. It further
mirrors the range of possible implications on our rating assessment
of significant portfolio adjustments currently evaluated by
management and their impact on the group's business profile as well
as decisions on the medium term financial policy."

RATINGS RATIONALE

The affirmed B1 CFR remains adequately positioned, reflecting the
group's currently weak performance mitigated by the strength of its
balance sheet, in particular the substantial cash balances. The
material slowdown in tk's performance in the financial year ended
September 2020 (2019/20) was impacted by a coronavirus-driven slump
in demand across key end-markets, especially the automotive
industry. tk's company-adjusted EBIT plunged to a negative EUR860
million (EUR802 million positive in the prior year), or negative
EUR1.6 billion excluding the disposed elevator business. At the
same time, the group's free cash flow before M&A from continuing
operations accumulated to a EUR5.5 billion cash drain, compared
with a EUR1.8 billion outflow last year, albeit including large
one-off effects from the termination of working capital measures
(up to EUR3 billion) and a cartel fine (EUR0.4 billion), as well as
around EUR200 million cash costs for restructuring. Moody's expects
that tk's credit metrics and cash flow will remain very weak for
the B1 rating over the next two years, despite a forecast marked
demand recovery from 2021 and improved steel prices and spreads,
while volumes will likely not return to pre-pandemic levels before
2022/23. In addition, tk's intensified restructuring efforts,
including a workforce reduction by 11,000 people (increased from
6,000) will require additional cash payments in the mid three-digit
million euro range over the next three years. Moody's, therefore,
does not expect tk's FCF to turn positive before 2022/23, which
continues to be a key rating constraint, while a more negative
development than currently anticipated would lead to downgrade
pressure.

More positively, the rating affirmation recognizes the group's
successful disposal of the elevator business in July this year,
which resulted in an around EUR15 billion net financial debt
reduction (net of a EUR1.25 billion re-investment by tk) and a
reported EUR5 billion net cash position as of September 30, 2020.
With EUR11.5 billion of cash on the balance sheet and EUR1.6
billion committed credit lines available at the same date, tk's
liquidity profile clearly strengthened and will help cover its cash
needs over the next few years. However, tk's business profile has
weakened without the stable and highly profitable elevator
division, while its remaining lower-margin activities are exposed
to mostly cyclical end-markets, in particular the automotive
sector, which currently accounts for around 30% of group revenues.

Besides helping fund the ongoing cash drain, Moody's expects that
tk will use its available cash for debt repayments at scheduled
maturities. Combined with Moody's expectations of a progressive
recovery in earnings (up to EUR2 billion EBITDA until 2022/23),
this should support a de-leveraging towards 5x Moody's-adjusted
debt/EBITDA by the end of 2022/23. In the meantime, Moody's expects
tk to return to a net leverage of 4x (Moody's-adjusted) from
2021/22, which are both levels commensurate with a B1 rating.

Such expectations do not incorporate potential material changes in
tk's current business setup, which, however, remain likely in light
of management's ongoing review of certain weakly performing
business units ("Multi-Tracks") for potential sale, closure or
continuation in partnerships. In addition, tk is assessing
alternative solutions for its Steel Europe business area, which
range from a potential full sale to a standalone development and
restructuring. Management guided for a final decision on its steel
business by spring 2021. The developing outlook captures the
alternative outcomes of these reviews and their potentially
material implications for the group's future strategy, business and
credit profile, which Moody's cannot reliably assess at this
stage.

LIQUIDITY

Tk's liquidity profile has materially strengthened post the
elevator disposal, which Moody's currently considers as strong. The
EUR11.5 billion cash position and EUR1.6 billion available
committed credit lines as of September 30, 2020, provide sufficient
funding sources for the group's ongoing negative free cash flow
generation (around EUR1.5 billion in 2020/21), as well as scheduled
debt repayments of EUR1.1 billion and EUR1.5 billion (excluding
leases) in 2020/21 and 2021/22, respectively

Following the elevator transaction, tk terminated early its EUR2
billion syndicated credit facility in September 2020, which
originally matured in March 2021. With the termination tk will save
associated interest costs and not be required to comply with any
maintenance covenants in its remaining credit facilities going
forward.

RATIONALE FOR THE DEVELOPING OUTLOOK

The developing outlook balances the risk that tk will be unable to
turn around its currently mostly highly loss-making and cash
burning businesses by executing extensive restructuring and
envisaged portfolio adjustments in a timely manner, with Moody's
expectations of steady improvements in tk's operating performance
and credit metrics from 2021. The developing outlook further
reflects the expectation that tk will make a final decision on the
future of its steel operations and certain "Multi-Track" businesses
by mid-2020/21 with implications for Moody's assessment on its
business profile. Furthermore, the developing outlook reflects the
uncertainties regarding the medium term financial policy (including
how the substantial cash balances may be used) also in the context
of ongoing portfolio adjustments and their impact on credit
metrics.

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

Moody's would consider to upgrade the ratings, if tk's
profitability improved towards a 4% Moody's-adjusted EBITA margin,
leverage declined to 4.5x debt/EBITDA, FCF turned positive,
liquidity remained strong, while a sizeable cash buffer is
maintained to accommodate expected persistent high cash needs; all
on a sustainable basis. For a positive rating action, Moody's would
also evaluate the implications of a potential change in tk's
business profile amid management's ongoing strategic review of
certain business units.

Moody's could downgrade the ratings, if tk's Moody's-adjusted EBITA
margin did not recover to at least 1.5% by 2021/22, leverage
remained above 4x Moody's-adjusted net debt/EBITDA until the end of
2021/22, negative FCF could not be reduced towards break-even by
2022/23, currently solid liquidity materially weakened. Negative
rating pressure could also build from a potential further weakening
in tk's business profile in course of its current strategic review
of certain business units or a shift in its financial policy.

PRINCIPAL METHODOLOGY

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

LIST OF AFFECTED RATINGS:

Affirmations:

Issuer: thyssenkrupp AG

Probability of Default Rating, Affirmed B1-PD

LT Corporate Family Rating, Affirmed B1

Commercial Paper, Affirmed NP

Other Short-Term, Affirmed (P)NP

Senior Unsecured Medium-Term Note Program, Affirmed (P)B1

Senior Unsecured Regular Bond/Debenture , Affirmed B1

Outlook Actions:

Issuer: thyssenkrupp AG

Outlook, Remains Developing

COMPANY PROFILE

Headquartered in Essen, Germany, thyssenkrupp AG is a diversified
industrial conglomerate operating in about 60 countries. In
2019/20, tk reported revenue of EUR29 billion and negative
company-adjusted EBIT of EUR1.6 billion from continuing operations
with around 104,000 employees (as of September 30, 2020). The group
is active in capital goods manufacturing through its Plant
Technology, Marine Systems, Automotive Technology and Industrial
Components segments, as well as steel manufacturing and steel
related services through Steel Europe and Materials Services. In
2019/20, the group segmented certain weak-performing business units
as "Multi-Tracks" (for sale, closure, or continuation in
partnerships), while maintaining a focus on the MX, AT and IC
segments and following a dual-track strategy (retain or
consolidate) for its SE and MS segments.

TRAVIATA BV: S&P Downgrades ICR to B- on Weak Credit Metrics
------------------------------------------------------------
S&P Global Ratings lowered its issuer credit and debt ratings on
Traviata B.V. to 'B-' from 'B'.

S&P said, "The stable outlook balances Traviata's elevated adjusted
leverage against its improved EBITDA interest coverage as we expect
that most of the withholding tax will be refunded. The outlook also
takes into account our view that AS will pay out at least EUR125
million in dividends, of which Traviata will receive a pro rata
EUR60 million.

"The downgrade reflects our expectation that Traviata's leverage
will stay elevated in 2021, despite some recovery of AS's
operations.

"To calculate the adjusted debt-to-EBITDA ratio, we apply a
proportionate consolidation method. We expect Traviata's adjusted
debt to EBITDA to be 8.8x-9.3x in 2020, well above our 7.0x
threshold for the rating and higher than the 7.8x-8.3x we expected
in June. Adjusted leverage rose because the pandemic hit European
digital publisher AS's performance and adjusted EBITDA fell after
we adjusted it for restructuring and capitalized development costs.
Although the underlying business is expected to start to recover in
2021, we forecast that Traviata's adjusted leverage will remain
elevated, at 8.0x-8.5x."

EBITDA interest cover fell below 1.5x because of the delayed refund
of the withholding tax payment at Traviata and purchase of an
additional stake in AS in 2020, partly funded through debt.

Traviata is a holding company owned by funds advised by
private-equity firm KKR. KKR increased its 45% stake in AS to 47.6%
during a second tender offer after AS completed its delisting in
April 2020. The financial sponsor funded the purchase of the
additional 2.6% stake in AS with a mix of equity and debt, drawing
EUR54 million under Traviata's revolving credit facility (RCF) in
April 2020. In May, it raised EUR27 million as an add-on to the
existing term loan to partly repay the RCF by the same amount.

Over 2020, AS paid a EUR125 million dividend split in two
installments, one as an interim payment on its 2019 net profit
(referred to here as a dividend) in June and one in December. Of
this amount, Traviata's share was about EUR59 million. Out of the
gross dividend received, Traviata paid about EUR15 million as a
withholding tax to the German tax authorities. S&P said, "We
understand from management that most of this tax payment will be
refunded to Traviata in the first quarter of 2021. As a result,
Traviata's stand-alone EBITDA interest coverage (calculated as net
dividend payments after taxes, divided by interest payment) will be
1.2x in 2020, rather than the 1.5x or more we forecast in our June
2020 base case. We expect Traviata's tax burden on dividends to be
significantly lower from 2021 on, because the company is likely to
be eligible for a tax exemption. Its stand-alone EBITDA interest
coverage is therefore likely to revert to at least 1.5x in 2021."

S&P said, "Because the tax refund was delayed, Traviata was unable
to fully repay its RCF by the end of the year, as we assumed in our
June 2020 base case. The RCF will remain drawn by more than EUR20
million at the end of the year and Traviata will have to pay
interest in 2021, reducing its excess cash accumulation after
interest expenses.

"We view Traviata's funding structure as risky, because it relies
solely on AS' dividends to service its debt.

"The absence of a minimum dividend in the shareholders' agreement
is a risk we outlined in "Traviata B.V., Holding Company Of German
Digital Publisher Axel Springer, Rated Preliminary 'B'; Outlook
Stable," published Oct. 15, 2019. Traviata's organizational and
funding structure carries an additional possible timing mismatch
risk as the dividend payment from AS and the interest payment due
on Traviata's term loan are not aligned. Depending on the length of
the mismatch, this timing issue could force Traviata to extend its
drawing under its RCF and reduce RCF availability. For example, in
2020, due to COVID-19 related regulation in Germany, AS postponed
its first dividend installment payment to late June from April.
Traviata therefore had to use the cash from its RCF to make its
interest payments. That said, we understand that Traviata received
the second half of its eligible dividend payment as planned in the
early December. The dividend amounted to EUR29 million, or EUR22
million, net of tax payments, and Traviata was able to make its
EUR20 million interest payments from this cash."

Traviata is very likely to purchase of the remaining minority stake
in AS during 2021.

At AS' annual general meeting in November 2020, it adopted a
resolution on minorities squeeze-out. Therefore, S&P anticipates
that Traviata will purchase the outstanding 0.9% share in AS held
minorities. This could further increase debt at Traviata because it
is likely the company would use a mix of own equity and incremental
debt to fund the purchase of the minorities stake, as it did when
it bought the shares in 2020. If it does so, Traviata will increase
its stake in AS to 48.5% (from the current 47.6%) and will be
eligible to receive about EUR60.5 million of AS's EUR125 million
expected dividend payment from 2021 onward.

AS' operating performance is predicted to improve in 2021 as the
economy recovers.

S&P said, "We estimate that AS' 2020 revenue will decline by
6.5%-8.5%, mainly because of a drop in revenue from classifieds
operations and the news media segment. Operations weakened because
of the economic recession in AS' operating countries and tough
trading conditions, exacerbated by the pandemic. We factor in
growth in AS' operations from next year, and revenue expansion of
3%-6%. The main contributors to the growth will be real estate
classifieds business, price comparison site Idealo, and
international operations within the news media sector. We expect
that real estate classifieds business will bounce back as economic
activity picks up. The AVIV group, which offers real estate
classified platforms, started to recover from June 2020; StepStone,
the jobs classified platform, might need longer to recover."

Within the News Media segment, the growth of Idealo and AS'
international operations will offset the anticipated decline of the
printed businesses that are exposed to structural challenges.
Despite tight cost control in 2020, AS' reported EBITDA is likely
to decline to EUR500 million-EUR530 million from about EUR560
million in 2019. This reflects the ongoing restructuring of the
business and the corresponding restructuring costs. Adjusted EBITDA
for AS in 2020 is estimated at EUR405 million-EUR440 million. S&P
deducts capitalized development costs for internally generated
software (because we treat these as operating costs) and add back
some received dividends.

In 2021, the positive top-line growth is expected to translate into
some growth in absolute earnings. Reported EBITDA could therefore
reach EUR545 million-EUR575 million in 2021. This corresponds with
adjusted EBITDA of EUR450 million-EUR485 million in 2021.

S&P said, "The stable outlook balances Traviata's elevated adjusted
leverage against its improved EBITDA interest coverage. We expect
that AS will pay a total dividend of at least EUR125 million in
2021 (corresponding to the year 2020), and Traviata's pro rata
share of this will be about EUR60.5 million if it increases its
share in AS to 48.5%. Traviata should also receive a refund for
most of the withholding tax on its 2020 dividend payments, leading
to an EBITDA interest coverage of at least 1.5x in 2021.

"We could lower the rating on Traviata if we perceived any
potential disagreement or misalignment among the main shareholders,
which could delay any decision or payment of dividends and lead us
to believe that Traviata's capital structure is unsustainable in
the long term or the risk of a conventional default had increased.

"We could raise the rating on Traviata if it reduced its leverage
below 7.0x, while maintaining EBITDA interest cover of at least
1.5x sustainably. This could occur if operating performance at AS
recovered and it maintained its ability to pay at least EUR125
million of dividends to its main shareholders annually. Traviata
would be eligible to receive EUR60.5 million of this in 2021, if it
increases its stake in AS to 48.5% in 2021 as we expect. In
addition, we would expect that Traviata to continue accumulating
excess cash after paying interest expenses during 2021 and being
refunded most of its 2020 tax payment." This would enable it to
build a cushion for the increasing interest payments from 2022, and
have its RCF fully available.



===========
G R E E C E
===========

PUBLIC POWER: Fitch Assigns First-Time 'BB-' Long-Term IDR
----------------------------------------------------------
Fitch Ratings has assigned Public Power Corporation S.A. (PPC) a
first-time Long-Term Issuer Default Rating (IDR) of 'BB-'. Fitch
assesses the company's Standalone Credit Profile (SCP) at 'b+'. The
Outlook on the IDR is Stable.

The rating of PPC reflects more volatile and less transparent
regulatory and operating environments in Greece than other European
jurisdictions with a history of political intervention and PPC's
high leverage and consistently negative free cash flow (FCF)
throughout the investment cycle. It also reflects its fully
integrated business structure, dominant position in the domestic
market and long-term sustainability following its strategic
repositioning, coupled with constructive energy reforms in Greece
since 2019.

PPC's IDR incorporates a one-notch uplift reflecting overall
moderate links with the Greek State (BB/Stable) including strong
evidence of tangible support and moderate systemic relevance in
case of default.

The Stable Outlook reflects Fitch’s expectations of EBITDA
stabilisation at around EUR900 million on average for 2021-2023,
delivery of PPC's business plan, including the accelerated
phase-out of lignite, consolidation of a new wholesale market
design in Greece and broadly stable funds from operations (FFO) net
leverage at around 5.5x for 2021-2023.

KEY RATING DRIVERS

State Links Warrants Uplift: Fitch assigns a one-notch uplift to
PPC's SCP, reflecting the company's links with Greece under
Fitch’s Government-Related Entities Criteria. Fitch sees
'Moderate' status, ownership and control, via the Greek
government's indirect 51% stake and effective control of PPC's
board of directors. Fitch assesses the support track record as
'Strong', as the state guarantees around 50% of PPC's debt, a share
which Fitch expects to be stable for the next three years. Fitch
sees 'Moderate' socio-political and financial implications in case
of its default for the state, given its role as incumbent utility
and large employer in the country and the sizable exposure of
domestic banks to it.

Strategic Repositioning: Fitch believes that PPC's strategic
repositioning has improved the company's long-term sustainability.
The material financial improvement as seen in 9M20 results (EUR696
million EBITDA versus EUR97 million in 9M19) stems from PPC's shift
to a competitive tariff structure that reflects the cost of energy,
including rising CO2 costs. The government's decision to reduce
value added taxes and the ETMEAR levy in customers' bills partially
de-risked PPC's strategy from its social impact. New tariffs were
implemented in September 2019.

Constructive Energy Market Reforms: A number of energy reforms have
allowed PPC to improve cash flow visibility since their
implementation in 2019, such as the abolition of NOME auctions,
which forced PPC to sell energy below cost to small suppliers, and
the special levy on all suppliers to fund the system's deficit due
to renewables subsidies in 2016-2019. Fitch assumes that the
government will keep providing support to PPC through favourable
legislation as the company is instrumental in helping the country
achieve its energy transition.

High Forecast Leverage: Fitch forecasts PPC's funds from operations
(FFO) net leverage at 5.5x for 2021-2023, notwithstanding Fitch’s
expectations of stabilised EBITDA at around EUR900 million. This is
due mostly to high capex (allocated into renewables, grids
modernisation and the construction of the lignite plant Ptolomaida
V) and working capital outflows. FCF is forecast to be consistently
negative over the same period at around EUR300 million on average.

Deleveraging Target: PPC has expressed its commitment to prioritise
deleveraging over additional growth and dividend distributions,
including a target of maximum 3.5x net debt-to-EBITDA (as defined
by the company) by 2023, which is consistent with Fitch’s
guidelines for the 'b+' SCP.

Progress in Collections: The inability to cash in customers' bills
has been a key issue for PPC's liquidity and business
sustainability and led to a EUR2.8 billion stock of bad debt by
end-2019, with 80% of it being older than one year. The new
strategic plan aims to improve collection rates by enhancing direct
payment channels (55% by June 2020), establishing new internal
recovery workflows and taking legal actions on delinquent
customers. Fitch views improvement in collection rates as likely,
given the greater management focus on this area. However, it
remains a key liquidity risk especially as short-term progress
might be diluted by Covid-19 impact.

Lignite Accelerated Phase-Out: The government approved accelerated
closure of uneconomical lignite mines and 3.4GW lignite-fired power
plants capacity. PPC's lignite plants are pushed out of the merit
order most hours (load factor was 34% in 2019) due to a poor
operational (20-year old fleet on average) and fuel efficiency.
Given rising CO2 costs, the plants are heavily loss-making, which
is a differentiating factor compared with central European lignite-
and coal-fired generators that remain profitable. Fitch expects the
new 660MW Ptolomaida V lignite plant, to be commissioned in 2022,
to be profitable up to an EUR45/MWh CO2 price.

Manageable Risks from Phase-Out: Fitch believes that the social
risks associated with the mine-and-lignite plant closures have been
largely addressed by the government's approval of a national plan
to redirect the affected regions' economies (ie. western
Macedonia). In addition, voluntary exit and retirement schemes are
being implemented at PPC (around 1.5k full-time employee reduction
by September 2020).

Renewables Ramp-Up: PPC's strategic choice to shift to a cleaner
asset base is reflected in EUR1.1 billion investments in renewables
projects over 2020-2023 to increase capacity to around 1.5GW by
2023 (80% solar and 20% wind) from 0.165 GW in 2019. Capacity
already under construction or secured stands at 0.35GW and a
further 6GW of identified projects provide visibility on the
execution of the remaining part. Fitch expects most of the new
capacity to be under power-purchase agreements, largely with PPC's
supply arm as counterparty and, secondarily, under feed-in-premium
schemes, both providing visibility on long-term returns.

New Framework for Distribution: Greece's Regulatory Authority for
Energy recently approved a new regulatory framework for
distribution networks for 2021-2024 that improves long-term revenue
predictability versus the previous annual reset risk. The
methodology for the calculation of allowed revenue is based on an
ex-ante allowed weighted average cost of capital (WACC) on a
regulated asset base (RAB) defined at 6.7% (nominal pre-tax). Fitch
views the new framework as being in line with that in other
European jurisdictions, but less mature and transparent.

HEDNO's Minority Stake Sale: The potential sale of a 49% stake in
HEDNO, the distribution arm of PPC, is at an early stage and should
be analysed in the context of asset valuation and use of proceeds,
which are not yet available. Fitch understands from management that
at least 50% of the proceeds should go to repaying existing debt
with Greek banks according to contractual provisions, which could
accelerate PPC's deleveraging.

DERIVATION SUMMARY

PPC is the incumbent electricity utility in Greece, with the
closest domestic rated peer being Mytilineos (MYTIL; BB/Negative),
although the latter lags PPC in market share and scale. MYTIL is a
diversified group operating in the more volatile and cyclical
metallurgy (aluminium) and EPC sectors and in the power sector,
with energy contributing around 21% of EBITDA by end-2019. MYTIL
benefits from a higher renewable capacity in its business mix, more
profitable gas-fired plants and no exposure to the loss-making
lignite. The two-notch rating difference, on standalone basis for
PPC, is explained by MYTIL's substantially lower forecast net
leverage trending to 2.0x by 2023 versus PPC's around 5.5x. The
single-notch uplift for government links for PPC narrows the final
difference between the two IDRs to one notch.

Among neighbouring countries, PPC's closest peer is Bulgarian
Energy Holding (BEH; BB/Stable) with a 'b+' SCP and higher expected
FFO net leverage at around 6.5x. Fitch sees a slightly better
business risk profile and higher debt capacity for PPC due to its
larger scale, better market positioning and the more regulated and
contracted nature of its cash flows, which is partially mitigated
by a healthier operating environment in Bulgaria and still
profitable mining and coal-fired generation for BEH. Stronger links
with Bulgaria explains BEH's higher final rating (two notches for
BEH versus one notch for PPC).

PPC's integrated business structure and strategic position in the
domestic market make the company comparable to some of
investment-grade central European peers such as CEZ, a.s.
(A-/Stable) and Enea S.A. (BBB/Stable), which share issues related
to coal mining and coal-fired generation, but which are profitable
for them and loss-making for PPC. In addition, PPC operates in a
more volatile and less transparent regulatory environment than CEZ
or Enea and its results are less predictable with a history of
political intervention. Overall better business risk profile, a
healthier operating environment and lower leverage explain the
multi-notch difference with the central European peers. PPC's
rating includes a single-notch uplift to reflect links with the
sovereign, whereas this is not the case for CEZ or Enea.

KEY ASSUMPTIONS

Electricity Generation:

-- System marginal price in Greece at EUR49/MWh-EUR51/MWh in
    2021-2023 (EUR45.6/MWh in 2020E);

-- CO2 prices rising to EUR31/tonne by 2023;

-- Phase-out of lignite-fired power plants and mines as announced
    by PPC; commissioning of the new 0.66GW Ptolemaida V in 2022;

-- Decommissioning cash-cost of EUR40 million per year (for an
    extended period of 10 years);

-- Gradual ramp-up of renewables (around 80% solar; 20% wind) to
    1.5GW by end-2023;

-- Higher load factors for gas-fired plants, due to lignite
    plants closures and efficiency mostly achieved through gas-
    sourcing optimisation;

-- Hydro load factors at around 23% on average for 2021-2023;

-- Oil-fired output in non-interconnected systems sold to the
    regulated market at an average price of EUR180/MWh for 2021
    2023; and

-- Generation EBITDA to contribute positively only from 2022.

Electricity Distribution:

-- RAB increasing to EUR3.3 billion in 2023 from EUR3 billion in
    2020;

-- WACC of 6.7% for 2021-2024. No incentives are assumed; and

-- EBITDA stable at around 47% of total EBITDA by 2023.

Supply:

-- Supply market share (interconnected system) declining to 50%
    of domestic market by end-2023 from 66% by June 2020 and
    retention of "high-value" customers;

-- EUR2.2 billion of doubtful receivables by 2023, down from
    EUR2.8 billion at year-end 2019

Other:

-- Total capex (net of customer contributions and grants) around
    EUR2.6 billion for 2021-2023, of which around EUR1 billion is
    in 2023;

-- Total working capital outflow of EUR0.4 billion in 2021-2023
    (EUR0.8 billion outflow in 2020), mostly related to decreasing
    payables; and

-- No dividends distributed over the period to 2023.

RATING SENSITIVITIES

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

-- Further tangible government support, such as a material
    increase in the share of state-guaranteed debt, and generally
    stronger links with the state could lead us to align PPC's
    rating with that of Greece.

-- An upward revision of the SCP would derive from FFO net
    leverage falling below 5.0x on a sustained basis, neutral-to
    positive FCF and FFO interest coverage higher than 3.5x, lower
    regulatory and political risk or higher earnings
    predictability. However, this would result in an upgrade of
    the IDR only if coupled with an upgrade of Greece.

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

-- Weaker links with the Greek state, including the loss of
    state's majority ownership or a material reduction of the
    share of state-guaranteed debt.

-- Weaker SCP, e.g. due to FFO net leverage exceeding 6.0x on a
    sustained basis and/or FFO interest coverage lower than 2.5x;

-- Worsened operating environment in Greece coupled with the
    escalation of regulatory, social or political risk (ie.
    reversal or failed implementation of main energy reforms
    initiated in 2019) or failure to improve trade receivables
    collections;

-- Material delays to the decommissioning of mines and lignite
    fired plants and to the ramp-up of renewables as communicated
    by the company; and,

-- Weaker liquidity position not covering at least 12 months of
    debt maturities.

BEST/WORST CASE RATING SCENARIO

International scale credit ratings of Non-Financial Corporate
issuers have a best-case rating upgrade scenario (defined as the
99th percentile of rating transitions, measured in a positive
direction) of three notches over a three-year rating horizon; and a
worst-case rating downgrade scenario (defined as the 99th
percentile of rating transitions, measured in a negative direction)
of four notches over three years. The complete span of best- and
worst-case scenario credit ratings for all rating categories ranges
from 'AAA' to 'D'. Best- and worst-case scenario credit ratings are
based on historical performance.

LIQUIDITY AND DEBT STRUCTURE

Adequate liquidity: At end-June 2020, readily available cash and
cash equivalents were EUR0.5 billion - which excluded EUR58.2
million of restricted cash mostly related to debt service - and
EUR0.3 billion in revolver availability maturing beyond one year,
which were enhanced by new revolver facilities in 3Q20 (EUR0.3
billion capex facility and a trade receivables securitisation
transaction for EUR0.2 billion). This is sufficient to cover high
debt maturities of EUR0.8 billion and negative free cash flow of
around EUR0.5 billion until end-2021.

Exposure to Greece Financial System: Half of PPC's bank debt comes
from Greek financial institutions and most of the cash at hand (ie.
no time deposits) at end-June 2020 was located within various Greek
banks, which have ratings from Fitch that range from 'B-' to 'CCC'.
Remaining debt is held in supranational financial institutions,
such as the EIB and the BSTD bank, that have required state
guarantees.

The overall EUR2.6 billion capex (net of customer contributions and
grants) for 2021-2023 plan is financeable, in Fitch’s view, as it
relates to debt granted by EIB for distribution grids and widely
available asset-backed project funding for renewables, as well as
finalising the construction of Ptolemaida V.

SUMMARY OF FINANCIAL ADJUSTMENTS

Fitch adds trade receivables revolving securitisations (EUR500
million expected in 2020-2023) to Fitch’s definition of financial
debt.

ESG CONSIDERATIONS

PPC has an ESG Relevance Score of 4 on both "Emissions from
Operations" and "Fuel Use to Generate Energy." This is due to over
26% share of lignite coal in its electricity generation mix, which
is carbon-intensive and under political pressure in the EU. Fitch
projects falling lignite fuel usage and CO2 emissions over the next
three years due to PPC's ambitious decommissioning plan, but for
existing lignite-fired plants to remain loss-making through to
2023. Lignite plants are expected to be completely decommissioned
by 2028.

Except for the matters discussed above, the highest level of ESG
credit relevance, if present, 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.



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

BAIN CAPITAL 2020-1: S&P Assigns B- (sf) Rating on Class F Notes
----------------------------------------------------------------
S&P Global Ratings assigned its credit ratings to Bain Capital Euro
CLO 2020-1 DAC's class X, A, B-1, B-2, C, D, E, and F notes. The
issuer also issued unrated subordinated notes.

Bain Capital Euro CLO 2020-1 is a European cash flow CLO
transaction, securitizing a portfolio of primarily senior secured
leveraged loans and bonds. The transaction is managed by Bain
Capital Credit U.S. CLO Manager, LLC.

The ratings assigned to Bain Capital Euro CLO 2020-1's notes
reflect S&P' assessment of:

-- The diversified collateral pool, which consists primarily of
broadly syndicated speculative-grade senior secured term loans and
bonds that are governed by collateral quality tests.

-- The credit enhancement provided through the subordination of
cash flows, excess spread, and overcollateralization.

-- The collateral manager's experienced team, which can affect the
performance of the rated notes through collateral selection,
ongoing portfolio management, and trading.

-- The transaction's legal structure is considered bankruptcy
remote.

-- The transaction's counterparty risks, which are in line with
S&P's counterparty rating framework.

Under the transaction documents, the rated notes pay quarterly
interest unless there is a frequency switch event. Following this,
the notes will permanently switch to semiannual payment.
The portfolio's reinvestment period will end approximately three
years after closing, and the portfolio's maximum average maturity
date is seven and a half years after closing.

A notable feature in this transaction is the introduction of loss
mitigation obligations. Loss mitigation obligations allow the
issuer to participate in potential new financing initiatives by a
borrower in default or in distress. This feature aims to mitigate
the risk of other market participants taking advantage of CLO
restrictions, which typically do not allow the CLO to participate
in a defaulted entity new financing request, and hence increase the
chance of increased recovery for the CLO. While the objective is
positive, it may lead to par erosion as additional funds will be
placed with an entity that is under distress or in default. S&P
said, "This may cause greater volatility in our ratings if these
loans' positive effect does not materialize. In our view, the
restrictions on the use of proceeds and the presence of a bucket
for such loss mitigation loans helps to mitigate the risk."

Loss mitigation obligation mechanics

Under the transaction documents, the issuer can purchase loss
mitigation obligations, which are assets of an existing collateral
obligation held by the issuer, offered in connection with
bankruptcy, workout, or restructuring of the obligation, to improve
the recovery value of the related collateral obligation.

The purchase of loss mitigation obligations is not subject to the
reinvestment or eligibility criteria. They receive no credit in the
principal balance definition--except where loss mitigation
obligations meet the eligibility criteria, with certain exclusions,
and are purchased using principal proceeds–-in which case they
are afforded defaulted treatment in par coverage tests.

To protect the transaction from par erosion, any distributions
received from loss mitigation obligations, which are afforded
credit in the par coverage tests, will irrevocably form part of the
issuer's principal account proceeds. The cumulative exposure to
loss mitigation obligations is limited to 10% of target par.

The issuer may purchase loss mitigation obligations using either
interest proceeds, principal proceeds, or amounts in the
supplemental reserve account. The use of interest proceeds to
purchase loss mitigation obligations is subject to all interest
coverage tests passing following the purchase, and the manager
determining that there are sufficient interest proceeds to pay
interest on all the rated notes on the upcoming payment date.

The use of principal proceeds is subject to passing par coverage
tests and the manager having built sufficient excess par in the
transaction so that the principal collateral amount is equal to or
exceeds the portfolio's target par balance after the reinvestment.

To protect the transaction from par erosion, any distributions
received from loss mitigation obligations that are either purchased
with the use of principal, or purchased with interest or amounts in
the supplemental account--and have been afforded credit in the
coverage tests--will irrevocably form part of the issuer's
principal account proceeds and cannot be recharacterized as
interest.

The diversified collateral pool primarily comprises broadly
syndicated speculative-grade senior secured term loans and senior
secured bonds. S&P said, "Therefore, we have conducted our credit
and cash flow analysis by applying our criteria for corporate cash
flow collateralized debt obligations. As such, we have not applied
any additional scenario and sensitivity analysis when assigning
ratings to any classes of notes in this transaction."

S&P said, "In our cash flow analysis, we used the EUR300 million
target par amount, the covenanted weighted-average spread (3.71%),
the reference weighted-average coupon (4.30%), and the covenanted
weighted-average recovery rates as indicated by the collateral
manager. We applied various cash flow stress scenarios, using four
different default patterns, in conjunction with different interest
rate stress scenarios for each liability rating category. Our
credit and cash flow analysis indicates that the available credit
enhancement for the class B-1 to F notes could withstand stresses
commensurate with higher rating levels than those we have assigned.
However, as the CLO will be in its reinvestment phase starting from
closing, during which the transaction's credit risk profile could
deteriorate, we have capped our ratings on the notes.

"Under our structured finance ratings above the sovereign criteria,
we consider that the transaction's exposure to country risk is
sufficiently mitigated at the assigned rating levels.

Until the end of the reinvestment period on Jan. 22, 2024, the
collateral manager may substitute assets in the portfolio for so
long as our CDO Monitor test is maintained or improved in relation
to the initial ratings on the notes. This test looks at the total
amount of losses that the transaction can sustain as established by
the initial cash flows for each rating, and compares that with the
default potential of the current portfolio plus par losses to date.
As a result, until the end of the reinvestment period, the
collateral manager can, through trading, deteriorate the
transaction's current risk profile, as long as the initial ratings
are maintained.

S&P said, "We consider that the transaction's documented
counterparty replacement and remedy mechanisms adequately mitigate
its exposure to counterparty risk under our current counterparty
criteria.

"The transaction's legal structure is bankruptcy remote, in line
with our legal criteria.

"Following our analysis of the credit, cash flow, counterparty,
operational, and legal risks, we believe our ratings are
commensurate with the available credit enhancement for each class
of notes.

"In addition to our standard analysis, to provide an indication of
how rising pressures among speculative-grade corporates could
affect our ratings on European CLO transactions, we have also
included the sensitivity of the ratings on the class X to E notes
to five of the 10 hypothetical scenarios we looked at in our recent
publication. The results shown in the chart below are based on
actual weighted-average spread, coupon, and recoveries.

"For the class E and F notes, our ratings analysis makes additional
considerations before assigning ratings in the 'CCC' category, and
we would assign a 'B-' rating if the criteria for assigning a 'CCC'
category rating are not met."

S&P Global Ratings believes there remains a high degree of
uncertainty about the evolution of the coronavirus pandemic. While
the early approval of a number of vaccines is a positive
development, countries' approval of vaccines 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 mid-2021. 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."

The transaction securitizes a portfolio of primarily senior secured
leveraged loans and bonds, and will be managed by Bain Capital
Credit U.S. CLO Manager, LLC.

  Ratings
  
  Class    Rating     Balance    Sub (%)   Interest rate          

                     (mil. EUR)                    
   X       AAA (sf)    1.50       N/A      Three/six-month EURIBOR

                                             plus 0.50%
   A       AAA (sf)   182.40     39.20     Three/six-month EURIBOR

                                             plus 1.10%
   B-1     AA (sf)    15.30      29.10     Three/six-month EURIBOR

                                             plus 1.85%
   B-2     AA (sf)    15.00      29.10        2.10%
   C       A (sf)     17.10      23.40     Three/six-month EURIBOR

                                             plus 3.10%
   D       BBB (sf)   20.10      16.70     Three/six-month EURIBOR

                                             plus 4.25%
   E       BB- (sf)   17.70      10.80     Three/six-month EURIBOR

                                             plus 6.50%
   F       B- (sf)    5.40        9.00     Three/six-month EURIBOR

                                             plus 8.03%
   Sub notes   NR     29.90       N/A       N/A

  NR--Not rated.
  N/A--Not applicable.
  EURIBOR--Euro Interbank Offered Rate.


BANNA RMBS: S&P Affirms CCC(sf) Rating on Class E-Dfrd Notes
------------------------------------------------------------
S&P Global Ratings affirmed and removed from CreditWatch negative
its 'AAA (sf)', 'AA (sf)', 'A+ (sf)', and 'CCC (sf)' credit ratings
on Banna RMBS DAC's class A, B-Dfrd, C-Dfrd, and E-Dfrd notes,
respectively. At the same time, S&P has lowered to 'BB (sf)' from
'BB+ (sf)' and removed from CreditWatch negative its rating on the
class D-Dfrd notes.

The rating actions follow our Oct. 7, 2020, CreditWatch negative
placement of all rated notes. Our review reflects the application
of our relevant criteria and our full analysis of the most recent
transaction information that we have received, and considers the
transaction's current structural features.

Since the transaction closed in November 2019, the servicer, Pepper
Finance Corporation DAC (Pepper Ireland), has had limited success
in foreclosing or restructuring loans in late arrears (over 90 days
due and up to several years). Instead, the proportion of loans over
90 days in arrears or past the maturity date has increased to 34.8%
from 26.8% of the pool (approximately GBP32 million as of end
August 2020 compared with GBP30 million at closing). In addition,
loans considered as defaulted amounts under the transaction (loan
in arrears by more than 360 days) have increased to 20.8% from
14.0%.

S&P said, "Our understanding of the servicing strategy at closing
was that the majority of loans in late arrears were being worked
through, meaning that if not restructured the amount of recovery
proceeds from foreclosures would have been higher than received to
date. Instead, only 13 loans that were in late arrears at closing
have redeemed. The redemptions happened on average 32 months after
the loan fell into arrears, which is significantly longer than our
assumptions at closing, based on the servicer's strategy for the
portfolio.

"We have therefore adjusted our recovery timing assumption,
applying a 35-month recovery period to all loans, and we no longer
differentiate between loans already in late arrears (90 days or
more) and performing loans."

As a large proportion of the borrowers in the pool are making
partial or no payments, there is limited excess spread in the
transaction. In combination with the funding adjustment cost, this
resulted in an almost total depletion of the reserve fund on the
first interest payment date (IPD), and the ongoing use of principal
to pay revenue items, which resulted in a balance of GBP476,456 on
the class Z-Dfrd principal deficiency ledger (PDL) on the most
recent IPD. The reserve fund has only partially built back up for
the first time on the September 2020 IPD because of an exceptional
revenue income in the previous quarter from large accrued interest
payments on loans recently redeemed. S&P's expectations for revenue
receipts is that they are likely to continue to be erratic, with
the potential for reserve fund draws and further increases in the
class Z-Dfrd PDL balance, even with stable collateral performance.

S&P said, "Among the loans that have been recorded as performing,
we have received information on 11 loans redeeming at a discount of
3% on average, the range of discount being from 1% to 5%. We
understand that there are no limits--either to the proportion of
the portfolio or the level of discount--to the level of discounted
payoffs the servicer can offer on performing loans. These
discounted payoffs were at the servicer's discretion and were
likely granted to prevent larger discounts for imminent arrears. We
have not projected a widespread discount on the performing
portfolio considering the small number of such cases since closing,
and we do not anticipate discounted payoffs to be the norm.

"We have updated our credit analysis using the August 2020 pool.
The weighted-average foreclosure frequency (WAFF) and the
weighted-average loss severity (WALS) for the performing subpool
have decreased at most rating levels due to fewer arrears, fewer
loans restructured in the past three years, and a decrease in the
weighted-average loan-to-value ratio. However, our loss assumption
for the pool at a 'B' level of stress is 5.1%, up from 4.3% at
closing, given the nonperforming subpool has a WAFF of 100% and it
represents a greater proportion of the pool compared with at
closing. Our loss assumption for the pool at a 'BB' level of stress
is 6.0%, up from 5.4% at closing.

"We have run additional sensitivities to incorporate the
performance data received since closing. Considering the behavior
of the portfolio to date and the increased credit pressure from the
COVID-19-related lockdowns, our expectation is for the current
trend of loans in early arrears rolling into late arrears to
continue. Therefore, in our cash flow analysis, we have considered
loans currently in arrears up to 90 days to be in default to assess
the effect on our cash flow results. This analysis has informed our
ratings.

"Given the servicing fee includes an annual GBP300 per loan payment
for loans more than 30 days in arrears, we have also conducted
additional cash flow analysis to test the sensitivity of our
ratings to higher servicing fees than those assumed at closing.

"We have not specifically adjusted our credit assumptions for
COVID-19-related payment holidays (7.75% of the performing subpool)
but considered them in the default projections applied in
sensitivity runs. We do not believe either that COVID-19-related
payment holidays pose a liquidity risk as the class A notes, which
have amortized significantly already, benefit from a liquidity
reserve, and the other classes can defer interest payment. We have
however run sensitivities for extended recovery periods in our cash
flow analysis to account for the effect that the lockdown has on
U.K. courts.

"The application of our updated credit figures (the August 2020
pool) and our cash flow analysis indicate that the available credit
enhancement is commensurate with the ratings assigned for the class
A and C-Dfrd notes. Our analysis indicates that the class B-Dfrd
notes could withstand our stresses at higher rating levels than
that assigned. However, our ratings reflect the uncertain economic
environment. In the context of the very low number of loans in late
arrears being redeemed since closing, as well as the current
economic environment, we have lowered our rating on the class
D-Dfrd notes as this rating is sensitive to late arrears not
reverting to cash flow status and is also highly sensitive to the
recovery amounts achieved on such loans.

"Our rating on the class E-Dfrd notes stems from the application of
our 'CCC' category ratings criteria. We consider repayment of this
class of notes to be dependent upon favorable business, financial,
and economic conditions, in view of the currently high level of
defaults and delinquencies in the pool, increasing arrears, and
limited excess spread."

S&P Global Ratings believes there remains a high degree of
uncertainty about the evolution of the coronavirus pandemic. While
the early approval of a number of vaccines is a positive
development, countries' approval of vaccines 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 mid-2021. 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."


BRIDGEPOINT CLO 1: S&P Assigns B- (sf) Rating on Class F Notes
--------------------------------------------------------------
S&P Global Ratings assigned its credit ratings to Bridgepoint CLO 1
DAC's class A to F European cash flow CLO notes. At closing, the
issuer also issued unrated subordinated notes.

Under the transaction documents, the rated notes will pay quarterly
interest unless a frequency switch event occurs. Following this,
the notes will switch to semiannual payments. The portfolio's
reinvestment period will end approximately three years after
closing.

The ratings reflect S&P's assessment of:

-- The diversified collateral pool, which consists primarily of
broadly syndicated speculative-grade senior-secured term loans and
bonds that are governed by collateral quality tests.

-- The credit enhancement provided through the subordination of
cash flows, excess spread, and overcollateralization.

-- The collateral manager's experienced team, which can affect the
performance of the rated notes through collateral selection,
ongoing portfolio management, and trading.

-- The transaction's legal structure, which we consider to be
bankruptcy remote.

-- The transaction's counterparty risks, which are in line with
our counterparty rating framework.

  Portfolio Benchmarks
                                               Current
  S&P weighted-average rating factor           2902.21
  Default rate dispersion                       475.68
  Weighted-average life (years)                   5.32
  Obligor diversity measure                      88.17
  Industry diversity measure                     16.38
  Regional diversity measure                      1.19

  Transaction Key Metrics
                                               Current
  Portfolio weighted-average rating
    derived from our CDO evaluator                   B
  'CCC' category rated assets (%)                 4.47
  Covenanted 'AAA' weighted-average recovery (%) 35.24
  Covenanted weighted-average spread (%)          3.70
  Covenanted weighted-average coupon (%)          4.50
  Unique Features

Loss mitigation obligations

Under the transaction documents, the issuer can purchase loss
mitigation obligations, which are assets of an existing collateral
obligation held by the issuer offered in connection with
bankruptcy, workout, or restructuring of an obligation, to improve
the recovery value of the related collateral obligation.

The purchase of loss mitigation obligations is not subject to the
reinvestment criteria or the eligibility criteria. It receives no
credit in the principal balance definition, although where the loss
mitigation loan meets the eligibility criteria with certain
exclusions, it is accorded defaulted treatment in the par coverage
tests. The transaction documents limit the CLO's exposure to loss
mitigation obligations that can be acquired with principal proceeds
to 3% of the target par amount.

The issuer may purchase loss mitigation obligations using either
interest proceeds, principal proceeds, or amounts standing to the
credit of the collateral enhancement account. The use of interest
proceeds to purchase loss mitigation obligations are subject to the
manager determining there are sufficient interest proceeds to pay
interest on all the rated notes and that all coverage tests would
pass on the upcoming payment date. The usage of principal proceeds
is subject to the following conditions: (i) par coverage tests
passing following the purchase; (ii) the manager having built
sufficient excess par in the transaction so that the principal
collateral amount is equal to or exceeding the portfolio's target
par balance after the reinvestment; and (iii) the obligation is a
debt obligation that is pari passu or senior to the obligation
already held by the issuer with its maturity falling before the
rated notes' maturity date and not purchased at a premium.

To protect the transaction from par erosion, any distributions
received from loss mitigation loans that are either (i) purchased
with the use of principal, or (ii) purchased with interest or
amounts in the collateral enhancement account but which have been
afforded credit in the coverage test, will irrevocably form part of
the issuer's principal account proceeds and cannot be
recharacterized as interest.

Reverse collateral allocation mechanism

If a defaulted euro-denominated obligation becomes the subject of a
mandatory exchange for U.S. dollar-denominated obligation following
a collateral allocation mechanism (CAM) trigger event, the
portfolio manager may sell the CAM obligation and invest the sale
proceeds in the same obligor (a CAM euro obligation), provided the
obligation:

-- Is denominated in euros;

-- Ranks as the same or more senior level of priority as the CAM
obligation; and

-- Is issued under the same facility as the CAM obligation by the
obligor.

To ensure that the CLO's original or adjusted collateral par amount
is not adversely affected following a CAM exchange, a CAM
obligation may only be acquired if, following the reinvestment, the
numerator of the CLO's par value test, referred to as the adjusted
collateral principal amount, is either:

-- Greater than the reinvestment target par balance;

-- Maintained or improved when compared to the same balance
immediately after the collateral obligation became a defaulted
obligation; or

-- Maintained or improved compared to the same balance immediately
after the mandatory exchange which resulted in the issuer holding
the CAM exchange. Solely for the purpose of this condition, the CAM
obligation's principal balance is carried at the lowest of its
market value and recovery rate, adjusted for
foreign currency risk and foreign exchange rates.

-- Finally, a CAM euro exchanged obligation that is also a
restructured obligation may not be purchased with sale proceeds
from a CAM exchanged obligation.

-- The portfolio manager may only sell a CAM obligation and
reinvest the sale proceeds in a CAM euro obligation if, in the
judgment of the portfolio manager, the sale and subsequent
reinvestment is expected to result in a higher level of ultimate
recovery when compared to the expected ultimate recovery from the
CAM obligation.

Bankruptcy exchange

Bankruptcy exchange allows the exchange of a defaulted obligation
for any other defaulted obligation issued by another obligor. This
feature aims to allow the manager to increase the likelihood in the
value of recoveries. The collateral manager may only pursue a
bankruptcy exchange when:

-- The received obligation has a better likelihood of recovery or
is of better value or quality than the exchanged obligation;

-- The received obligation is no less senior in right of payment
than the exchanged obligation;

-- The coverage tests are satisfied;

-- The aggregate principal balance of the obligations received in
bankruptcy exchanges since the issue date does not exceed 7.5% of
the target par amount;

-- The aggregate principal balance of the obligations received in
bankruptcy exchanges held by the issuer at such time does not
exceed 3.0% of the target par amount;

-- The bankruptcy exchange test is satisfied, i.e., the projected
internal rate of return of a received obligation obtained as a
result of a bankruptcy exchange exceeds the projected internal rate
of return of the related exchanged obligation in a bankruptcy
exchange; and

-- At the time of exchange, the exchanged obligation satisfies the
CLO's eligibility criteria, except certain provisions such as, for
example, a defaulted security, credit risk or long-dated
obligation.

-- To protect the transaction from par erosion, any payment
required from the issuer connected with bankruptcy exchanges will
be limited to customary transfer costs and payable only from
amounts on deposit in the collateral enhancement account and/or any
interest proceeds. Otherwise, interest proceeds may not be used to
acquire a received obligation in a bankruptcy exchange if it would
likely result in a failure to pay interest on the class A or B
notes on the next succeeding payment date.

-- The bankruptcy exchange feature is only applicable during the
transaction's reinvestment period.

Rating rationale

S&P said, "We consider the portfolio at closing, primarily
comprising broadly syndicated speculative-grade senior-secured term
loans and senior-secured bonds, to be well-diversified. Therefore,
we have conducted our credit and cash flow analysis by applying our
criteria for corporate cash flow CDOs.

"In our cash flow analysis, we used the EUR300 million target par
amount, the covenanted weighted-average spread (3.70%), the
covenanted weighted-average coupon (4.50%), and the covenanted
weighted-average recovery rates for all rating levels. We applied
various cash flow stress scenarios, using four different default
patterns, in conjunction with different interest rate stress
scenarios for each liability rating category.

"Under our structured finance sovereign risk criteria, we consider
that the transaction's exposure to country risk is sufficiently
mitigated at the assigned ratings."

Until the end of the reinvestment period on Jan. 15, 2024, the
collateral manager may substitute assets in the portfolio for so
long as our CDO Monitor test is maintained or improved in relation
to the initial ratings on the notes. This test looks at the total
amount of losses that the transaction can sustain as established by
the initial cash flows for each rating, and it compares that with
the current portfolio's default potential plus par losses to date.
As a result, until the end of the reinvestment period, the
collateral manager may through trading deteriorate the
transaction's current risk profile, as long as the initial ratings
are maintained.

The transaction's documented counterparty replacement and remedy
mechanisms adequately mitigate its exposure to counterparty risk
under our current counterparty criteria.

S&P said, "We consider the transaction's legal structure and
framework to be bankruptcy remote, in line with our legal
criteria.

"Following our analysis of the credit, cash flow, counterparty,
operational, and legal risks, we believe our assigned ratings are
commensurate with the available credit enhancement for the class A
to F notes. Our credit and cash flow analysis indicates that the
available credit enhancement for the class B-1, B-2, and C notes
could withstand stresses commensurate with higher rating levels
than those we have assigned. However, as the CLO is in its
reinvestment phase, during which the transaction's credit risk
profile could deteriorate, we have capped our assigned ratings on
the notes.

"In addition to our standard analysis, to provide an indication of
how rising pressures among speculative-grade corporates could
affect our ratings on European CLO transactions, we have also
included the sensitivity of the ratings on the class A to E notes
to five of the 10 hypothetical scenarios we looked at in our recent
publication.

"With regards the class F notes, as our ratings analysis makes
additional considerations before assigning ratings in the 'CCC'
category we would assign a 'B-' rating if the criteria for
assigning a 'CCC' category rating are not met."

S&P Global Ratings believes there remains a high degree of
uncertainty about the evolution of the coronavirus pandemic. While
the early approval of a number of vaccines is a positive
development, countries' approval of vaccines 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 mid-2021. 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."

The transaction securitizes a portfolio of primarily senior-secured
leveraged loans and bonds, and it will be managed by Bridgepoint
Credit Management Ltd.

  Ratings

  Class   Rating   Amount     Interest rate (%)   Credit
                  (mil. EUR)                      enhancement (%)
   A      AAA (sf)   180.00     3mE + 1.21         40.00
   B-1    AA (sf)     17.50     3mE + 1.95         30.50
   B-2    AA (sf)     11.00     2.10               30.50
   C      A (sf)      23.00     3mE + 2.95         22.83
   D      BBB (sf)    19.80     3mE + 4.25         16.23
   E      BB- (sf)    15.70     3mE + 6.08         11.00
   F      B- (sf)      7.50     3mE + 7.74          8.50
   Sub    NR          27.35     N/A                 N/A

  NR--Not rated.
  N/A--Not applicable.
  3mE--Three-month Euro Interbank Offered Rate.


CAPITAL FOUR II: S&P Assigns Prelim B- (sf) Rating on Cl. F Notes
-----------------------------------------------------------------
S&P Global Ratings assigned its preliminary credit ratings to
Capital Four CLO II DAC's class A, B-1, B-2, C, D, E, and F notes.
At closing, the issuer will also issue unrated subordinated notes.

Under the transaction documents, the rated notes will pay quarterly
interest unless there is a frequency switch event. Following this,
the notes will switch to semiannual payment.

The portfolio's reinvestment period will end approximately four
years after closing, and the portfolio's weighted-average life test
will be approximately 8.5 years after closing.

The preliminary ratings assigned to the notes reflect S&P's
assessment of:

-- The diversified collateral pool, which consists primarily of
broadly syndicated speculative-grade senior secured term loans and
bonds that are governed by collateral quality tests.

-- The credit enhancement provided through the subordination of
cash flows, excess spread, and overcollateralization (OC).

-- The collateral manager's experienced team, which can affect the
performance of the rated notes through collateral selection,
ongoing portfolio management, and trading.

  Portfolio Benchmarks
                                                       Current
  S&P Global Ratings weighted-average rating factor   2,818.88
  Default rate dispersion                               445.59
  Weighted-average life (years)                           5.03
  Obligor diversity measure                             103.57
  Industry diversity measure                             19.91
  Regional diversity measure                              1.10

  Transaction Key Metrics
                                                       Current
  Total par amount (mil. EUR)                           350.00
  Defaulted assets (mil. EUR)                                0
  Number of performing obligors                            108
  Portfolio weighted-average rating derived
    from S&P's CDO evaluator                               'B'
  'CCC' category rated assets (%)                         2.57
  'AAA' actual weighted-average recovery (%)             37.14
  Covenanted weighted-average spread (%)                  3.70
  Reference weighted-average coupon (%)                   4.00

Loss mitigation loan mechanics

Under the transaction documents, the issuer can purchase loss
mitigation loans, which are assets of an existing collateral
obligation held by the issuer offered in connection with the
obligation's bankruptcy, workout, or restructuring, to improve its
recovery value.

The purchase of loss mitigation loans is not subject to the
reinvestment criteria or the eligibility criteria. It receives no
credit in the principal balance definition, although where the loss
mitigation loan meets the eligibility criteria with certain
exclusions, it is accorded defaulted treatment in the par coverage
tests. The cumulative exposure to loss mitigation loans is limited
to 10% of target par.

The issuer may purchase loss mitigation loans using either interest
proceeds, principal proceeds, or amounts in the collateral
enhancement account. The use of interest proceeds to purchase loss
mitigation loans are subject to (i) all the interest and par
coverage tests passing following the purchase, and (ii) the manager
determining there are sufficient interest proceeds to pay interest
on all the rated notes on the upcoming payment date. The use of
principal proceeds is subject to the transaction passing par
coverage tests and the manager having built sufficient excess par
in the transaction so that the principal collateral amount is equal
to or exceeds the portfolio's target par balance after the
reinvestment.

To protect the transaction from par erosion, any distributions
received from loss mitigation obligations that are either purchased
with the use of principal, or purchased with interest or amounts in
the supplemental reserve account, but which have been afforded
credit in the coverage test, will irrevocably form part of the
issuer's principal account proceeds and cannot be recharacterized
as interest.

Reverse collateral allocation mechanism

If a defaulted euro-denominated obligation becomes the subject of a
mandatory exchange for U.S.-denominated obligation following a
collateral allocation mechanism (CAM) trigger event, the portfolio
manager may sell the CAM obligation and invest the sale proceeds in
the same obligor (a CAM euro obligation), provided the obligation:

-- Is denominated in euros;

-- Ranks as the same or more senior level of priority as the CAM
obligation; and
-- Is issued under the same facility as the CAM obligation by the
obligor.

To ensure that the CLO's original or adjusted collateral par amount
is not adversely affected following a CAM exchange, a CAM
obligation may only be acquired if, following the reinvestment, the
numerator of the CLO's par value test, referred to as the adjusted
collateral principal amount, is either:

-- Greater than the reinvestment target par balance;

-- Maintained or improved when compared to the same balance
immediately after the collateral obligation became a defaulted
obligation; or

-- Maintained or improved compared to the same balance immediately
after the mandatory exchange which resulted in the issuer holding
the CAM exchange. Solely for the purpose of this condition, the CAM
obligation's principal balance is carried at the lowest of its
market value and recovery rate, adjusted for foreign currency risk
and foreign exchange rates.

-- Finally, a CAM euro exchanged obligation that is also a
restructured obligation may not be purchased with sale proceeds
from a CAM exchanged obligation.

The portfolio manager may only sell a CAM obligation and reinvest
the sale proceeds in a CAM euro obligation if, in the portfolio
manager's view, the sale and subsequent reinvestment is expected to
result in a higher level of ultimate recovery when compared to the
expected ultimate recovery from the CAM obligation.

Rating rationale

S&P said, "Our preliminary ratings reflect our assessment of the
preliminary collateral portfolio's credit quality, which has a
weighted-average rating of 'B'. We consider that the portfolio will
primarily comprise broadly syndicated speculative-grade senior
secured term loans and senior secured bonds. Therefore, we
conducted our credit and cash flow analysis by applying our
criteria for corporate cash flow CDOs.

"In our cash flow analysis, we used the EUR350 million par amount,
the covenanted weighted-average spread of 3.70%, the reference
weighted-average coupon of 4.00%, and the covenanted
weighted-average recovery rates for all rated notes. We applied
various cash flow stress scenarios, using four different default
patterns, in conjunction with different interest rate stress
scenarios for each liability rating category.

Our cash flow analysis also considers scenarios where the
"underlying pool comprises 100% of floating-rate assets (i.e., the
fixed-rate bucket is 0%) and where the fixed-rate bucket is fully
utilized (in this case, 15%). In latter scenarios, the class F
cushion is -1.20%. Based on the portfolio's actual characteristics
and additional overlaying factors, including our long-term
corporate default rates and the class F notes' credit enhancement
(7.49%), we believe this class is able to sustain a steady-state
scenario, where the current market level of stress and collateral
performance remains steady. Consequently, we have assigned our 'B-
(sf)' rating to the class F notes, in line with our criteria.

"We expect that the transaction's documented counterparty
replacement and remedy mechanisms will adequately mitigate its
exposure to counterparty risk under our current counterparty
criteria.

"Following the application of our structured finance sovereign risk
criteria, we consider the transaction's exposure to country risk to
be limited at the assigned preliminary ratings, as the exposure to
individual sovereigns does not exceed the diversification
thresholds outlined in our criteria.

"At closing, we consider that the transaction's legal structure
will be bankruptcy remote, in line with our legal criteria.

"Our credit and cash flow analysis indicate that the available
credit enhancement for the class B-1 to D notes could withstand
stresses commensurate with higher rating levels than those we have
assigned. However, as the CLO is still in its reinvestment phase,
during which the transaction's credit risk profile could
deteriorate, we have capped our assigned ratings on the notes.

"Following our analysis of the credit, cash flow, counterparty,
operational, and legal risks, we believe that our preliminary
ratings are commensurate with the available credit enhancement for
the class A, B-1, B-2, C, D, E, and F notes.

"In addition to our standard analysis, to provide an indication of
how rising pressures among speculative-grade corporates could
affect our ratings on European CLO transactions, we have also
included the sensitivity of the ratings on the class A to E notes
to five of the 10 hypothetical scenarios we looked at in our recent
publication.

"As our ratings analysis makes additional considerations before
assigning ratings in the 'CCC' category, and we would assign a 'B-'
rating if the criteria for assigning a 'CCC' category rating are
not met, we have not included the above scenario analysis results
for the class F notes."

S&P Global Ratings believes there remains a high degree of
uncertainty about the evolution of the coronavirus pandemic. While
the early approval of a number of vaccines is a positive
development, countries' approval of vaccines 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 mid-2021. 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."

Capital Four II is a European cash flow CLO securitization of a
revolving pool, comprising euro-denominated senior secured loans
and bonds issued mainly by speculative-grade borrowers. Capital
Four CLO Management K/S will manage the transaction as a lead
manager and Capital Four Management Fondsmæglerselskab A/S as a
co-collateral manager.

  Ratings List
  
  Class    Prelim     Prelim     Sub (%)  Interest rate*
           Rating     amount
                    (mil. EUR)
   A      AAA (sf)    217.00     38.00 Three/six-month
                                           EURIBOR plus 1.05%
   B-1     AA (sf)     22.30     29.49 Three/six-month
                                           EURIBOR plus 1.70%
   B-2     AA (sf)      7.50     29.49 2.00%
   C        A (sf)     23.60     22.74 Three/six-month
                                           EURIBOR plus 2.70%
   D      BBB (sf)     24.50     15.74 Three/six-month
                                           EURIBOR plus 3.80%
   E      BB- (sf      20.10     10.00 Three/six-month
                                           EURIBOR plus 5.91%
   F       B- (sf)      8.80      7.49 Three/six-month
                                           EURIBOR plus 7.80%
  Sub           NR     32.40       N/A N/A

  *The payment frequency switches to semiannual and the index
switches to six-month EURIBOR when a frequency switch event
occurs.
  EURIBOR--Euro Interbank Offered Rate.
  NR--Not rated.
  N/A—-Not applicable.




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

ENGINEERING SPA: S&P Assigns 'B' Long-Term ICR, Outlook Stable
--------------------------------------------------------------
S&P Global Ratings assigned its 'B' long-term issuer credit rating
to Engineering SpA and its 'B' issue rating to the senior secured
notes issued by Centurion Bidco SpA in October 2020.

This rating action is in line with S&P's preliminary ratings, which
it assigned on June 24, 2020.   There were no material changes to
its base case or the financial documentation compared with its
original review.

The main difference from the preliminary rating analysis is the
higher coupon on the senior secured debt, at 5.875% against our
initial assumption of 4.5%.   There was no material change in the
bond documentation. In addition, a total of EUR605 million of
senior secured notes were issued instead of EUR640 million in the
preliminary analysis; the difference was replaced by a EUR38
million bank term loan. As a result, leverage does not change
compared with our previous estimate and credit metrics are only
slightly lower, given the higher interest.

S&P said, "The stable outlook reflects our expectation that
Engineering will not be materially hit by the current pandemic and
the subsequent recession. It also takes into account that
leverage--after peaking at around 8.0x in 2020--will likely drop
thereafter, fueled by EBITDA growth in 2021, underpinned by
supportive market trends and Engineering's solid positioning and
superior technical capabilities. Furthermore, we expect the company
to maintain its solid cash flow conversion by maintaining FOCF to
debt at least above 5%.

"We could lower the rating if EBITDA growth is weaker than we
expect, leading to adjusted leverage rising to well above 9.0x. We
could also lower the rating if FOCF to debt weakens significantly
toward 0%. In our view, this could result from weaker-than-expected
operating performance, either due to slower economic recovery in
2021 or increasing competition from larger peers bringing down
prices.

"The rating could also be negatively affected by fallout from the
ongoing corruption investigation. We could take a negative rating
action if the investigation's findings led us to question
Engineering's governance, or if reputation damage or inability to
participate in future public administration tenders undermines
revenue, profitability, and free cash flow generation.

"We could raise the rating by one notch if Engineering is resilient
through 2021, sustainably reducing adjusted leverage below 7.0x
while strengthening FOCF to debt above 7%."

POPOLARE BARI 2017: DBRS Lowers Class B Notes Rating to CCC
-----------------------------------------------------------
DBRS Ratings GmbH downgraded its ratings on the Class A and Class B
notes issued by Popolare Bari NPLs 2017 S.r.l., as follows:

-- Class A Notes to B (high) (sf) from BBB (low) (sf)
-- Class B Notes to CCC (sf) from B (low) (sf)

The ratings remain Under Review with Negative Implications.

The transaction represents the issuance of Class A, Class B, and
Class J notes (collectively, the notes). At issuance, the notes
were backed by a EUR 319.8 million portfolio by gross book value
(GBV) consisting of secured and unsecured nonperforming loans
(NPLs) originated by Banca Popolare di Bari S.c .p.a and Cassa di
Risparmio di Orvieto S.p.A. (the originators). The receivables are
serviced by Prelios Credit Servicing S.p.A. (Prelios, or the
servicer). A backup servicer, Banca Finanziaria Internazionale
S.p.A. (formerly, Securitization Services S.p.A.), was appointed
and will act as a servicer in case of the termination of the
appointment of Prelios.

RATING RATIONALE

The rating downgrades follow a review of the transaction and are
based on the following analytical considerations:

-- Transaction performance: assessment of portfolio recoveries as
of October 30, 2020, focusing on: (1) a comparison between actual
collections and the special servicer's initial business plan
forecasts and (2) a comparison between the current performance and
DBRS Morningstar's expectations.

-- Special servicer's updated business plan, received in December
2020 and its comparison with the initial collection expectations.

-- Portfolio characteristics: loan pool composition as of October
2020 and evolution of its core features since issuance.

-- Transaction liquidating structure: the order of priority
entails a fully sequential amortisation of the notes (i.e., the
Class B notes will begin to amortise following the full repayment
of the Class A notes, and the Class J notes will amortise following
the repayment of the Class B notes).

-- Performance ratios and underperformance events: as per the most
recent October 2020 investor report, the cumulative collection
ratio is 63.6% and the present value (PV) cumulative profitability
ratio is 96.8%. A subordination event has not occurred as it would
occur upon the PV cumulative profitability ratio being under 90% or
upon Class A interest shortfalls.

-- Liquidity support: the transaction benefits from an amortising
cash reserve providing liquidity to the structure, covering against
potential interest shortfall on the Class A notes and senior costs.
The cash reserve target amount is equal to 4% of the Class A notes
principal outstanding and is currently fully funded.

TRANSACTION AND PERFORMANCE

According to the latest October 2020 investor report, the principal
amounts outstanding of the Class A, Class B, and Class J notes were
equal to EUR 64.2 million, EUR 10.1 million, and EUR 13.5 million,
respectively.

Although the performance of the transaction together with the
cumulative collection ratio (CCR) have been deteriorating since
closing, the relatively weak subordination event triggers led to
continuous payment of Class B interest, which is credit negative
for Class A. The balance of the Class A notes has amortised by
20.7% since issuance.

As reported in the most recent semiannual servicer report, the
actual cumulative gross collections (GDPs) as of 30 October 2020
were EUR 25.4 million, whereas the initial business plan prepared
by the servicer assumed cumulative gross collections of EUR 41.3
million for the same period. Therefore, with a CCR of 63.6%, the
transaction is underperforming by 36.4% compared with the
servicer's initial expectations.

At issuance, DBRS Morningstar estimated cumulative gross
collections of EUR 26.2 million at the BBB (low) (sf) scenario and
of EUR 27.5 million at the B (low) (sf) scenario for the same
period. Therefore, as of October 2020, the transaction was
performing below DBRS Morningstar's stressed expectations at
closing.

To date only 22.7% of the actual cumulative GDP have been from
judicial proceeds. The servicer is leveraging on note sales and
discounted payoffs (DPOs) as part of the recovery strategy (29.5%
and 40.3% of the actual cumulative GDP, respectively). Although
note sales is not a profitable strategy, DPOs have been
compensating the low amount of judicial proceeds and keeping the
overall profitability of the transaction stable with a PV
cumulative profitability ratio at 96.8% as of 30 October 2020.

In December 2020, DBRS Morningstar received a revised business plan
prepared by the special servicer, as provided for by the original
documentation of the transaction. In this updated business plan,
the special servicer assumed lower recoveries compared with initial
expectations. The total cumulative gross collections from the
updated business plan account for EUR 96.4 million, which is 19.9%
lower than the EUR 120.4 million expected initially. It is
important to note that this updated business plan does not include
Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) related adjustments, as it was
prepared early 2020.

The downgrade of the ratings and the decision to maintain the Under
Review with Negative Implications status are based on (i) the
current significant underperformance of the transaction, (ii) the
worsening servicer forecast considering the 2020 updated business
plan, and (iii) the current uncertainties deriving from the
pandemic and the market environment. DBRS Morningstar endeavours to
resolve the status of ratings Under Review with Negative
Implications as soon as appropriate. If continued heightened market
uncertainty and volatility persist, DBRS Morningstar may extend the
Under Review status for a longer period of time. During its review,
DBRS Morningstar will assess the updated business plan and the
changes from previous expectations in detail, and may change its
stressed assumptions as a result.

The final maturity date of the transaction is in October 2037.

The coronavirus and the resulting isolation measures have resulted
in a sharp economic contraction, increased unemployment rates, and
reduced investment activities. DBRS Morningstar anticipates that
collections in European NPL securitizations will continue to be
disrupted in the coming months and that the deteriorating
macroeconomic conditions could negatively affect recoveries from
NPLs and the related real estate collateral. For this transaction,
DBRS Morningstar considered a potential decrease in recoveries as a
result of the global efforts to contain the spread of the
coronavirus.

Notes: All figures are in euros unless otherwise noted.




===================
K A Z A K H S T A N
===================

ATFBANK JSC: S&P Affirms 'B-/B' ICRs Despite Deposit Outflows
-------------------------------------------------------------
S&P Global Ratings affirmed its 'B-/B' long- and short-term issuer
credit ratings on Kazakhstan-based ATFBank JSC. The outlook is
stable. Simultaneously, S&P affirmed its 'kzBB' Kazakhstan national
scale ratings on the bank.

S&P said, "We affirmed the ratings because we expect support
measures to accompany First Heartland Jysan Bank's (Jysan Bank's)
acquisition of ATFBank that was announced on Nov. 2, 2020, and
publicly supported by the regulator. In our expectation, this will
mitigate pressure on the bank's liquidity observed over the past
two months, allowing it to clean up problem assets from its balance
sheet and build capital buffers. Therefore, we are applying a
positive transition notch that balances the downward revision of
our stand-alone credit profile (SACP) assessment to 'ccc+' from
'b-'.

"We revised down the SACP to 'ccc+' because we believe that, in the
absence of support, the bank is vulnerable and dependent on
favorable business and financial conditions to meet its financial
commitments. This is because the bank's liquidity cushion has been
decreasing. In October-November 2020, ATFbank's total deposits
decreased by 14%. Simultaneously, the bank's short-term regulatory
liquidity ratio decreased to 1.1x on Dec. 1, 2020, from 1.37x on
Oct. 1, 2020. We note, however, that this is currently still
comfortably above the regulatory minimum of 0.3x, and outflows
stopped in early December.

"The outlook on ATFBank is stable, reflecting our expectation that
the upcoming support accompanying Jysan Bank's acquisition will be
sufficient and come in time to avoid liquidity stress.

"We could lower the ratings in the next 12 months if pressure on
the bank's funding and liquidity profiles continues, which could
happen if ATFBank's acquisition by Jysan Bank does not proceed, is
postponed, or if support measures appear insufficient."

A positive rating action appears remote at this stage given the
size of ATFBank's asset-quality problems and still-limited
visibility on support measures.

BASEL INSURANCE: S&P Assigns B Long-Term ICR, Outlook Stable
------------------------------------------------------------
S&P Global Ratings assigned its 'B' long-term insurer financial
strength and issuer credit ratings and 'kzBB+' national scale
rating to Kazakhstan-based Basel Insurance JSC. The outlook is
stable.

S&P said, "Despite its long-standing position in Kazakhstan, we
consider that Basel Insurance JSC's business model will undergo
material changes following the expected ownership transfer in
first-quarter 2021.
"In our view, the current capital position is supportive of future
growth on the open market, but the company's absolute capital
remains small in an international context."

The ratings on Basel Insurance reflect its solid capital adequacy,
although on a small capital base; more cautious investment strategy
than that of peers; and sound liquidity cushion. S&P believes the
company has good, albeit still unproven, business prospects under
the new strategy. In particular, uncertain distribution ties,
together with high competition, could lead to higher acquisition
costs and potentially pressure business volumes and loss ratios.

Established back in 1994 as Kaspi Insurance, the company was
rebranded in May 2020. The decision followed a reshaping of its
strategic vision for 2021-2022, which implies future development on
the open market, primarily through motor insurance. Previously the
company serviced clients of Kaspi Bank with bankassurance products.
Following this change, in December 2020 it was announced that Kaspi
Bank would transfer its 100% stake in Basel Insurance to private
individual Daniyar Zhanbekov. Due to this transaction, we consider
Basel Insurance a nonstrategic subsidiary of Kaspi Bank and will
not maintain group status once the ownership change takes place,
likely in first-quarter 2021.

It has been a transition year for Basel Insurance in defining its
strategic vision for 2021-2022, with insurance premium declines in
the first 11 months of 2020. However, the insurer's operating
results remained solid, both on the underwriting and investment
side. S&P said, "We consider that achieving the new operating
targets may be challenging under current market conditions,
primarily due to intensifying competition. We also see that the
company will likely need to build a loyal and active agent network
to develop its motor insurance business, which could imply
additional costs. Moreover, Basel Insurance is not as well-known a
brand in Kazakhstan's insurance market compared with peers, which
may make attracting new customers difficult. Therefore, we expect
that the company's expense ratio will materially increase next year
to close to the market average of 50%-55%, but the net combined
ratio (loss and expense) will remain at least below 90% in
2021-2022. We expect the company to post a net income of
Kazakhstani tenge (KZT) 800 million-KZT850 million in 2021-2022."

S&P said, "We assess Basel Insurance's capital adequacy as
sufficient to support its current and projected business volumes,
which we expect will be maintained in the next 12-24 months. In our
forecast, we assume no dividend payouts in the next two years
except for the one-off payout to Kaspi Bank early next year. We
assume that the new shareholder is committed to supporting the
company's growth and will maintain its solvency ratio at 150% and
above in 2021-2022." The absolute size of Basel Insurance's capital
base, with projected shareholder equity of about $10 million, could
be sensitive to a single major event, which constrains our capital
assessment.

Most of the company's portfolio comprises cash, bank deposits, and
government-related entity or government bonds of 'BBB' average
credit quality. This supports our view of the company's modest risk
tolerance and will allow it to create a sufficient liquidity
cushion to meet future insurance obligations.

The stable outlook reflects S&P's expectation that, in the next 12
months, the company will gradually build up its competitive
standing in Kazakhstan's insurance market due to its local
knowledge, while maintaining sufficient capital and sound
underwriting performance.

S&P could lower the ratings in the next 12 months if it sees that:

-- The strategic shift has a negative effect on Basel Insurance's
competitive standing, business model viability, or risk management
practices; or

-- Asset quality deteriorated to 'BB' or below.

A positive rating action might follow in the next 12 months based
on:

-- The sustainability of the company's strategy, reflected in its
solid operating performance and unchanged capital position and
asset allocation; and

-- A build-up of the company's competitive position via insurance
premium growth and solid underwriting performance.




===================
L U X E M B O U R G
===================

CURIUM BIDCO: Fitch Corrects Dec. 18 Ratings Release
----------------------------------------------------
Fitch issued a press release correcting a rating action commentary
published on 18 December 2020. It includes the rating assigned to a
USD265 million first-lien loan due 2027.

Fitch Ratings has downgraded Curium Bidco S.a.r.l.'s Long-Term
Issuer Default Rating (IDR) to 'B' from 'B+'. The Outlook is
Stable. Fitch has also downgraded Curium's senior secured rating to
'B+'/'RR3' from 'BB-'/'RR3' mirroring the one-notch downgrade of
the IDR. All ratings have been removed from Rating Watch Negative
(RWN). Fitch has also assigned a final rating to USD325 million
second-lien loans issued by Curium of 'CCC+'/'RR6'.

The rating actions follow the completion of the sales process
between CapVest's private equity Funds III and IV (including
related financing).

The downgrade reflects the use of the incremental debt raised
solely to fund the acquisition price and not deployed to enhance
the business profile or EBITDA. Fitch estimates Curium's
post-transaction funds from operations (FFO) gross leverage to rise
above 8.5x at FYE20 (December year-end) from 5.3x at FYE19. Despite
strong deleveraging capacity, the incremental debt will leave
Curium's leverage around 6.5x, a level more consistent with a 'B'
IDR for the sector, over the rating horizon. The reduced financial
flexibility resulting from the increase in leverage also drives the
one-notch downgrade.

The IDR and Stable Outlook are underpinned by Fitch’s expectation
of steady underlying operations with sustainably positive organic
revenue growth underpinning the launch of new product lines and
acquired revenues.

KEY RATING DRIVERS

Manageable Pandemic Impact: Fitch expects top-line growth to be
slightly negative for 2020, reflecting some demand disruption from
hospitals allocating resources towards treating Covid-19 patients,
away from nuclear imaging scans in 2Q20. However, Fitch expects the
recovery that began in 2H20 to continue into 2021, with a return to
normal testing volumes and new product launches allowing Curium to
exceed pre-pandemic EBITDA in 2021.

However, while the pandemic continues, there is a risk that volumes
and profit margins could be lower than expected by Fitch in the
autumn and winter months, especially in the event of renewed or
more generalised lockdowns, with hospitals becoming overwhelmed
again and delaying the recovery trajectory to 2021. A much longer
or protracted pace of recovery could put further negative pressure
on the IDR, if profit stagnation is not compensated by material
cash preservation actions, resulting in lack of visibility of
deleveraging.

Strong Position in Niche Market: Curium's solid market leadership
in the nuclear medicine industry means no other competitor is able
to service Curium's geographical footprint or product range. The
company's vertical integration allows it to have control from the
sourcing of radioactive substances to the distribution of products
to end users, underpinning a robust business model.

Despite being a dominant player in a niche industry, Curium's
business model is heavily influenced by rather weak product
diversification and scale relative to broader healthcare peers. A
meaningful increase in Curium's scale would most likely be achieved
via debt-funded M&A, likely to further elevate the company's
leverage profile in the medium term.

Deleveraging Capacity Remains Strong: Following the transaction,
Fitch expects FFO gross leverage to rise above 8.5x and stay above
7.0x in 2021, a level that would be consistent with a lower rating.
However, Fitch expects a steady pace of organic deleveraging (by
2.0x by 2023), given an envisaged return to uninterrupted testing
volumes and subsequent margin improvement exploiting Curium's
operational leverage. Nevertheless, Fitch expects leverage to
remain at sustained high levels of 6.5x by 2023, reducing interest
coverage and the generation of free cash flow (FCF) to levels more
commensurate with a 'B' financial profile.

Moderate Execution Risks: Aside from any pandemic-related near-term
performance volatility, Fitch believes that Curium will continue
its acquisitive strategy, as this is central to the sponsors' value
creation strategy. Fitch’s view of moderate execution risks
reflects the broad scope (and scale) of possible acquisitions and
subsequent integration, of which there is a limited track record.
Being vertically integrated offers a variety of opportunities for
further consolidation, which creates some uncertainty about how the
business model will evolve.

Industry with High Barriers to Entry: The nuclear medicine industry
exhibits very high barriers to entry as strict regulatory approvals
are required from both nuclear and medical agencies, as well as
clearance at various customs for transportation. Fitch believes the
creation of Curium consolidates key markets (the US and the EU),
further entrenching the position of existing players, as entry into
the niche industry would require a significant up-front capital
investment. This remains an important consideration supporting
Fitch’s assessment of Curium's robust business model.

DERIVATION SUMMARY

Fitch applies its rating navigator framework for producers of
medical products and devices in assessing Curium's rating, also
against peers. Larger medical devices-focused peers such as Boston
Scientific Corporation (BBB/Stable) and Fresenius SE & Co. KGaA
(BBB-/Stable) do not necessarily relate to Curium's line of
business. Nevertheless, both issuers clearly illustrate the
benefits of size upon ratings (revenue of more than EUR10 billion)
and diversified product offering, which in the case of Fresenius
offsets about 4.5x FFO adjusted leverage for an investment grade
rating.

Upon completion of the transaction Curium's rating has converged
with the ratings of European lab testing companies, such as Synlab
(B/Positive), which operates with slightly higher levels of
leverage (8.0x) due to its continuing "buy and build" strategy,
similar to CAB Societe d'exercice liberal par actions simplifiee
(CAB; B/Negative). However, both lab testing groups will continue
to have notably larger operations than Curium.

KEY ASSUMPTIONS

-- Revenue increasing above EUR700 million by 2022 driven by
    organic growth and bolt-on M&A;

-- EBITDA margins trending towards 30% by 2022;

-- Modest annual working capital outflows of EUR5 million 2021;

-- Capex intensity at around 10% of sales, supporting new product
    launches;

-- Bolt-on M&A of EUR20 million per year;

-- No dividend distributions.

KEY RECOVERY RATING ASSUMPTIONS

Curium would be considered a going concern in bankruptcy and would
be reorganised rather than liquidated;

Curium's post-reorganisation, going-concern EBITDA reflects Fitch's
view of a sustainable EBITDA that is 33% below 2019's Fitch-defined
EBITDA of EUR164 million. In such a scenario, the stress on EBITDA
would most likely result from severe operational or/and regulatory
issues;

A distressed EV/EBITDA multiple of 6.0x has been applied to
calculate a going-concern enterprise value; this multiple reflects
the group's strong infrastructure capabilities, leading market
positions and FCF capabilities;

Based on the payment waterfall, the enlarged revolving credit
facility (RCF) of EUR200 million ranks pari passu with the senior
secured term loans, EUR960 million equivalent. After deducting 10%
for administrative claims, Fitch’s waterfall analysis therefore
generates a ranked recovery for the senior secured loans in the
'RR3' band, indicating a 'B+' instrument rating, maintaining the
one-notch uplift from the IDR. The waterfall analysis output
percentage on current metrics and assumptions was 55%.

The recovery rating for the placed second-lien loans is 'RR6' with
0% expected recoveries, driving the 'CCC+' rating, two notches
below the IDR.

RATING SENSITIVITIES

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

-- Maintenance of a financial policy driving FFO gross leverage
    below 6.0x on a sustained basis;

-- Better product and geographical diversification indicative of
    successful operational integration and execution of
    acquisitions;

-- Enhanced profitability evident in improved scale and pricing
    power reflected in FCF margin staying well above 5%.

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

-- Operational challenges or loss of contracts that would lead to
    a stable decline in revenues eroding the EBITDA margin towards
    25%;

-- FFO gross leverage sustained above 8.0x beyond 2021;

-- Neutral to mildly positive FCF margin, reflecting limited
    organic deleveraging capabilities;

-- Loss of regulatory approval relating to the
    handling/processing of nuclear substances or key products in
    core markets (the US and the EU).

BEST/WORST CASE RATING SCENARIO

International scale credit ratings of Non-Financial Corporate
issuers have a best-case rating upgrade scenario (defined as the
99th percentile of rating transitions, measured in a positive
direction) of three notches over a three-year rating horizon; and a
worst-case rating downgrade scenario (defined as the 99th
percentile of rating transitions, measured in a negative direction)
of four notches over three years. The complete span of best- and
worst-case scenario credit ratings for all rating categories ranges
from 'AAA' to 'D'. Best- and worst-case scenario credit ratings are
based on historical performance.

LIQUIDITY AND DEBT STRUCTURE

Satisfactory Liquidity Post Transaction: The higher debt burden
partly erodes the group's financial flexibility, even though Fitch
expects FCF will remain positive in the low-to-mid single digits
(around 5% of sales from 2022). Curium will have access to an
enlarged EUR200 million RCF, in addition to EUR55 million of
factoring facilities available to help manage intra-year working
capital needs. Fitch does not foresee a notable build-up of cash on
balance sheet in the medium term despite the expectation of strong
FCF margins; excess funds will likely to be quickly deployed
towards new product launches and selective M&A.

ESG CONSIDERATIONS

Curium has an ESG Relevance Score of 3 for Waste & Hazardous
Materials Management; Ecological impacts due to the production and
transportation of radioactive materials central to its operations.
The successful management of handling hazardous materials and
corresponding ecological impacts means that there is no influence
on Curium's rating at the current level. Production of radioactive
material leads to contamination of the production sites, so Curium
is obliged to fully decommission and decontaminate such sites when
no longer used. Nevertheless, per the company's disclosure under
its IAS 37 requirements, no decommissioning will start taking place
until 2048 at earliest, with environmental accounting provisions
and bank guarantees in place.

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.

LSF11 SKYSCRAPER: S&P Assigns B Long-Term ICR, Outlook Stable
-------------------------------------------------------------
S&P Global Ratings assigned its 'B' long-term issuer credit and
issue ratings to LSF11 Skyscraper Holdco and the EUR1,110 million
euro-denominated portion of its EUR1,585 million-equivalent senior
secured term loans (denominated in euro and U.S. dollar).

The stable outlook reflects S&P's expectation that Skyscraper will
continue to deliver its business strategy and gradually improve
profitability, restoring leverage toward 6.5x through 2021 and
below thereafter, while maintaining solid cash flow conversion.

Skyscraper's credit quality reflects the company's leading position
in a very competitive and fragmented construction chemical market,
exposure to cyclical end markets, and the risks around the delivery
and timing of its proposed cost-savings program.   A global leader
in performance materials for construction, with S&P Global
Ratings-adjusted forecast EBITDA of about EUR280 million-EUR300
million in 2020, Skyscraper will likely remain highly exposed to
global construction output. Although the company's repair and
maintenance focus makes it somewhat less susceptible to a
recession, in our base case we assume a global economic contraction
still hurting demand for some of Skyscraper's products in 2020. S&P
said, "We expect this will partly be mitigated by benefits from raw
material deflation, albeit temporary in nature. We therefore
anticipate revenue will decline by about 8%-10% in 2020 and recover
to about 6%-8% in 2021. Management is now focused on delivering
operational initiatives to improve its margin. However, we perceive
some inherent execution risk surrounding its ability to execute
most of these initiatives within the first 12-18 months as a new
stand-alone entity without significantly disrupting its
performance. At transaction close, the company's S&P Global
Ratings-adjusted debt was about EUR2.0 billion, translating into
adjusted debt to EBITDA of about 6.9x. After the transaction, we
expect debt ratios will improve further to below 6.5x, on the back
of gradual realization of the operational initiatives."

Skyscraper's business risk profile reflects its leading positions
in admixtures and solid brands in construction systems, its global
footprint, and its focus on construction chemicals.   The company
generates about 80% of its revenue in markets where it commands a
top-three position in admixtures and construction systems. This
should support its pricing power and procurement capabilities,
enabling Skyscraper to maintain stable margins. This has held
particularly true as contribution margins have fluctuated within a
narrow band over the cycle since 2007. S&P said, "We see the
company's dominant position in the niche concentrated concrete
admixtures segment, backed by strong positions in key end market
segments (for example, No.1 in DACH tile adhesives) as a key
strength. This reflects Skyscraper's strong technical know-how and
reliability as a supplier for large construction and infrastructure
projects. We believe these characteristics are beneficial to the
remainder of Skyscraper's product portfolio development. The
company also benefits from global operations in proximity to its
customers, with about 130 plants in 70 different countries."

S&P said, "We view Skyscraper's below-peers' profitability as a
risk, but we expect this will improve through operational
initiatives.   We estimate peers' adjusted EBITDA margins in the
past three years ranged between 13% and 18%, compared with
Skyscraper's about 10% when operating under BASF Group. Depending
on the segment, we see competition arising from more profitable and
better-rated peers including Sika AG, GCP Applied Technologies
Inc., and RPM International Inc." Skyscraper, however, aims to
strengthen its profitability by increasing the share of specialty
products in its portfolio and implementing several operational
initiatives.

Skyscraper's cost savings will likely improve profitability, but
inherent execution risk surrounds the plan.  The company is now
focused on delivering several operational initiatives to improve
margin sustainably above 17% within the next 24 months. These
include procurement optimization, fixed manufacturing costs, staff
expense, and changes to the operating model of the business in some
territories. Skyscraper's management has a record of delivering
EUR5 million-EUR18 million annual operational initiatives since
2015 as part of BASF Group. S&P said, "Nevertheless, we perceive
some execution risk surrounding the company's ability to deliver
most of its initiatives within the first 12-18 months as a new
stand-alone entity without materially affecting its overall
performance. Our base-case credit metrics incorporate gradual
realization of the company's cost-savings and several operational
initiatives as a stand-alone operating entity. We therefore
anticipate gradual EBITDA margin improvement to about 14% by 2022,
somewhat below management's current targets."

The company's current high debt underpins our highly leveraged
financial risk assessment.   At transaction close, Skyscraper's
adjusted debt was about EUR2.0 billion, translating into debt to
EBITDA of 6.9x for 2020. The company's reported gross debt includes
senior secured term loans equivalent to EUR1,585 million, split
between euro (EUR1,110 million) and U.S. dollar (EUR475 million
equivalent). Skyscraper's EUR150 million revolving credit facility
(RCF) was undrawn at close. S&P said, "Our debt adjustments include
about EUR135 million in pension liabilities and about EUR80 million
in future operating lease obligations. We also consider that the
preference shares held by Lone Star qualify for equity treatment
under our methodology, in light of their equity-stapling clause and
highly-subordinated and default-free features. Conversely, we
include in our adjusted debt calculation the EUR210 million holdco
loan standing higher in the final corporate structure. We also
factor in the company's private equity ownership and potentially
aggressive financial strategy. Therefore, we do not net cash
balances from our adjusted debt calculation. That being said, we
view Skyscraper as a cash-generative business with an asset-light
business model. We expect the company will generate free operating
cash flow (FOCF) of about EUR90 million in 2020 and about EUR60
million-EUR70 million in 2021, due to restructuring costs."

The ratings are in line with the preliminary ratings S&P assigned
on July 2, 2020.

S&P said, "The stable outlook reflects our expectation that
Skyscraper will continue to deliver its business strategy and
gradually improve profitability. It also takes into account that
leverage--after peaking at 6.9x in 2020 due to weak demand in the
construction market and including the add-on--will likely drop
toward 6.5x in 2021 and below thereafter. This will be driven by
EBITDA growth in 2021, underpinned by gradual realization of the
cost-savings program and a moderate increase in volumes or unit
prices realized across the group, supported by gradual recovery of
construction markets. Furthermore, we expect the company will
maintain its solid cash flow conversion by maintaining FOCF to debt
at least above 5%. Given the even higher starting leverage, we
estimate rating leeway is limited at transaction's close, relying
largely on improvement trends."

S&P could lower the rating in the absence of a gradual improvement
in organic EBITDA above EUR300 million. This could occur if
carve-out-related cost savings and the benefits from operational
initiatives were delayed or demand from the construction market
materially deteriorated. Such a scenario would likely result in a
marked cut in reported FOCF to below EUR50 million, translating
into potential pressure on liquidity, and adjusted debt to EBITDA
remaining above 6.5x. Rating pressure could also stem from the
private equity sponsor's adoption of a more aggressive financial
policy, as shown, for example, by shareholder distributions or
large debt-funded acquisitions.

Rating upside is fairly remote given the starting leverage. An
upgrade would require a strong record of EBITDA improvement
supported by improving market fundamentals--construction demand,
market shares, and raw material prices--and faster realization of
carve-out cost savings and operational initiatives. It would also
require a strong and explicit commitment from the private equity
owner to maintain adjusted debt to EBITDA below 5x.

MATTERHORN TELECOM: Moody's Completes Review, Retains B2 CFR
------------------------------------------------------------
Moody's Investors Service has completed a periodic review of the
ratings of Matterhorn Telecom Holding SA and other ratings that are
associated with the same analytical unit. The review was conducted
through a portfolio review in which Moody's reassessed the
appropriateness of the ratings in the context of the relevant
principal methodology, recent developments, and a comparison of the
financial and operating profile to similarly rated peers. The
review did not involve a rating committee. Since January 1, 2019,
Moody's practice has been to issue a press release following each
periodic review to announce its completion.

This publication does not announce a credit rating action and is
not an indication of whether or not a credit rating action is
likely in the near future. Credit ratings and outlook/review status
cannot be changed in a portfolio review and hence are not impacted
by this announcement.

KEY RATING CONSIDERATIONS

Matterhorn Telecom Holding SA's (the ultimate parent of Salt Mobile
SA) B2 corporate family rating is supported by its position as a
market challenger and the third-largest operator in the Swiss
mobile market with a growing presence in the fixed segment through
its competitive fibre broadband offering, its high EBITDA margin,
and its adequate liquidity, supported by strong cash flow
generation and a long-dated debt maturity profile.

However, the rating is constrained by the company's high Moody's
adjusted debt-to-EBITDA with limited de-leveraging prospects based
on the company's financial policy to maintain net leverage at
between 3.5x and 4.0x (excluding IFRS 16, lease obligations and
indefeasible rights of use) and the risk of further dividend
distributions to its shareholder NJJ Capital, subject to restricted
payments.

The principal methodology used for this review was
Telecommunications Service Providers published in January 2017.

PLT VII FINANCE: Moody's Completes Review, Retains B2 Rating
------------------------------------------------------------
Moody's Investors Service has completed a periodic review of the
ratings of PLT VII Finance S.a.r.l. and other ratings that are
associated with the same analytical unit. The review was conducted
through a portfolio review in which Moody's reassessed the
appropriateness of the ratings in the context of the relevant
principal methodology, recent developments, and a comparison of the
financial and operating profile to similarly rated peers. The
review did not involve a rating committee. Since January 1, 2019,
Moody's practice has been to issue a press release following each
periodic review to announce its completion.

This publication does not announce a credit rating action and is
not an indication of whether or not a credit rating action is
likely in the near future. Credit ratings and outlook/review status
cannot be changed in a portfolio review and hence are not impacted
by this announcement.

KEY RATING CONSIDERATIONS

Bite's B2 rating is supported by its leading position in Mobile and
TV segments in the Baltic region; the growth opportunities in the
Fixed broadband area through from the implementation of a cross
selling strategy and acquisitions; the benefits from its
joint-venture for the sharing of existing mobile networks and
future development of 5G technology; and the strong and growing
free cash flow generation.

Constraining factors for the rating include the company's
relatively modest scale and scope of operations; its geographical
concentration within the Baltic region; its high leverage; and the
company's track record of debt-funded acquisitions and dividend
distributions which may preclude from significant deleveraging
going forward.

The principal methodology used for this review was
Telecommunications Service Providers published in January 2017.



===================
M O N T E N E G R O
===================

MONTENEGRO AIRLINES: Halts Operations Following Mounting Losses
---------------------------------------------------------------
AirlineGeeks reports that Montenegro Airlines, the flag carrier of
the European country of Montenegro, has been shut down by the
government of the small Balkan republic and stopped all flights on
Dec. 26.

The company was the only Montenegrin airline, and it provided
scheduled services to 21 destinations in 10 countries all over
Europe from its hub at Podgorica, Montenegro, the nation's capital.
It was operating a small fleet of four aircraft consisting of
three Embraer 195 and one Fokker 100.

According to AirlineGeeks, Montenegro Airlines in a message posted
on its website said: "Due to the new circumstances related to the
decision of the Government of Montenegro not to support the
existence of a national airline in the future," the statement read,
"and which has a very negative impact on the safety of continued
air traffic, we estimated the risk at a level that Montenegro
Airlines cannot accept.  We hereby inform you that as of December
26, 2020, we will completely suspend the planned traffic.  The
safety of passengers, crew and aircraft has been a priority for the
company from its inception until today."

Montenegro Airlines has failed to turn a profit in each of the last
five years, with net losses amounting to almost EUR50 million
(US$61 million) during that period, AirlineGeeks discloses.

In December 2019, the former government led by the Democratic Party
of Socialists (DPS) committed to invest in the carrier EUR155
million over the next six years, but the statement attracted the
attention of the European Commission, AirlineGeeks recounts.  The
European Union has stringent rules on state aids to airlines, and
since Montenegro has applied to become a member of the Union, it
has to sustain the scrutiny of European authorities in Brussels,
AirlineGeeks notes.

This year a new coalition has taken power in Montenegro after
almost three decades of DPS-led governments, and due to the
mounting losses earlier in December, the newly installed executive
has ordered the closure of the carrier, AirlineGeeks relays, citing
Balkan Insight.

Capital Investments Minister Mladen Bojanic said it would cost
EUR50 million to close the flag carrier and take up to nine months
to create a new one, according to AirlineGeeks.




=====================
N E T H E R L A N D S
=====================

GLOBAL UNIVERSITY: Moody's Affirms B2 CFR, Alters Outlook to Neg.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Moody's Investors Service has changed to negative from stable the
outlook on the ratings of Global University Systems Holding B.V., a
private higher education provider. Concurrently, Moody's has
affirmed the company's B2 corporate family rating, its B2-PD
probability of default rating. Moody's has also affirmed the B2
ratings on the EUR1,000 million senior secured term loan B due 2027
and pari passu ranking GBP120 million senior secured revolving
credit facility due 2026 borrowed by Markermeer Finance B.V., a
wholly owned subsidiary of GUS.


The rating actions reflect the following drivers:

Leverage, as measured by Moody's adjusted debt / EBITDA, is
expected to be above 7x for the fiscal year 2020, which ended
November 30, 2020, largely driven by the impact of the coronavirus
outbreak on the group's EBITDA.

Although timing of any recovery is uncertain, Moody's expects the
company's enrolment levels and fees to stabilise during fiscal
2021, resulting in some de-leveraging over the next 12-18 months.
Moody's expectation is that GUS will not return to revenue growth
in line with historical levels until fiscal 2022 at the very
earliest.

Negative Moody's-adjusted free cash flow generation in fiscal
2020, driven by large working capital outflows.

Good liquidity position, with cash available as at 31 August 2020
of GBP347 million.

The coronavirus outbreak, the government measures put in place to
contain it, and the weak global economic outlook continue to
disrupt economies and credit markets across sectors and regions.
Although an economic recovery is underway, it is tenuous and its
continuation will be closely tied to the containment of the virus.
As a result, the degree of uncertainty around Moody's forecasts is
unusually high. Moody's regards the coronavirus outbreak as a
social risk under its ESG framework, given the substantial
implications for public health and safety.

RATINGS RATIONALE

The B2 CFR of GUS reflects the company's position as a global
private higher education provider with a strong base in Europe,
particularly the UK, solid growth through both acquisitions and
organically whilst maintaining good margins, revenue visibility
from committed student enrollments and supporting underlying growth
drivers for the private-pay education market, solid degree of
revenue diversification by institution and study fields, relatively
high barriers to entry due to tight regulation, access to real
estate and brand reputation and good liquidity position.

Conversely, the rating is constrained by GUS's high
Moody's-adjusted debt/EBITDA of 7.2x for fiscal 2020; negative
Moody's-adjusted free cash flow in fiscal 2020 driven by large
working capital outflows, exposure to highly competitive and
fragmented higher education market with requirement to comply with
rigorous regulatory standards; risks inherent to the recruitment
services division, including its working capital outflows and
limited visibility on EBITDA and cash flow contribution; debt
funded M&A strategy; governance related risk factors namely the
concentration of power around the founder and Chairman.

Social and governance factors are important elements of GUS's
credit profile. GUS's ratings factor in its governance risks,
private ownership, its financial policy, which is tolerant of
relatively high leverage, and its history of debt-funded
acquisitions. At the same time, the company has a good track record
of integration of acquisitions.

Moody's also considers key man risk as the founder is also the
chairman and controls the group. The rating agency positively notes
the recently announced expansion and professionalisation of the
Board, including the possibility of the recently appointed CFO
joining the Board alongside an independent member.

Education is one of the sectors identified in the Moody's social
heat map as facing high social risk. GUS is a provider of tertiary
education, which is discretionary and more exposed to potential
volatility. Moody's view GUS's composition of educational
programmes as quite resilient to an economic downturn, driven by
the growing demand for an educated workforce and the durability of
the value of higher education which continues to drive increasing
participation globally.

LIQUIDITY

Moody's considers GUS's liquidity to be good, with cash available
as at August 31, 2020 of GBP347 million (excluding GBP58.3 million
held in escrow for acquisitions) and GBP14 million available under
the GBP120 million revolving credit facility due 2026. Management
has confirmed that around 35% of cash is held at subsidiary
operating entities with the rest being held centrally as part of
group treasury. There is a net senior leverage springing covenant,
under which Moody's expect the company to retain sufficient
headroom.

STRUCTURAL CONSIDERATIONS

The B2 ratings on the EUR1,000 million TLB and the GBP120 million
RCF are aligned with the CFR as they rank pari passu and represent
the major debt instruments in the capital structure. The
instruments are guaranteed by subsidiaries representing at least
80% of consolidated EBITDA and security includes debentures from UK
subsidiaries.

RATIONALE FOR NEGATIVE OUTLOOK

The negative outlook reflects the high leverage of the company and
the operational and financial downside risks related to the
operational disruptions caused by the coronavirus outbreak. A
stabilisation of the outlook would require Moody's-adjusted gross
leverage to reduce below 6.0x while maintaining at least adequate
liquidity profile at all times.

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

Upward pressure on the ratings could develop over time if Moody's
adjusted debt-to-EBITDA declines below 4.5x and FCF to debt
improves above 5% for a sustained period of time, while maintaining
an adequate liquidity profile.

Downward pressure on the ratings could arise if, for a sustained
period of time, earnings deteriorate or further debt increases
result in Moody's adjusted debt-to-EBITDA above 6.0x, FCF
generation weakens; the company's liquidity profile deteriorates
changes to regulatory approval status at GUS institutions.
Recurring large shareholder distributions could also put negative
pressure on the ratings.

LIST OF AFFECTED RATINGS:

Issuer: Global University Systems Holding B.V.

Affirmations:

LT Corporate Family Rating, Affirmed B2

Probability of Default Rating, Affirmed B2-PD

Outlook Actions:

Outlook, Changed To Negative From Stable

Issuer: Markermeer Finance B.V.

Affirmations:

BACKED Senior Secured Bank Credit Facility, Affirmed B2

Outlook Actions:

Outlook, Changed To Negative From Stable

PRINCIPAL METHODOLOGY

The principal methodology used in these ratings was Business and
Consumer Service Industry published in October 2016.

COMPANY PROFILE

GUS is a private higher education provider offering accredited
academic under- and postgraduate degrees, vocational and
professional qualifications and language courses both on campus and
online. GUS is headquartered in the Netherlands but has presence in
11 countries, with over 67,000 students. The company also provides
marketing, recruitment, retention and online services to third
party higher education institutions. Founded in 2003 the company is
controlled by its founder.

MAGOI B.V.: DBRS Confirms B Rating on Class F Notes
---------------------------------------------------
DBRS Ratings GmbH confirmed the ratings of the bonds issued by
Magoi B.V. (the Issuer) as follows:

-- Class A Notes at AAA (sf)
-- Class B Notes at AA (sf)
-- Class C Notes at A (high) (sf)
-- Class D Notes at A (low) (sf)
-- Class E Notes at BBB (sf)
-- Class F Notes at B (sf)

The rating of the Class A Notes addresses the timely payment of
interest and the ultimate payment of principal on or before the
legal final maturity date in July 2039. The other ratings address
the ultimate payment of scheduled interest while the class is
subordinate and the timely payment of scheduled interest as the
most-senior class, and ultimate repayment of principal by the legal
final maturity date.

The confirmations follow an annual review of the transaction and
are based on the following analytical considerations:

-- Portfolio performance, in terms of delinquencies, defaults, and
losses.

-- Probability of default (PD), loss given default (LGD), and
expected loss assumptions on the remaining receivables.

-- Current available credit enhancement to the notes to cover the
expected losses at their respective rating levels.

-- Current economic environment and an assessment of sustainable
performance, as a result of the Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19)
pandemic.

The Issuer is an ABS transaction comprising a portfolio of
fixed-rate unsecured amortising personal loans granted to
individuals domiciled in the Netherlands for general consumption.
The loan portfolio is serviced by Findio B.V. and InterBank N.V.
(together, the Originators), which are owned by Credit Agricole
Consumer Finance Nederland B.V. (CACF NL). The transaction included
an eight-month revolving period which ended with the August 2020
payment date.

PORTFOLIO PERFORMANCE

As of October 2020, loans two to three months in arrears
represented 0.1% of the outstanding portfolio balance, up from 0.0%
at transaction closing. The 90+ delinquency ratio and the
cumulative default ratio both increased to 0.1%, up from 0.0%, and
the cumulative loss ratio remained at 0.0% in the same period.

PORTFOLIO ASSUMPTIONS AND KEY DRIVERS

DBRS Morningstar has maintained its base case PD assumption at 4.0%
and updated the base case LGD assumption to 78.2%, following
coronavirus adjustments.

CREDIT ENHANCEMENT

The credit enhancement to the rated notes are provided by the
subordination of junior notes. As of the October 2020 payment date,
credit enhancement to the Class A, Class B, Class C, Class D, Class
E, and Class F notes were 21.9%, 15.3%, 11.3%, 8.9%, 6.6%, 4.2%,
respectively, unchanged since the DBRS Morningstar initial rating.

The transaction includes a liquidity reserve fund of EUR 1.8
million that is available to the Issuer during the amortisation
period in restricted scenarios where the interest and principal
collections are not sufficient to cover the shortfalls in senior
expenses, swap payments, and interest on the Class A Notes and the
Class B Notes. During the accelerated redemption period, the
liquidity reserve amount is not available to the Issuer and is
instead returned directly to the liquidity provider.

The transaction also includes a commingling reserve fund of EUR
15.4 million which may be used each month as part of the available
funds up to the collection amounts not received by the Issuer.

Credit Agricole Corporate & Investment Bank (CA-CIB) acts as the
account bank for the transaction. Based on the DBRS Morningstar
private rating of CA-CIB, the downgrade provisions outlined in the
transaction documents, and other mitigating factors inherent in the
transaction structure, DBRS Morningstar considers the risk arising
from the exposure to the account bank to be consistent with the
rating assigned to the Class A Notes, as described in DBRS
Morningstar's "Legal Criteria for European Structured Finance
Transactions" methodology.

CACF NL acts as the swap counterparty for the transaction and
CA-CIB is the stand-by swap counterparty. DBRS Morningstar's
private rating of CA-CIB is above the First Rating Threshold as
described in DBRS Morningstar's "Derivative Criteria for European
Structured Finance Transactions" methodology.

DBRS Morningstar analysed the transaction structure in Intex
DealMaker.

The Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) and the resulting isolation
measures have caused an economic contraction, leading to sharp
increases in unemployment rates and income reductions for many
borrowers. DBRS Morningstar anticipates that delinquencies may
continue to increase in the coming months for many ABS
transactions, some meaningfully. The ratings are based on
additional analysis and adjustments to expected performance as a
result of the global efforts to contain the spread of the
coronavirus.

For this transaction, DBRS Morningstar applied a haircut to its
expected recovery rate and conducted additional sensitivity
analysis to determine that the transaction benefits from sufficient
liquidity support to withstand high levels of payment holidays in
the portfolio.

Notes: All figures are in euros unless otherwise noted.




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

ABSOLUT BANK: Moody's Reviews B2 Bank Deposit Rating for Downgrade
------------------------------------------------------------------
Moody's Investors Service placed on review for possible downgrade
the B2 long-term local and foreign currency bank deposit ratings of
Absolut Bank (PAO); its B1(cr) long-term Counterparty Risk
Assessment and its B1 long-term Counterparty Risk Ratings. At the
same time, Moody's affirmed the bank's Baseline Credit Assessment
and Adjusted BCA of caa1, its Not Prime short-term bank deposit
ratings and CRRs, and its Not Prime(cr) short-term CR Assessment.
Absolut's issuer outlook, as well as the outlook on its long-term
bank deposit ratings, were changed to ratings under review from
negative.

Absolut is the parent bank of a group, which includes subsidiary
Baltinvestbank (ratings withdrawn), a bank under financial
rehabilitation since 2015. Moody's analysis and assessment are
based on the group's consolidated financials, with all the
financial indicators mentioned in this press release referring to
the group, unless otherwise specified. Absolut is ultimately
controlled by the non-state pension fund Blagosostoyanie.

RATINGS RATIONALE

The review for possible downgrade reflects uncertainty with respect
to the timing of potential capital support and its sufficiency to
cover the current shortfall. The affirmation of Absolut's BCA
reflects its persistently slim capital cushion, weak asset quality
and profitability.

Despite Absolut's standalone capital adequacy ratios comfortably
exceeding the regulatory thresholds, the group's consolidated
capital metrics remain weak, translating into a ratio of tangible
common equity (TCE / RWA ratio) of just about 2%. Despite a
reduction of Absolut's problem loans in the third quarter, these
remained high and exceeded 25% of gross loans as of 30 September
2020. Absolut owes its positive financial result in
January-September 2020 to a one-off gain associated with a recovery
of provisions against Baltinvestbank's legacy guarantees, yet
without it the group would have remained loss-making. The group's
sustainable return to profitability will be subject to further
improvements in asset quality and consistently lower need for
provisions, and sufficiency of the revenues from the new business,
with a focus on mortgages and guarantees, to sustainably cover
operating costs and loan loss provisions.

Absolut's strong liquidity and funding profile supports its BCA and
ratings, given the bank's solid liquidity cushion and low reliance
on market funding.

HIGH GOVERNMENT SUPPORT

Absolut's B2 long-term deposit ratings benefit from two notches of
uplift due to a high probability of government support, which
reflects the government of Russia (Baa3 stable) being Absolut's
indirect ultimate owner, following the incorporation of
Blagosostoyanie Fund in 2018, and Absolut's significant subsidiary
Baltinvestbank being a recipient of government support in the form
of a financial rehabilitation package funded by the Deposit
Insurance Agency and the Central Bank of Russia.

THE FOCUS OF THE REVIEW FOR ABSOLUT BANK (PAO)

The review for downgrade of Absolut's ratings will focus on the
measures to be taken in the next three months to remedy the capital
shortfall and the sufficiency of such measures to significantly
improve the group's capital position. Management expects
third-party support to result in a significant accounting gain for
the group. Moody's awaits the confirmation of third-party support,
its size and timing by the end of Q1 2021.

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

Absolut's ratings are currently unlikely to be upgraded, given the
review for downgrade. However, the ratings could be confirmed, if
capital support from a third party is secured by the end of Q1 2021
in an amount sufficient to cover the current capital shortfall.
Improvements in asset quality and profitability would also be
supportive for the ratings.

Absolut's ratings may be downgraded if the proposed capital support
from a third party does not arrive and no other action is taken in
the next three months to significantly improve the bank's capital
position.

LIST OF AFFECTED RATINGS

Issuer: Absolut Bank (PAO)

On Review for Downgrade:

Long-term Counterparty Risk Assessment, Placed on Review for
Downgrade, currently B1(cr)

Long-term Counterparty Risk Ratings, Placed on Review for
Downgrade, currently B1

Long-term Bank Deposit Ratings, Placed on Review for Downgrade,
currently B2, Outlook Changed To Ratings Under Review From
Negative

Affirmations:

Adjusted Baseline Credit Assessment, Affirmed caa1

Baseline Credit Assessment, Affirmed caa1

Short-term Counterparty Risk Assessment, Affirmed NP(cr)

Short-term Counterparty Risk Ratings, Affirmed NP

Short-term Bank Deposit Ratings, Affirmed NP

Outlook Action:

Outlook, Changed To Ratings Under Review From Negative

PRINCIPAL METHODOLOGY

The principal methodology used in these ratings was Banks
Methodology published in November 2019.

ALFASTRAKHOVANIE: S&P Affirms BB+ IFS Rating, Alters Outlook to Pos
-------------------------------------------------------------------
S&P Global Ratings revised its outlook on Russian insurer
Alfastrakhovanie to positive from stable. At the same time, S&P
affirmed its BB+' long-term insurer financial strength rating on
the company.

S&P said, "The outlook revision stems from our view that current
disruptions in financial markets; decreased business activity,
notably due to the coronavirus pandemic; and intensifying
competition have not hindered Alfastrakhovanie's business
development and underwriting performance. We consider that the
company showed solid operating performance that allowed it to
further strengthen its capital cushion."

For the first nine months of 2020, Alfastrakhovanie posted net
income of Russian ruble (RUB) 15.2 billion (about $190 million),
supported by both underwriting and investment income. The company's
net combined (loss and expense) ratio stood at 92% as of Sept. 30,
2020. This reflects Alfastrakhovanie's good underwriting
discipline, relatively low exposure to COVID-19-related claims, and
fewer motor claims during government-imposed mobility restrictions.
S&P estimates the company will report a net property/casualty (P/C)
combined ratio of 94%-96% in 2020-2022, which is below our
expectation of close to 100% for the Russian P/C market.

S&P said, "We expect Alfastrakhovanie to post a significantly
higher average annual net profit in 2020 than its 2019 profit of
RUB3.8 billion. We expect that depreciation of the national
currency will have a material positive impact for 2020 results
together with the underwriting profitability. We estimate the
return on equity (ROE) will be close to 40% in 2020 and 14% in
2021, exceeding expectations for the market average.

"We expect Alfastrakhovanie will further build its capital adequacy
to the 'BBB' level over 2021 by retaining most of its future
earnings, with modest dividend payouts below 5%. In our view,
further capital strengthening will move in tandem with the overall
market trend, due to a regulatory move to the risk-based
approach."

Alfastrakhovanie continues to benefit from its strong market
position and brand name, liquid investment portfolio of a 'BBB'
average credit quality, and stable professional team.

The positive outlook reflects S&P's expectation that, over the next
12-18 months, Alfastrakhovanie can maintain its solid competitive
position and improve its capital adequacy to the 'BBB' level.

S&P could raise its rating over the next 12 months if:

-- Alfastrakhovanie sustainably improves its capital adequacy to
the 'BBB' level due to solid net retained earnings; or

-- S&P sees potential risks in the Russian insurance sector
reducing, despite the challenging environment, with a lower
negative impact on Russian insurance companies.

S&P could revise its outlook on Alfastrakhovanie to stable or take
a negative rating action if, in the next 12 months:

-- Its capital weakened significantly below the 'BBB' level,
according to our capital model, squeezed by weaker-than-expected
technical performance, investment losses, or high dividends; or

-- The average credit quality of invested assets weakens to below
'BBB'.

Future rating actions would be also hinge on S&P's view of
potential constraints on AlfaStrakhovanie's overall financial
strength coming from the wider ABH Holdings group's
creditworthiness.


BASHKORTOSTAN: Moody's Completes Review, Retains Ba1 Rating
-----------------------------------------------------------
Moody's Investors Service has completed a periodic review of the
ratings of Bashkortostan, Republic of and other ratings that are
associated with the same analytical unit. The review was conducted
through a portfolio review in which Moody's reassessed the
appropriateness of the ratings in the context of the relevant
principal methodology, recent developments, and a comparison of the
financial and operating profile to similarly rated peers. The
review did not involve a rating committee. Since January 1, 2019,
Moody's practice has been to issue a press release following each
periodic review to announce its completion.

This publication does not announce a credit rating action and is
not an indication of whether or not a credit rating action is
likely in the near future. Credit ratings and outlook/review status
cannot be changed in a portfolio review and hence are not impacted
by this announcement.

KEY RATING CONSIDERATIONS

Republic of Bashkortostan's (Ba1) credit profile reflects a history
of conservative budget management with a combination of low
leverage and a large volume of liquid assets. A relatively good
flexibility to cut expenditures should enable authorities to
minimize liquidity risks, were the regional economy to face
headwinds. Net direct and indirect debt has been limited while
gross operating balance to operating revenues remained healthy for
several years. The credit profile also incorporates risks
associated with the local economy's high reliance on the regional
hydrocarbon industry and the performance of its major player,
making the region's tax revenues potentially vulnerable to a
prolonged weakness in oil prices.

The principal methodology used for this review was Regional and
Local Governments published in January 2018.

KHANTY-MANSIYSK AO: Moody's Completes Review, Retains Ba1 Rating
----------------------------------------------------------------
Moody's Investors Service has completed a periodic review of the
ratings of Khanty-Mansiysk AO and other ratings that are associated
with the same analytical unit. The review was conducted through a
portfolio review in which Moody's reassessed the appropriateness of
the ratings in the context of the relevant principal methodology,
recent developments, and a comparison of the financial and
operating profile to similarly rated peers. The review did not
involve a rating committee. Since January 1, 2019, Moody's practice
has been to issue a press release following each periodic review to
announce its completion.

This publication does not announce a credit rating action and is
not an indication of whether or not a credit rating action is
likely in the near future. Credit ratings and outlook/review status
cannot be changed in a portfolio review and hence are not impacted
by this announcement.

KEY RATING CONSIDERATIONS

Khanty-Mansiysk AO's (Ba1) credit profile reflects the region's
unique position as the largest Russian oil-producing region with
about half of the Russian total oil output. Being one of the major
contributors into the Russian GDP with a limited population, the
region benefits from good budgetary flexibility. As a result of
strong revenues, the debt burden is low while liquidity cushion is
significant. On the other side, the credit profile also
incorporates risks associated with the region's very high reliance
on hydrocarbon industry and the performance of the Russian major
oil producers, making tax revenues vulnerable to a prolonged
weakness in oil prices and/or the oil output dynamic.

The principal methodology used for this review was Regional and
Local Governments published in January 2018.

KOMI REPUBLIC: Moody's Completes Review, Retains Ba3 Rating
-----------------------------------------------------------
Moody's Investors Service has completed a periodic review of the
ratings of Komi, Republic of and other ratings that are associated
with the same analytical unit. The review was conducted through a
portfolio review in which Moody's reassessed the appropriateness of
the ratings in the context of the relevant principal methodology,
recent developments, and a comparison of the financial and
operating profile to similarly rated peers. The review did not
involve a rating committee. Since January 1, 2019, Moody's practice
has been to issue a press release following each periodic review to
announce its completion.

This publication does not announce a credit rating action and is
not an indication of whether or not a credit rating action is
likely in the near future. Credit ratings and outlook/review status
cannot be changed in a portfolio review and hence are not impacted
by this announcement.

KEY RATING CONSIDERATIONS

Republic of Komi's (Ba3) credit profile reflects the region's
strong fiscal performance demonstrated during the last years thanks
to the region's strong economy which depends on hydrocarbons, coal
and forest processing. Its debt burden is moderate as well as
refinancing risks. The credit profile also considers risks
associated with concentrated revenue base which depends on few
Russian hydrocarbon producers making the region's tax revenues
highly vulnerable to a possible prolonged weakness in their
financial performance as well as a declining population which
suppresses long-term economic development and revenue
diversification trends.

The principal methodology used for this review was Regional and
Local Governments published in January 2018.

KRASNODAR CITY: Moody's Completes Review, Retains Ba3 Rating
------------------------------------------------------------
Moody's Investors Service has completed a periodic review of the
ratings of Krasnodar, City of and other ratings that are associated
with the same analytical unit. The review was conducted through a
portfolio review in which Moody's reassessed the appropriateness of
the ratings in the context of the relevant principal methodology,
recent developments, and a comparison of the financial and
operating profile to similarly rated peers. The review did not
involve a rating committee. Since January 1, 2019, Moody's practice
has been to issue a press release following each periodic review to
announce its completion.

This publication does not announce a credit rating action and is
not an indication of whether or not a credit rating action is
likely in the near future. Credit ratings and outlook/review status
cannot be changed in a portfolio review and hence are not impacted
by this announcement.

KEY RATING CONSIDERATIONS

The credit profile of the City of Krasnodar (Ba3) incorporates a
moderate likelihood of extraordinary support from the Krai of
Krasnodar (Ba2) given the city's importance for the regional
economy. It also reflects the city's historically modest and
potentially volatile (albeit improved in 2019) operating
performance given the low budgetary flexibility whereby almost half
of revenues consists of higher-level government transfers as well
as low own-source revenues entitlements in relation to expenditures
responsibilities. The city's debt burden is moderate but
refinancing risks are elevated given historically modest operating
performance, high debt levels in relation to own-source revenues as
well as short-to-medium term debt maturity. The credit profile also
considers relatively diversified economy and own revenue sources as
well as the latter's below average volatility.

The principal methodology used for this review was Regional and
Local Governments published in January 2018.

KRASNOYARSK KRAI: Moody's Completes Review, Retains Ba3 Rating
--------------------------------------------------------------
Moody's Investors Service has completed a periodic review of the
ratings of Krasnoyarsk, Krai of and other ratings that are
associated with the same analytical unit. The review was conducted
through a portfolio review in which Moody's reassessed the
appropriateness of the ratings in the context of the relevant
principal methodology, recent developments, and a comparison of the
financial and operating profile to similarly rated peers. The
review did not involve a rating committee. Since January 1, 2019,
Moody's practice has been to issue a press release following each
periodic review to announce its completion.

This publication does not announce a credit rating action and is
not an indication of whether or not a credit rating action is
likely in the near future. Credit ratings and outlook/review status
cannot be changed in a portfolio review and hence are not impacted
by this announcement.

KEY RATING CONSIDERATIONS

Krai of Krasnoyarsk's (Ba3) credit profile reflects the region's
strong export-oriented commodity-based economy that secures solid
budget revenues. It also considers the region's recently declined
leverage and low refinancing risks. At the same time, revenue base
is highly concentrated on a handful of large commodity producers
that makes the region's performance potentially volatile. Going
forward the budgetary performance will be pressurised by
significant infrastructure needs due to currently poorly developed
infrastructure, large territory and difficult climate conditions.

The principal methodology used for this review was Regional and
Local Governments published in January 2018.

MOSCOW OBLAST: Moody's Completes Review, Retains Ba1 Rating
-----------------------------------------------------------
Moody's Investors Service has completed a periodic review of the
ratings of Moscow, Oblast of and other ratings that are associated
with the same analytical unit. The review was conducted through a
portfolio review in which Moody's reassessed the appropriateness of
the ratings in the context of the relevant principal methodology,
recent developments, and a comparison of the financial and
operating profile to similarly rated peers. The review did not
involve a rating committee. Since January 1, 2019, Moody's practice
has been to issue a press release following each periodic review to
announce its completion.

This publication does not announce a credit rating action and is
not an indication of whether or not a credit rating action is
likely in the near future. Credit ratings and outlook/review status
cannot be changed in a portfolio review and hence are not impacted
by this announcement.

KEY RATING CONSIDERATIONS

The credit profile of the Oblast of Moscow (Ba1) is based on the
region's large, diversified and dynamic economy with an increasing
population and healthy real sector's investments. This economic
strength, being combined with moderate leverage, adequate operating
performance and strong liquidity management, translates into
limited refinancing risk and secures solid fiscal resilience to
economic headwinds. The region has strong cashflows as a result of
a prolific revenue base. Its relatively low idiosyncratic risk is
reinforced by the relative importance of the region to the central
government. At the same time, the requirements to accommodate the
rapidly growing population and improve living standards will
continue to lead to fiscal deficits and an increase in leverage.

The principal methodology used for this review was Regional and
Local Governments published in January 2018.

NIZHNIY NOVGOROD: Moody's Completes Review, Retains Ba3 Rating
--------------------------------------------------------------
Moody's Investors Service has completed a periodic review of the
ratings of Nizhniy Novgorod, Oblast and other ratings that are
associated with the same analytical unit. The review was conducted
through a portfolio review in which Moody's reassessed the
appropriateness of the ratings in the context of the relevant
principal methodology, recent developments, and a comparison of the
financial and operating profile to similarly rated peers. The
review did not involve a rating committee. Since January 1, 2019,
Moody's practice has been to issue a press release following each
periodic review to announce its completion.

This publication does not announce a credit rating action and is
not an indication of whether or not a credit rating action is
likely in the near future. Credit ratings and outlook/review status
cannot be changed in a portfolio review and hence are not impacted
by this announcement.

KEY RATING CONSIDERATIONS

The credit profile of Oblast of Nizhniy Novgorod (Ba3) reflects the
region's relatively diversified economy and adequate budgetary
performance. Local authorities' ongoing budget consolidation
efforts and better tax administration helped to decrease leverage
to moderate levels and improve budget resilience to economic
downturns. The credit profile also incorporates the region's yet
heightened refinancing risk given the substantial reliance on
short-term debt and modest liquidity as well as strong needs to
develop transport and social infrastructure which constrain
budgetary flexibility.

The principal methodology used for this review was Regional and
Local Governments published in January 2018.

OMSK CITY: Moody's Completes Review, Retains B1 Rating
------------------------------------------------------
Moody's Investors Service has completed a periodic review of the
ratings of Omsk, City of and other ratings that are associated with
the same analytical unit. The review was conducted through a
portfolio review in which Moody's reassessed the appropriateness of
the ratings in the context of the relevant principal methodology,
recent developments, and a comparison of the financial and
operating profile to similarly rated peers. The review did not
involve a rating committee. Since January 1, 2019, Moody's practice
has been to issue a press release following each periodic review to
announce its completion.

This publication does not announce a credit rating action and is
not an indication of whether or not a credit rating action is
likely in the near future. Credit ratings and outlook/review status
cannot be changed in a portfolio review and hence are not impacted
by this announcement.

KEY RATING CONSIDERATIONS

The credit profile of the City of Omsk (B1) incorporates a moderate
likelihood of extraordinary support from the Oblast of Omsk (Ba3)
given the city's importance for the regional economy. The
standalone credit profile reflects the city's weak operating
performance with operating revenues not fully covering operating
expenditures and the relative weakness of the local economy. Weak
operating performance reflects low budgetary flexibility whereby
over half of revenues consists of higher-level government transfers
and low own-source revenues entitlements in relation to
expenditures responsibilities. The city has a relatively large debt
volume compared to the city's own revenues which are the main
source for debt repayment while refinancing risks are significant
given the short-term nature of debt and low liquidity. Despite
currently conservative fiscal policy, weak financial fundamentals
are expected to persist in the medium term amid modest economic
potential and contracting population. The credit profile also
considers relatively diversified own revenue sources by taxpayers
and relative stability of the local economy.

The principal methodology used for this review was Regional and
Local Governments published in January 2018.

OMSK OBLAST: Moody's Completes Review, Retains Ba3 Rating
---------------------------------------------------------
Moody's Investors Service has completed a periodic review of the
ratings of Omsk, Oblast of and other ratings that are associated
with the same analytical unit. The review was conducted through a
portfolio review in which Moody's reassessed the appropriateness of
the ratings in the context of the relevant principal methodology,
recent developments, and a comparison of the financial and
operating profile to similarly rated peers. The review did not
involve a rating committee. Since January 1, 2019, Moody's practice
has been to issue a press release following each periodic review to
announce its completion.

This publication does not announce a credit rating action and is
not an indication of whether or not a credit rating action is
likely in the near future. Credit ratings and outlook/review status
cannot be changed in a portfolio review and hence are not impacted
by this announcement.

KEY RATING CONSIDERATIONS

The credit profile of the Oblast of Omsk (Ba3) incorporates low
likelihood of extraordinary support from the federal government. In
addition, it reflects the region's historically moderate or weak
operating performance, some concentration of tax revenues and
substantial refinancing risks given the uneven repayment schedule
with bulky repayments. The region suffers from elevated population
migration given the subdued regional economic wealth compared to
national average. Its economy demonstrates weak growth which
translates into modest dynamics of tax revenues. Moderate operating
performance and a consistent need for market access for debt
refinancing mean the region remains relatively vulnerable to an
ongoing supply of credit. More positively, the credit profile
incorporates some resilience of revenues to economic cycles due to
relative stability of the local economy and authorities' clear
policy to reduce leverage which declined to moderate levels during
the last three years.

The principal methodology used for this review was Regional and
Local Governments published in January 2018.  

POLYUS PJSC: S&P Ups ICR to 'BB+' on Strong Operating Performance
-----------------------------------------------------------------
S&P Global Ratings raised its long-term issuer credit and issue
ratings on Polyus PJSC and its debt to 'BB+' from 'BB'.

The stable outlook reflects S&P's expectation that Polyus' FFO to
debt will remain above 60% as the company continues to deliver
strong results, while it maintains its financial policy and PGIL
manages debt based on changing gold prices.

Polyus' FFO to debt will exceed 140% in 2020 and remain in the
80%-100% range in 2021-2022, on gold-price-driven EBITDA growth.

S&P said, "We expect that Polyus' EBITDA will likely exceed $3.5
billion in 2020, a 33% increase from 2019's $2.6 billion thanks to
record-high gold prices. We forecast that gold prices will
gradually decline from 2021 as the global economy recovers, but
they should still remain supportive of strong cash generation. We
therefore expect Polyus' EBITDA to be $2.9 billion-$3.1 billion in
2021 based on our gold price assumption of $1,700 per ounce (/oz)
and $2.6 billion-$2.8 billion in 2022 based on $1500/oz. With
somewhat lower absolute debt after repayments in 2020, this will
allow Polyus' credit metrics to remain comfortably above 60% going
forward, supporting the stand-alone credit profile of 'bbb-'."

The rating on Polyus is constrained by the weaker credit profile of
its parent PGIL, which has meaningful debt.   The credit profile of
Polyus' parent company (76% stake) weighs negatively on the rating
due to its meaningful amount of debt ($3.7 billion at year-end
2019). Most of PGIL's debt is from Polyus' leveraged buyout in
2015, but the company actively manages its debt level using Polyus'
share pledges. PGIL did not use the dividends it received from
Polyus in recent years to reduce debt, which differed from our
previous expectation. Moreover, PGIL raised $1 billion, benefiting
from the increased equity value of Polyus. S&P said, "We currently
assess the parent's credit quality at the PGIL level at 'BB', below
that of Polyus. The loan-to-value (LTV) ratio at PGIL remains
conservative for now, but could rapidly deteriorate in case gold
prices, and, accordingly, Polyus' equity value decline. Because we
believe that dividends from Polyus are the primary source of debt
repayment for PGIL, we analyze the group's financial profile by
adding its own debt to that of Polyus and considering the
consolidated credit metrics. We also take into account the
shareholder's potential capacity to sell down its stake in Polyus
and reduce debt."

S&P takes a view that Polyus can be rated one notch above the
parent's credit profile.  This is based on the following factors:

-- It would be in the parent's best interests to protect Polyus'
creditworthiness and equity value, especially given the way PGIL
manages its finances.

-- S&P notes that Polyus is a public company and has a financial
and dividend policy that has been strictly followed over the past
five years. The shareholder did not request any exceptional one-off
distributions even with gold prices at their peak.

Polyus has generally robust governance with several reputable
independent directors on the board, albeit with limited powers.
Still, S&P believes that these mechanisms cannot fully protect the
company from negative shareholder intervention. This caps the
rating on Polyus at one notch above our assessment of the parent's
creditworthiness.

S&P said, "We see Polyus' business risk profile as one of the
strongest among gold producers globally, thanks to its low costs
and reserve base, and despite high country risk.   Polyus has some
of the lowest costs in the industry, with total cash costs (TCCs)
below $400/oz and all-in sustaining costs (AISCs) at about $600/oz
(check Q3), and it is well positioned to benefit from high gold
prices. It will also be able to better retain its cash flows when
gold prices decline, thanks to a lower breakeven price. We believe
that Polyus' superior gold position partly mitigates its smaller
scale, less diversity, and higher country risk compared with that
of peers such as Barrick Gold and Newcrest Mining. We also note
that Polyus' costs have been steadily decreasing in recent years,
bolstered by the depreciating ruble. Further strengthening our
assessment of business risk is the recent announcement of
pre-feasibility study results at Sukhoi Log, one of the world's
largest greenfield projects, which will significantly expand
Polyus' reserves base and average reserve life. The mine's roughly
63 million ounces of resources could help Polyus become a global
leader when measured by reserves. Additionally, with estimated TCCs
of about $390/oz, it could be among the lowest cost mines globally,
fitting well within the company's current portfolio. That said, we
understand that investment decisions are only due toward year-end
2022, with the first gold from the project as far out as 2027."

S&P said, "The stable outlook on Polyus reflects our expectation
that the company will continue to deliver strong operating results,
supported by stable gold production volumes and low costs, despite
gradually decreasing gold prices, which will result in an EBITDA
margin above 60%. We also expect that group FFO to debt will remain
comfortably above 60%, since Polyus continues to adhere to its
conservative financial policy, in particular dividends of 30%
EBITDA and capital expenditure (capex) of about $1 billion per
year. Additionally, we expect that Polyus' parent PGIL will manage
debt at its level to reflect changes in gold prices.

"We would lower the rating if Polyus' FFO to debt unexpectedly
falls below 60% in the current market conditions and 45% in
mid-cycle, which could most likely happen in case of a rapid
decline in gold prices or a more aggressive financial policy.

"The creditworthiness of PGIL remains an equally important driver
for the rating. We could downgrade Polyus if leverage at its parent
increases from current levels. This could happen if PGIL incurs
more debt now or if it does not reduce debt when gold prices
decline to our long-term assumed level of $1,300/oz, further
pressuring Polyus' cash flows and balance sheet."

At this point S&P considers the rating to be constrained by the
credit quality of the parent.

Accordingly, S&P could consider a higher rating on Polyus in one of
the following scenarios:

-- If debt at its parent declines materially and consistently
remains at a much lower level. Financial policy at the parent
company will be key.

-- If corporate governance at Polyus becomes stronger, supporting
S&P's view of a lower impact from the parent's credit profile.
Among the factors that could generally support higher insulation
are lower ownership, presence of a strong minority shareholder with
significant rights, and increased powers for independent directors,
notably their ability to block or limit the shareholder's potential
negative intervention.


ST. PETERSBURG: Moody's Completes Review, Retains SUE's Ba1 Rating
------------------------------------------------------------------
Moody's Investors Service has completed a periodic review of the
ratings of St. Petersburg, City of and other ratings that are
associated with the same analytical unit. The review was conducted
through a portfolio review in which Moody's reassessed the
appropriateness of the ratings in the context of the relevant
principal methodology, recent developments, and a comparison of the
financial and operating profile to similarly rated peers. The
review did not involve a rating committee. Since January 1, 2019,
Moody's practice has been to issue a press release following each
periodic review to announce its completion.

This publication does not announce a credit rating action and is
not an indication of whether or not a credit rating action is
likely in the near future. Credit ratings and outlook/review status
cannot be changed in a portfolio review and hence are not impacted
by this announcement.

KEY RATING CONSIDERATIONS

The credit profile of the City of St. Petersburg (Baa3) reflects
the region's relatively wealthy, diversified and dynamic economy
with an increasing population. The city's strong economy and
prudent fiscal discipline translate into strong operating
performance and a low debt burden which predominantly consists of
indirect debt. As a result, the city has a strong fiscal resilience
to shocks in the Russian economy. Its relatively low idiosyncratic
risk is reinforced by the relative importance of the region to the
central government. The city's credit profile also incorporates a
scenario of gradually increasing leverage to accommodate its
growing population while simultaneously improving social welfare as
well as strong interlinkage with the credit profile of the Russian
government (Baa3).

SUE Vodokanal of St. Petersburg's (Ba1) credit profile reflects the
company's monopoly position in the water supply and sewage
business. The city's full control over the company and its very
high importance for the local economy is combined with the city's
strong capacity to support the company. The credit profile also
reflects the lack of on-line control and deficiencies in liquidity
provision mechanisms.

OJSC Western High-Speed Diameter's (Ba2) credit profile is based on
the strategic importance of the issuer's projects for the City of
St. Petersburg that subsidizes coupon payments on the issued bonds
and its controls over the company as well as the Russian
Federation's formal irrevocable guarantee on the principal amounts
of issued bonds. Uncertainty over the company future capacity to
generate sufficient revenues and the nature of the guarantee that
does not cover missed coupon payments constrain OJSC Western
High-Speed Diameter's credit profile below those of the City of St.
Petersburg.

The principal methodologies used for this review were Regional and
Local Governments published in January 2018.



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

IM BCC 2: DBRS Confirms CCC Rating on Class B Notes
---------------------------------------------------
DBRS Ratings GmbH confirmed its AA (high) (sf) and CCC (sf) ratings
of the Class A and Class B Notes, respectively (together, the Rated
Notes), issued by IM BCC Cajamar 2 FT (the Issuer).

The rating of the Class A Notes addresses the timely payment of
interest and the ultimate payment of principal on or before the
final maturity date in December 2061. The rating of the Class B
Notes addresses the ultimate payment of interest and principal on
or before the final maturity date.

The confirmations follow an annual review of the transaction and
are based on the following analytical considerations:

-- Portfolio performance, in terms of delinquencies, defaults, and
losses, as of the November 2020 payment date;

-- Portfolio default rate (PD), loss given default (LGD), and
expected loss assumptions on the remaining receivables;

-- Current available credit enhancement to the Rated Notes to
cover the expected losses assumed at their respective rating
levels;

-- Current economic environment and an assessment of sustainable
performance, as a result of the Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19)
pandemic.

The Issuer is a securitization of residential mortgage loans
originated and serviced by Cajamar Caja Rural (Cajamar) that closed
in December 2019. The Rated Notes are backed by a portfolio of
first-lien and second-lien mortgages, secured over properties
located in Spain.

PORTFOLIO PERFORMANCE

As of the November 2020 payment date, loans that were one to two
months and two to three months delinquent represented 0.5% and 0.3%
of the portfolio balance, respectively, while three-month
delinquent loans stood at 0.04%. One year after closing, there have
been no defaults reported, which is in line with the current
default definition of loans more than 12 months in arrears.

PORTFOLIO ASSUMPTIONS AND KEY DRIVERS

DBRS Morningstar conducted a loan-by-loan analysis of the remaining
pool of receivables and has updated its base case PD and LGD
assumptions to 8.5% and 30.2%, respectively.

CREDIT ENHANCEMENT

The subordination of the Class B Notes and the reserve fund provide
credit enhancement to the Rated Notes. As of the November 2020
payment date, the credit enhancement to the Class A and Class B
Notes stood at 15.8% and 2.1%, respectively, up from 15.0% and 2.0%
at closing.

The transaction benefits from a nonamortising reserve fund, sized
at 3% of the initial balance of the Rated Notes, currently at its
target of EUR 14.5 million. The reserve provides liquidity support
and credit support to the Class A Notes until the Class A Notes are
paid in full, after which time the reserve fund will provide
liquidity support to the Class B Notes.

Banco Santander S.A. acts as the account bank of the transaction.
Based on the account bank reference rating of A (high), one notch
below the DBRS Morningstar Long-Term Critical Obligations Rating
(COR) of Banco Santander of AA (low), the downgrade provisions
outlined in the transaction documents, and other mitigating factors
inherent in the transaction structure, DBRS Morningstar considers
the risk arising from the exposure to the account bank in the
transaction to be consistent with the ratings assigned to the Class
A Notes, as described in DBRS Morningstar's "Legal Criteria for
European Structured Finance Transactions" methodology.

DBRS Morningstar analysed the transaction structure in Intex
DealMaker.

The Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) and the resulting isolation
measures have caused an economic contraction, leading to sharp
increases in unemployment rates and income reductions for many
borrowers. DBRS Morningstar anticipates that delinquencies may
continue to increase in the coming months for many RMBS
transactions, some meaningfully. The ratings are based on
additional analysis and adjustments to expected performance as a
result of the global efforts to contain the spread of the
coronavirus.

For this transaction, DBRS Morningstar increased the expected
default rates for self-employed borrowers, assumed a moderate
decline in residential property prices, and conducted additional
sensitivity analysis to determine that the transactions benefit
from sufficient liquidity support to withstand high levels of
payment holidays in the portfolio. As of the November 2020 payment
date, only 0.2% of the collateral balance had been granted payment
moratoriums.

Notes: All figures are in euros unless otherwise noted.


IM SABADELL 11: DBRS Upgrades Series B Notes Rating to B (high)
---------------------------------------------------------------
DBRS Ratings GmbH took the following rating actions on IM Sabadell
PYME 11, FT (the Issuer):

-- Series A Notes confirmed at A (high) (sf)
-- Series B Notes upgraded to B (high) (sf) from CCC (high) (sf)

The rating of the Series A Notes addresses the timely payment of
interest and the ultimate payment of principal on or before the
legal final maturity date in June 2057. The rating of the Series B
Notes addresses the ultimate payment of interest and principal on
or before the legal final maturity date.

The rating actions follow an annual review of the transaction and
are based on the following analytical considerations:

-- The portfolio performance, in terms of level of delinquencies
and defaults, as of the September 2020 payment date.

-- The one-year base case probability of default (PD) and default
and recovery rates on the receivables.

-- The current available credit enhancement to the rated notes to
cover the expected losses assumed in line with their respective
rating levels.

-- The current economic environment and an assessment of
sustainable performance, as a result of the Coronavirus Disease
(COVID-19) pandemic.

The Issuer is a cash flow securitisation collateralised by a
portfolio of bank loans originated and serviced by Banco de
Sabadell, S.A. (Sabadell), to self-employed individuals and small
and medium-size enterprises (SMEs) based in Spain.

PORTFOLIO PERFORMANCE

The portfolio is performing within DBRS Morningstar's expectations.
As of September 2020, the 90+ delinquency ratio was at 0.7% and the
cumulative default ratio was at 2.9%.

PORTFOLIO ASSUMPTIONS AND KEY DRIVERS

DBRS Morningstar updated the portfolio's one-year base case PD
assumption to 3.7%, following coronavirus-related adjustments. DBRS
Morningstar conducted a loan-by-loan analysis on the remaining pool
and updated its PD and recovery assumptions to 33.9% and 31.6%,
respectively, at the A (high) (sf) rating level. and to 19.6% and
39.7%, respectively, at the B (high) (sf) rating level.

The increased base case PD assumption compared with one year ago at
the time of the last annual review reflects the adjustments applied
because of the coronavirus pandemic. As per DBRS Morningstar's
assessment, 3.6% and 34.0% of the outstanding portfolio balance
represented industries classified in mid-high and high risk
economic sectors, respectively, which led to the underlying
one-year PDs to be multiplied by 1.5 and 2.0 times, respectively,
as per DBRS Morningstar "European Structured Credit Transactions'
Risk Exposure to Coronavirus (COVID-19) Effect" commentary,
released on May 8, 2020, where DBRS Morningstar discussed the
overall risk exposure of the SME sector to the coronavirus and
provided a framework for identifying the transactions that are more
at risk and likely to be affected by the fallout of the pandemic on
the economy.

CREDIT ENHANCEMENT

The credit enhancement available to the rated notes continues to
increase as the transaction deleverages. As of the September 2020
payment date, the credit enhancement available to the Series A
Notes and Series B Notes was 73.0% and 15.6%, respectively, up from
46.8% and 10.2% one year ago.

Sabadell acts as the account bank for the transaction. Based on the
reference rating of Sabadell at "A", one notch below DBRS
Morningstar's Long-Term Critical Obligations Rating of A (high),
the downgrade provisions outlined in the transaction documents, and
structural mitigants, DBRS Morningstar considers the risk arising
from the exposure to Sabadell to be consistent with the ratings
assigned to the notes, as described in DBRS Morningstar's "Legal
Criteria for European Structured Finance Transactions"
methodology.

DBRS Morningstar analysed the transaction structure in its
proprietary Excel-based cash flow engine.

The Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) and the resulting isolation
measures have caused an economic contraction, leading to sharp
increases in unemployment rates and income reductions for many
borrowers. DBRS Morningstar anticipates that payment holidays and
delinquencies may continue to increase in the coming months for
many SME transactions, some meaningfully. The ratings are based on
additional analysis and adjustments to expected performance as a
result of the global efforts to contain the spread of the
coronavirus. For this transaction, DBRS Morningstar increased the
expected default rate on receivables granted to obligors operating
in certain industries based on their perceived exposure to the
adverse disruptions of the coronavirus as mentioned, and conducted
additional sensitivity analysis to determine that the transactions
benefit from sufficient liquidity support to withstand high levels
of payment holidays in the portfolio. As of October 2020 , only
0.02% of the collateral balance had been granted payment
moratoriums.

Notes: All figures are in euros unless otherwise noted.




===========
S W E D E N
===========

DOMETIC GROUP: S&P Alters Outlook to Stable, Affirms 'BB-' LT ICR
-----------------------------------------------------------------
S&P Global Ratings revised its outlook to stable from negative and
affirmed its ratings, including its 'BB-' long-term issuer credit
rating, on Dometic Group AB.

The stable outlook reflects S&P's view that Dometic will sustain
adjusted FFO to debt of about 20% for 2020 and 2021.

S&P said, "We believe Dometic's credit metrics will stabilize at a
level commensurate with the rating, thanks to resilient demand for
the company's products on the back of progressively positive trends
around staycations and outdoor activities.   Demand for Dometic's
products has shown resiliency in second-half 2020, following a
significantly weaker second-quarter 2020, during which sales
dropped by 38% from the same quarter a year earlier to Swedish
krona (SEK) 3.33 billion from SEK5.33 million. Customers still wary
of international travel are turning to staycations, a trend that
fits well with the company's product offering in the recreational
vehicle and marine segments. We expect this demand to continue to
strengthen Dometic's order book, supporting the company's sales
growth in 2021 and resulting in stabilized credit metrics, with FFO
to debt of about 20% in 2020 and 2021."

A strong focus on cost cutting, complemented by a shift in sales
mix in favor of after-market products, will propel margin
improvement in 2020-2021.   Dometic's continuous restructuring
efforts targeted at moving production to low-cost locations,
streamlining operations, and occasional layoffs enabled the company
to neutralize the effects of lower volume on its profitability in
2020. Furthermore, a shift in its sales mix in favor of aftermarket
products that are typically profit-margin-accretive (currently at
about 50% of sales), has been sustaining its third-quarter 2020
EBITDA margin. S&P said, "Our S&P Global Ratings-adjusted EBITDA
margin for the quarter reached 19.8%, compared with 17.6% for the
same period in 2019, notwithstanding a moderate organic growth in
sales of 3%. That said, Dometic's weak second-quarter is weighing
on first-nine-month 2020's performance, with year-to-date adjusted
EBITDA margins of 16.9% versus 19.0% in the same period a year
earlier. EBITDA for that time includes restructuring costs of about
SEK98 million, compared with SEK36 million in the same period a
year earlier. We expect full-year margins of about 14.5%,
thereafter improving to about 17% in 2021. This compares with S&P
Global Ratings-adjusted EBITDA margin of 17.5% in 2019 and our
former expectation of an EBITDA margin of about 12% in 2020."

S&P said, "We expect Dometic to continue generating solid operating
cash flow in 2020 and 2021.   Despite COVID-19's challenges on the
company's operating environment, the company has managed to
generate robust operating cash flow so far in 2020, with adjusted
free operating cash flow (FOCF) of SEK836 million in the first nine
months of 2020, compared with SEK2.1 billion in the same period a
year earlier. We expect Dometic's full-year adjusted FOCF to reach
SEK1.3 billion-SEK1.4 billion, increasing to SEK1.6 billion-SEK1.7
billion in 2021 as operating performance recovers. This compares
with SEK2.8 billion in 2019.

"Following cash protective measures in 2020, we expect Dometic to
resume acquisitions and dividends in 2021.  Amid a recessionary
environment, the company's cash generation this year was reinforced
by management's decision to put all acquisition activity on hold,
scaling back capex to about SEK170million through the first nine
months of 2020, compared with SEK247million for the corresponding
period in 2019, and withdrawing dividend payments. These actions
have supported discretionary cash flow (DCF) for 2020, which we
forecast to reach SEK1.3 billion-SEK1.4 billion from SEK2.2 billion
in 2019. We expect Dometic to resume its active acquisition
strategy starting in 2021 and we assume that the company will spend
about SEK1 billion per year for acquisitions from next year onward.
Furthermore, we forecast Dometic to pay dividends of up to SEK900
million in 2021. We anticipate these cash outlays to be largely
funded with operating cash flow, and also expect the company has
enough financial flexibility to accommodate those disbursements
within the 'BB-' rating.

Dometic's exposure to end-markets with discretionary products and
the relatively small scale of its operations weigh negatively on
the rating.   The company has significant exposure to cyclical
end-markets such as RVs and marine pleasure boats. Dometic is
actively trying to increase its aftermarket share of revenue and
improving end-market and customer diversity through acquisitions
into other markets, which could advance its business risk profile.
S&P said, "Furthermore, the company's revenue base, which reached
about EUR1.8 billion in 2019, and its somewhat volatile end
markets, are in our view comparing negatively with other capital
goods companies that could rely on less cyclical demand, such as
Sofima. These factor into in our evaluation of Dometic's business
risk, which we assess at the lower end of fair."

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."

S&P said, "The stable outlook reflects our expectation that Dometic
should continue to generate positive operating results and FOCF
despite large restructuring costs, translating into an FFO-to-debt
ratio of about 20% in next 12 months. We expect the company will
continue to expand through bolt-on acquisitions, which operating
cash flow will fund.

"We could lower the ratings on Dometic if FFO to debt falls and
stays below 15%. This could happen if operating performance were to
deteriorate because of a persistent slowdown in end-markets, or if
the company were to embark on a materially debt-funded
acquisition.

"We could upgrade Dometic if profitability and credit metrics
strengthened. This would include both FFO to debt of at least 25%
and FOCF to debt remaining above 15% on a sustained basis."




=====================
S W I T Z E R L A N D
=====================

SWISSPORT GROUP: S&P Cuts ICR to 'D' Then Withdraws Rating
----------------------------------------------------------
S&P Global Ratings lowered to 'D' (default) from 'SD' (selective
default) its long-term issuer credit rating on Switzerland-based
global airport ground handler Swissport Group S.a.r.l. (Swissport)
and all its rated subsidiaries. S&P also lowered its issue ratings
on the group's junior debt instruments to 'D' from 'C' and removed
them from CreditWatch with negative implications. S&P's 'D' rating
on the group senior debt is unchanged.

S&P said, "We have taken these rating actions following the
completion of Swissport's comprehensive debt restructuring. This
involved a debt-for-equity swap of the group's senior debt and
extinguishment of the group's certain other debt. We view
Swissport's debt restructuring as distressed, because investors
received less than the promise of the original securities, and
therefore tantamount to default."

The EUR250 million 9% unsecured notes issued by Swissport Financing
S.a.r.l. have been transferred to a new ownership structure for nil
consideration. The stub notes (EUR36.5 million outstanding 6.75%
secured stub notes due December 2021 and EUR15.9 million
outstanding 9.75% unsecured stub notes due December 2022) issued by
Swissport Investment S.A. were not carried over to the new
ownership structure. S&P understands that ownership of the
Swissport businesses has been transferred from HNA Group to a group
of investors, including the former senior secured lenders. As a
result, there are no longer any operating assets or foreseeable
cash flows to service the stub notes.

S&P subsequently withdrew all the ratings on Swissport at the
company's request.

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

-- Health and safety


VAT GROUP: S&P Alters Outlook to Stable, Affirms 'BB' ICR
---------------------------------------------------------
S&P Global Ratings revised its outlook on Swiss manufacturer VAT
Group AG to stable from negative and affirmed its 'BB' long-term
issuer credit rating on the group.

The stable outlook reflects S&P's expectation that VAT Group will
maintain FFO to debt of about 45% through the cycle, along with an
EBITDA margin of around 30% and robust free operating cash flow.

The outlook revision reflects the strong momentum in the
semiconductor market in 2020 and our expectation that this will
continue in 2021.

Despite the tough macroeconomic environment and supply chain
disruptions stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic, VAT Group has
performed strongly, supported by a strong uptick in demand in the
semiconductor market after a drop in demand in 2019. S&P said, "For
the first nine months of 2020, VAT Group posted 26.2% sales growth,
and we now expect it to achieve S&P Global Ratings-adjusted EBITDA
margins of 29%-31% in 2020-2021, on the back of stabilizing sales
and an agile cost structure that has helped the group manage the
pandemic effectively. In 2020, we now expect VAT Group's topline to
surge by about 20% to about Swiss franc (CHF) 680 million, around
2018 levels. This is a full recovery from the sharp decline in
demand in 2019, when sales fell by about 18%."

S&P said, "We expect stable margins of 29%-30% in 2020 and 30%-31%
in 2021.  In 2020-2021, we except VAT Group to achieve stable to
moderately improving profitability margins, up from 27.4% in 2019
and similar to 2018 levels." These margins should continue to
derive support from both a stabilization of demand from the
semiconductor market and the group's flexible cost base.

The compound annual growth rate of VAT Group's topline reached 10%
between 2015 and 2020, and, according to management, is fully in
line with its guidance of high-single-digit growth over the cycle.
S&P said, "We take positive note of the fact that VAT Group has
been able to maintain good EBITDA margins ranging between 27% in
2019 and 30% in 2020. In our view, this performance compares well
with that in the 2008 financial crisis, when VAT Group's EBITDA
margin only reached 23%. The group has not changed its goal to
achieve an EBITDA margin of 33%, but we do not see this as
realistic in the next two years."

VAT Group is transforming its operational footprint and migrating
to countries where the operating costs are lower. VAT Group
benefits from a highly variable cost structure, owing to a high
share--about 60%--of variable costs, further supported by the
higher-margin service division, which represents about 20% of
sales. VAT Group's product prices have remained stable despite
weaker market conditions, with the decrease in margins largely
stemming from volume losses.

S&P said, "We expect VAT Group's adjusted funds from operations
(FFO) to debt to remain comfortably above 60% over 2020-2021.   At
the same time, we take into account the group's generous
shareholder distributions, which lead to aggressive cash flow
metrics, and the intrinsic volatility in the business.

"We believe that VAT Group's FFO to debt will remain comfortably
above 60% in 2020-2021. That said, we take into account the group's
exposure to the inherently volatile semiconductor and display
industries. These industries affect VAT Group's EBITDA generation
directly because about 70% of its topline relates to capital
expenditure (capex) on semiconductor, display, and solar products.
Over 2019, VAT Group's EBITDA fell by about 30% from 2018 levels,
which we regard as typical for volatile businesses. We recognize
this volatility and believe that credit metrics can fluctuate
significantly as a result.

"Strong free operating cash flow (FOCF) of above CHF100 million in
2020 and 2021, drained by generous shareholder distributions.  We
now expect VAT Group to generate FOCF of CHF120 million-CHF125
million in 2020, improving further to CHF135 million-CHF140 million
in 2021. Over 2020, the group scaled down its capex, leading us to
expect about CHF20 million in 2020, roughly in line with 2019
levels. For 2021, we believe that capex could range between CHF25
million and CHF30 million.

"At the same time, we perceive VAT Group's divided policy as
generous, limiting its ability to deleverage if necessary. Over the
pandemic, VAT Group has paid normal dividends of CHF122 million,
notwithstanding somewhat limited visibility on cash flow." The
group's financial policy is to distribute dividends of up to 100%
of cash flow after capex and debt repayments, provided its reported
net leverage remains at about 1.0x. This suggests that management
could adapt dividend distributions to changing market conditions
without putting pressure on the current rating.

VAT Group's limited scale and diversification compared with its
peers in the wider capital goods industry constrain its business
risk assessment.  The group's revenue base of CHF570 million in
2019 is low compared with companies such as ASM International N.V.
(CHF1.2 billion as of December 2019), Qorvo Inc. (CHF3.1 billion as
of March 2019), and MKS Instruments Inc. (CHF1.8 billion as of
December 2019). VAT Group's weaker business characteristics than
its peers', including its small scale, lower product diversity, and
operations in the semiconductor industry, as well as higher
leverage than those at the higher end of the 'BB' category, also
constrain the rating.

S&P Global Ratings believes there remains a high degree of
uncertainty about the evolution of the coronavirus pandemic. While
the early approval of a number of vaccines is a positive
development, countries' approval of vaccines 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 mid-2021. 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."

S&P said, "The stable outlook reflects our expectation that VAT
Group will maintain FFO to debt of about 45% through the cycle,
with EBITDA margins of around 30% and positive FOCF.

"Although we do not foresee this in the next two years, we could
consider a negative rating action if VAT Group substantially
increases its leverage, with FFO to debt falling materially below
45% with no short-term prospects of recovery. This could happen if
VAT Group faces a material drop in EBITDA and negative FOCF. A more
aggressive financial policy would also put pressure on the rating,
as would larger debt-financed acquisitions without adjustments to
the dividend payout.

"We would consider taking a positive rating action if VAT Group
significantly improves its scale, maintains its leading position in
the vacuum valve market, and reduces margin volatility through the
industry cycle. We could also consider an upgrade if VAT Group
strengthens its balance sheet over the cycle, such that FFO to debt
remains above 60% at all times. This would likely also require a
demonstration of its commitment to its financial policy and lower
dividends, with net debt to EBITDA below 1.0x."



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

GKN HOLDINGS: S&P Lowers ICR to BB+ on Weaker Credit Metrics
------------------------------------------------------------
S&P Global Ratings lowered its long-term issuer credit rating on
GKN Holdings Ltd. and its rating on the company's senior unsecured
notes to 'BB+' from 'BBB-'. S&P also assigned a recovery rating of
'3' to the senior unsecured debt, indicating its expectation of
meaningful (rounded estimate: 65%) recovery prospects in a
hypothetical default scenario.

The effects of the COVID-19 pandemic materially affected GKN's
results in the nine months through September 2020, and despite
effective management actions to reduce costs and protect cash
flows, the group's profitability and credit metrics are weaker than
our expectations prior to the pandemic.  The rating action does not
reflect a transformative event. Rather, it reflects the impact of
the COVID-19 pandemic on GKN's core civil aerospace and automotive
markets through 2020, as well as its view that these sectors now
have much weaker outlooks for 2021 and beyond. S&P has therefore
lowered its expectations for GKN in 2020 and 2021. S&P now
forecast:

-- The group's revenue will contract to about GBP9.4 billion in
2020 (versus GBP10.97 billion in 2019), recovering toward GBP10
billion through 2021.

-- Its S&P Global Ratings-adjusted EBITDA margin will contract to
about 6%-7% in 2020, gradually recovering to 10%-11% in 2021.

-- S&P Global Ratings-adjusted leverage will be more than 6x at
the end of 2020 and funds from operations (FFO) to debt will be
about 10% or less, improving to about 4.5x and 20%, respectively,
in 2021.

-- Free operating cash flows (FOCF) will contract but stay
positive through 2020 and 2021 as management protects the group's
cash flows and self-funds its restructuring initiatives.

-- Liquidity should remains robust, with no covenant headroom
issues following an amendment/reset that GKN and its banking group
agreed to earlier this year.

Despite ongoing progress in restructuring the businesses, lowering
headcount, cutting capital expenditures (capex), improving working
capital, and consolidating production sites, pressure on
profitability and cash flows results in weaker credit metrics for
2020 and 2021 than we expected prior to the pandemic. It also
underpins both the downgrade and our downward revision of GKN's
financial risk profile to significant from intermediate.

GKN's aerospace and autos businesses have been hardest hit, but the
Nortek Air Management, Ergotron, and Brush businesses have been
resilient.  Each of GKN's businesses will recover at a different
pace, but recovery will be aided by the company's good diversity
and restructuring measures that were started when Melrose
Industries PLC (Melrose) acquired GKN in 2018. In terms of
individual divisional performance and expectations, the COVID-19
pandemic has had the most material impact on the group's aerospace
business and will continue to do so through at least 2021. Airlines
are restructuring and downsizing their fleets to cope with the
lower demand, and in turn, aircraft original equipment
manufacturers (OEMs) Airbus and Boeing have cut their aircraft
production rates, with the deepest cuts made to wide-body
production. GKN's defense-related demand remains strong, with good
sales growth through the year to date, and we expect this trend to
continue. S&P said, "Overall, we forecast that revenue in GKN's
aerospace business will decline by about 27% and break even in 2020
before gradually returning to low-single-digit percent topline
growth and an operating profit in 2021." Management had already
launched restructuring and cost-saving initiatives before the
pandemic hit. In addition, GKN Aerospace is well-positioned in and
diversified across several of the most prominent platforms in the
industry, including the B787, A350, F-35, A320/NEO, and B737/ MAX;
by contrast, some rated peers have very high platform
concentrations.

S&P said, "In terms of GKN's automotive business, we expect 2020
sales volumes to broadly mirror the contraction across the whole
industry. We recently revised our global light-vehicle sales
projections, and we now expect a 20% decline in 2020, followed by
7%-9% recovery in 2021. Based on our revised scenario, we assume
revenue in GKN's automotive business will decline by a similar
percent this year and that the operating profit margin will be
2%-3% compared with about 7.7% in 2019. We continue to believe that
the Chinese market could resume moderate long-term growth, and we
project it will be the only region to recover to 2019 volumes by
the end of 2022. In Europe and North America, sales showed signs of
stabilizing in July and August, but we don't expect these markets
to fully recover from their steep declines within the next two
years. GKN is accelerating its global restructuring program to
react to industry conditions. We consider the company's powder
metallurgy business to be closely correlated with the auto
industry, and so we expect the two to have a similar recovery
curve."

The Nortek Air Management business has performed well through the
pandemic and should continue to do so. Its home and commercial
security business continues to face the largest challenges because
of the difficulties related to engineers to travelling sites and
installing equipment during the pandemic. However, several key
product platform updates should bolster future performance.
Ergotron and Brush also continue to exhibit resilience to the
pandemic and perform well.

Proactive management has meant that owner Melrose has controlled
costs and bolstered liquidity further through the pandemic without
issuing any new term debt.  When the pandemic hit, many rated
aerospace and defense companies fully drew on their committed
short-term lines, issued new term debt, or both to bolster
liquidity. In contrast, Melrose did not, choosing instead to focus
on preserving liquidity by protecting cash-flow generation.
Melrose's management negotiated and secured waivers to or resets of
its covenants until December 2022. Specifically, management
negotiated waivers for the EBITDA to net debt (leverage) covenant
for December 2020 and June 2021, with full resets beyond 2021. It
also obtained more headroom under its interest cover covenant
through December 2022, with covenants returning to historically
normal levels by 2023. As of Sept. 30, 2020, cash on the group's
balance sheet was broadly the same as or better than that of the
last several fiscal quarters.

S&P said, "Our 2020 forecast for the consolidated group's S&P
Global Ratings-adjusted debt is GBP5.1 billion. This includes the
GBP450 million 5.375% senior unsecured notes due 2022, the GBP300
million 4.625% unsecured notes due 2032, the 3.5-year GBP875
million term loan (Melrose has the option to extend the maturity to
April 2024), and GBP1,971 million in drawings under the RCF
facility due January 2023. We adjust our debt figure for pensions,
asset retirement obligations, operating leases, and cross-currency
swaps, and then we net surplus cash, which we define as
balance-sheet cash less about GBP200 million that we consider
restricted or trapped in the business.

"The consolidated financial statements are no longer prepared at
the GKN Holdings level but rather at the Melrose level. Given that
GKN contributes the lion's share of Melrose group revenue, EBITDA,
and assets, we continue to take a holistic view and base our
forecasts on the group as a whole (including all consolidated
debt). In our view, this enables a more realistic representation of
the group's creditworthiness. We also consider it likely that
Melrose would use the proceeds from future asset sales, to
partially reduce overall group debt and leverage. However,
depending on the disposal, management might also return funds to
shareholders."

Brexit will cause some short-term disruption to U.K.-based
manufacturers, but GKN's management is well prepared.  Whether or
not a free trade agreement is reached, Brexit could result in
supply-chain shocks, tariffs on imports and exports, and a dip in
U.K. and European consumer confidence. GKN's Aerospace division has
some exposure to supply-chain disruption stemming from a potential
no-deal Brexit. S&P said, "However, we consider it less exposed to
potential short-term volatility than some peers that have large
production footprints in the U.K. or a reliance on cross-channel
supply chains or sales (Jaguar Land Rover, Aston Martin, and
McLaren, for example). We do not currently factor a no-deal Brexit
into to our base case."

S&P views the group's management and governance as satisfactory.
This reflects the group's demonstrated willingness and capacity to
adhere to its public financial targets, reduce its pension deficit,
and gradually improve its credit metrics. It also reflects
management's clear strategic planning process, transparent
communication with investors, and good depth and breadth. On the
other hand, the group is exposed to the global aerospace and autos
downturn as well as rising geopolitical risks, including those
associated with a potential no-deal Brexit.

Environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors relevant to the
rating action:

-- Health and safety

S&P Global Ratings believes there remains a high degree of
uncertainty about the evolution of the coronavirus pandemic. While
the early approval of a number of vaccines is a positive
development, countries' approval of vaccines 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 mid-2021. 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."

S&P said, "The stable outlook reflects our expectation that
management will steer the business and adjusted EBITDA margins to
recovery in the next 12-24 months. This should result in an
adjusted FFO-to-debt ratio of about 20% in 2021 and above 25% in
2022 despite potentially continued choppy consumer sentiment and
market conditions due to the pandemic.

"We could lower our long-term issuer credit rating on GKN if we did
not expect its EBITDA margin to recover to more than 10% and its
FFO to debt to recover to about 20% or more, with adjusted leverage
remaining well above 4x. We could also consider a downgrade if free
cash flow turned negative. This could occur if GKN's initiatives to
improve operating performance and working capital across its
businesses were less effective than we anticipate, if headwinds
from the global aerospace or automotive industries persist, or if a
disruptive Brexit materially harmed the company's operating
performance.

"We could raise the ratings if the group's adjusted margins
increased to more than 12% while the S&P Global Ratings-adjusted
leverage decreased to below 3x and FFO to debt improved to more
than 30% on a sustainable basis. In addition to reducing leverage,
GKN would also need to stay free-cash-flow positive while
successfully navigating any future unexpected headwinds from its
aerospace and autos end-markets and a possibly disruptive Brexit."


GONZO'S TEA: Owed Creditors GBP224K at Time of Liquidation
----------------------------------------------------------
Tom Bristow at Eastern Daily Press reports that Norwich bar and
restaurant Gonzo's owed creditors GBP224,000 when it went into
liquidation last month.

However, it has since been reopened by its owners after getting a
new investor, Eastern Daily Press notes.

Documents filed at Companies House show that Gonzo's Tea Room Ltd,
which changed its name shortly before liquidation to Darbekim2020,
owed the money to six creditors, Eastern Daily Press discloses.

They included HMRC which was due GBP60,000, Scottish Power, owed
GBP27,000, and British Gas, GBP12,000, Eastern Daily Press states.

The venue on London Street reopened earlier this month with owner
Mike Baxter saying it had been saved by investor Jesse Fulton,
Eastern Daily Press relays.

However, the company which was running Gonzo's is still being
liquidated, while Mr. Baxter has since set up a new company called
Gonzo's (Norwich) Ltd., according to Eastern Daily Press.

The old company also owed GBP40,000 to Mr. Baxter and GBP80,000 to
another of Mr. Baxter's companies called Dude Where's My Cash Ltd,
which lists its business as operating and letting property, Eastern
Daily Press says.

The documents on Companies House show the old company had assets of
GBP122,000 to cover the debts of GBP224,000, Eastern Daily Press
discloses.

According to Eastern Daily Press, liquidator Richard Cacho said it
was too early to say how much money creditors may get back.

When the company went into liquidation in November, it blamed the
government's 10:00 p.m. curfew on hospitality venues for the
collapse, Eastern Daily Press recounts.


KCA DEUTAG: Moody's Completes Review, Retains Caa2 CFR
------------------------------------------------------
Moody's Investors Service has completed a periodic review of the
ratings of KCA Deutag Alpha Ltd and other ratings that are
associated with the same analytical unit. The review was conducted
through a portfolio review in which Moody's reassessed the
appropriateness of the ratings in the context of the relevant
principal methodology, recent developments, and a comparison of the
financial and operating profile to similarly rated peers. The
review did not involve a rating committee. Since January 1, 2019,
Moody's practice has been to issue a press release following each
periodic review to announce its completion.

This publication does not announce a credit rating action and is
not an indication of whether or not a credit rating action is
likely in the near future. Credit ratings and outlook/review status
cannot be changed in a portfolio review and hence are not impacted
by this announcement.

KEY RATING CONSIDERATIONS

KCA Deutag Alpha Ltd's corporate family rating of Caa2 reflects the
company's default on the original promise to pay interest and
subsequent restructuring via a debt-to-equity swap; weak liquidity
although expected to be addressed via the restructuring currently
under way; and our expectation of continued weakness in the
oilfield services business in the wake of the coronavirus.

More positively, KCA's ratings are supported by its diversified
operations between onshore and offshore; the strong presence in key
oil-producing regions such as the North Sea, the Middle East and
Russia; and the solid contract backlog of about $4.9 billion as of
August 1, 2020.

The principal methodology used for this review was Global Oilfield
Services Industry Rating Methodology published in May 2017.

MAXWELL'S RESTAURANTS: Goes Into Liquidation, 400 Jobs Affected
---------------------------------------------------------------
Sabah Meddings at The Times reports that one of the oldest
nightclubs in London has collapsed as Covid pushes hospitality
businesses to the brink.

Maxwell's Restaurants, which owns Cafe de Paris and Tropicana Beach
Club in the West End, has gone into liquidation, leading to the
loss of 400 jobs, The Times relates.

According to The Times, Live Recoveries, which has been appointed
liquidator, said restrictions on trading meant the company had no
choice but to close.

"Despite hope that December would generate a much-needed upturn in
trading income, it was apparent low customer numbers, uncertainty
surrounding trading, and mounting creditors and rent arrears left
the company with no alternative," The Times quotes Live as saying.


MEADOWHALL FINANCE: S&P Lowers Class C1 Notes Rating to 'BB (sf)'
-----------------------------------------------------------------
S&P Global Ratings lowered to 'AA- (sf)' from 'AA+ (sf)' its credit
ratings on Meadowhall Finance PLC's class A1 and A2 notes. At the
same time, S&P has lowered to 'A- (sf)' from 'AA- (sf)', to 'BBB-
(sf)' from 'A (sf)', and to 'BB (sf)' from 'BBB+ (sf)' its ratings
on the class B, M1, and C1 notes, respectively.

Rating rationale

The downgrades follow S&P's updated review of the transaction's
credit and cash flow characteristics. It believes that a continued
decline in cash flows from the property, combined with its view of
an increasingly challenging environment for retail tenants, has
weakened the notes' credit metrics.

Transaction overview

Meadowhall Finance is a secured U.K. commercial mortgage-backed
securities (CMBS) transaction that closed in 2006, with notes
totaling GBP1.015 billion, which included GBP175.0 million in
un-issued reserve notes. The single loan is secured on Meadowhall
Shopping Centre, one of the U.K.'s largest shopping centers located
in Sheffield, South Yorkshire. The center is owned by a joint
venture between The British Land Company PLC and Norges Bank
Investment Management. The current securitized loan balance is
GBP561.9 million. At closing, two reserve tranches (the M1 and C1
reserve notes) were created, but remain unissued. While the
issuance of these reserve tranches are subject to certain
conditions, S&P's analysis assumes a full issuance of the class M1
and C1 reserve notes, which currently total GBP139.7 million.

As of Sept. 30, 2020, the property's reported market value was
GBP936.5 million, which reflects a 19% decrease from the prior
valuation in March 2020. Consequently, over the last six months,
the whole loan-to-value (LTV) ratio has increased to 60.0% from
49.9% (or to 74.9% from 62.1% if including the reserve notes).

Over the same period, the annual gross passing rent has decreased
by 6% to GBP74.6 million from GBP79.7 million, while the valuer's
estimated rental value has decreased by 17% to GBP62.2 million from
GBP74.8 million.

The tenant profile comprises a combination of internationally and
nationally recognized retailers (such as Marks & Spencer, Primark,
Next, Boots, Victoria's Secret, H&M Hennes, and Vue cinema).
However, the shopping center remains exposed to significant ongoing
challenges with regards to retailer occupier demand and
performance. In the period since March 2020, S&P understands from
the most recent reporting that overall passing rent has reduced by
GBP5.1 million per year as a result of (i) lease surrenders,
exercises of break clauses, and non-renewals (approximately GBP2
million per year), and (ii) administration and company voluntary
arrangements (approximately GBP3 million per year).

In recent years, an increasing number of retailers have suffered
financial difficulties, which continue to be exacerbated by the
effects of the COVID-19 pandemic in the short to medium term, and
the risk of increased vacancy levels and diminishing rental levels
remains. However, the risk is somewhat mitigated in the longer term
by being among one of the prime super-regional shopping centers in
the U.K. Furthermore, the shopping center has benefitted from
strong sponsor support and proactive asset management, including a
GBP60 million capital investment to refurbish and upgrade the
shopping center.

Since March 2020, the property has experienced a small decrease in
occupancy and weighted-average unexpired lease term until first
break to 95.2% (from 96.1%) and 4.5 years (from 4.9 years),
respectively.

S&P said, "Since our previous review, our S&P Global Ratings value
has declined by 18% to GBP757.1 million from GBP924.3 million,
primarily due to a lower rental income assumption of the property,
which we believe will be re-based over the long term. Therefore, we
have reduced the S&P Global Ratings net cash flow (NCF) to GBP51.8
million from GBP62.3 million.

"We have then applied a 6.5% capitalization (cap) rate against this
S&P Global Ratings NCF (which is an increase from the 6.4%
previously used) and deducted 5% of purchase costs to arrive at our
S&P Global Ratings value."

Other analytical considerations

S&P said, "We also analyzed the transaction's payment structure and
cash flow mechanics. We assessed whether the cash flow from the
securitized asset would be sufficient, at the applicable rating, to
make timely payments of interest and ultimate repayment of
principal by the legal maturity date of the fixed and floating-rate
notes, after considering available credit enhancement and allowing
for transaction expenses and external liquidity support."

The risk of interest shortfalls is mitigated by a GBP75 million
facility that provides liquidity support to service interest on the
notes and scheduled principal repayments on the class A notes, if
needed. The amount of the facility available is restricted to not
greater than 70% of the facility for the class B notes, 45% for the
class M1 notes, and 10% for the class C1 notes. However, interest
does not accrue on the reserve tranches, the class M1 and C1
notes.

Considering the on-going effects of COVID-19, and to allow trading
and rent payments to stabilize as Meadowhall fully re-opens, the
borrower has agreed certain amendments and waivers to allow a
12-month suspension period ending on (and including) the April 2021
interest payment date (IPD). During the borrower suspension period,
certain coverage ratios will be waived and any deferred amounts do
not result in a loan event of default. An additional condition to
these amendments and waivers is that the joint venture provides
GBP4.5 million of top-up funds in total at each quarterly payment
date.

Following the suspension period, there will be a further six-month
recovery period (covering July 2021 and October 2021 IPDs) where
overdue amounts brought forward are excluded from the coverage
ratio calculations.

Reported rent cash collections for April 2020, July 2020, and most
recently October 2020, were GBP11.8 million, GBP5.3 million, and
GBP12.3 million, respectively. This compares with approximately
GBP20.0 million per quarter before the onset of COVID-19. Given the
lower collection rates over the last three quarters, the issuer has
drawn on the liquidity facility in order to meet debt payments on
each class of issued notes. At the October IPD, GBP6.9 million had
been drawn on the liquidity facility, which S&P factored into its
analysis. The remaining undrawn balance is therefore currently
GBP68.1 million.

S&P said, "Our analysis also included a full review of the legal
and regulatory risks, operational and administrative risks, and
counterparty risks. Our assessment of these risks remains unchanged
since closing and is commensurate with the ratings."

Rating actions

S&P said, "Our ratings in this transaction address the timely
payment of interest, payable quarterly, and the payment of
principal no later than the legal final maturity date in July
2037.

"In our view, the transaction's credit quality has declined further
due to the on-going structural shift in the physical retail sector,
as well as the continued operational disruption resulting from the
spread of COVID-19. We believe this may continue to negatively
affect the cash flows available to the issuer.

"The increasingly challenging environment for retail tenants is
affecting this transaction, which is shown by the continued decline
in reported operating performance and estimated rental values. We
have factored this into our analysis when we calculated our S&P
Global Ratings recovery value, together with other supporting
features, such as the availability of the liquidity facility."

The combination of the above factors results in an S&P Global
Ratings LTV ratio of 58.6%, 74.2%, 85.1%, and 92.7% for the class
A1 and A2 (pari passu notes), B, M1, and C1 notes, respectively.
Together with transaction-level considerations, these translate
into 'AA- (sf)' ratings for the class A1 and A2 notes, a 'A- (sf)'
rating for the class B notes, a 'BBB- (sf)' rating for the class M1
notes, and a 'BB (sf)' rating for the class C1 notes.

S&P Global Ratings believes there remains a high degree of
uncertainty about the evolution of the coronavirus pandemic. While
the early approval of a number of vaccines is a positive
development, countries' approval of vaccines 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 mid-2021. 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.


NEWDAY FUNDING 2018-1: DBRS Confirms BB (low) Class E Notes Rating
------------------------------------------------------------------
DBRS Ratings Limited confirmed and downgraded its ratings of the
following NewDay Funding-related transactions:

NewDay Funding 2018-1 plc:

Class A Notes: confirmed at AAA (sf)
Class B Notes: downgraded to AA (sf) from AA (high) (sf)
Class C Notes: downgraded to A (low) (sf) from A (high) (sf)
Class D Notes: confirmed at BBB (low) (sf)
Class E Notes: confirmed at BB (low) (sf)
Class F Notes: downgraded to B (low) (sf) from B (high) (sf)

NewDay Funding 2018-2 plc:

Class A Notes: confirmed at AAA (sf)
Class B Notes: downgraded to AA (sf) from AA (high) (sf)
Class C Notes: downgraded to A (low) (sf) from A (sf)
Class D Notes: downgraded to BBB (low) (sf) from BBB (sf)
Class E Notes: confirmed at BB (low) (sf)
Class F Notes: downgraded to B (low) (sf) from B (high) (sf)

NewDay Funding 2019-1 plc:

Class A Notes: confirmed at AAA (sf)
Class B Notes: downgraded to AA (sf) from AA (high) (sf)
Class C Notes: downgraded to A (low) (sf) from A (sf)
Class D Notes: downgraded to BBB (low) (sf) from BBB (sf)
Class E Notes: downgraded to BB (low) (sf) from BB (sf)
Class F Notes: confirmed at B (high) (sf)

NewDay Funding 2019-2 plc:

Class A Notes: confirmed at AAA (sf)
Class B Notes: downgraded to AA (sf) from AA (high) (sf)
Class C Notes: downgraded to A (low) (sf) from A (sf)
Class D Notes: confirmed at BBB (low) (sf)
Class E Notes: downgraded to BB (low) (sf) from BB (sf)
Class F Notes: confirmed at B (high) (sf)

NewDay Funding Loan Note Issuer VFN-F1 V1:

Class A Notes: confirmed at BBB (low) (sf)
Class E Notes: confirmed at BB (low) (sf)
Class F Notes: downgraded to B (low) (sf) from B (high) (sf)

Except for the AAA (sf) rated Class A Notes that DBRS Morningstar
did not place Under Review with Negative Implications (UR-Neg.),
the rating actions above remove the relevant ratings from UR-Neg
status, where DBRS Morningstar first placed them on May 28, 2020
and maintained them on August 28, 2020.

DBRS Morningstar removed the UR-Neg status from the notes issued
under NewDay Funding Loan Note Issuer VFN-F1 V2 on November 16,
2020 and took related rating actions when a transaction amendment
was executed.

The ratings address the timely payment of scheduled interest and
the ultimate repayment of principal by the relevant legal final
maturity dates.

DBRS Morningstar based its ratings on information provided by the
issuer and its agents as of the date of this press release.

The notes are backed by a portfolio of own-branded credit cards
granted to individuals domiciled in the UK by NewDay Cards (the
originator).

The ratings are based on the following analytical considerations:

-- The transactions' capital structure, including form and
sufficiency of available credit enhancement to support DBRS
Morningstar's revised expectation of charge-off, principal payment,
and yield rates under various stress scenarios.

-- The ability of the transactions to withstand stressed cash flow
assumptions and repay the notes.

-- The originator's capabilities with respect to originations,
underwriting, and servicing.

-- An operational risk review of the originator, which DBRS
Morningstar deems to be an acceptable servicer.

-- The transaction parties' financial strength regarding their
respective roles.

-- The credit quality, diversification of the collateral, and
historical and projected performance of the securitised portfolio.

-- DBRS Morningstar's sovereign rating of the United Kingdom of
Great Britain and Northern Ireland at AA (high) with a Stable
trend.

-- The consistency of the transactions' legal structure with DBRS
Morningstar's "Legal Criteria for European Structured Finance
Transactions" methodology.

TRANSACTION STRUCTURE

The notes are part of the master issuance structure of NewDay
Funding, where all series of notes are supported by the same pool
of receivables and generally issued under the same requirements
regarding servicing, amortization events, priority of
distributions, and eligible investments.

The transactions include scheduled revolving periods. During this
period, the issuer may purchase additional receivables provided
that the eligibility criteria set out in the transaction documents
are satisfied. The revolving period may end earlier than scheduled
if certain events occur, such as the breach of performance triggers
or servicer termination. The scheduled revolving period may be
extended by the servicer by up to 12 months. If the notes are not
fully redeemed at the end of the respective scheduled revolving
periods, the transactions enter into a rapid amortisation.

The interest rate and cross-currency (if any) mismatch risks
between the fixed-interest rate collateral and floating-rate
coupons of the notes are, to a degree, mitigated by the excess
spread in the transactions and considered in DBRS Morningstar's
cash flow analysis.

The transactions include series-specific liquidity reserves that
are available to cover the shortfalls in senior expenses and
interests on the notes.

COUNTERPARTIES

HSBC Bank plc is the account bank and swap collateral account bank
(if applicable) for the transactions. Based on DBRS Morningstar's
private rating of HSBC Bank and the downgrade provisions outlined
in the transaction documents, DBRS Morningstar considers the risk
arising from the exposure to the account bank to be commensurate
with the ratings assigned.

PORTFOLIO AND CASH FLOW ASSUMPTIONS AND COVID-19 CONSIDERATIONS

The Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) and the resulting isolation
measures have caused an economic contraction, leading to increases
in unemployment rates and adverse financial impact on many
borrowers. DBRS Morningstar anticipates that delinquencies could
continue to rise, and payment and yield rates could remain subdued
in the coming months for many credit card portfolios. The ratings
are based on additional analysis and adjustments to expected
performance as a result of the global efforts to contain the spread
of the coronavirus.

The most recent performance in November 2020 shows an improved
total payment rate of 12.4% including the interest collections,
after a record low level of 10.4% in April 2020 because of the
impact of coronavirus. The payment rates appear to have stabilised
but remain slightly below historical levels. After removing the
interest collections, the estimated monthly principal payment rates
(MPPRs) of the securitized portfolio have been stable above 8%.
Based on the analysis of historical data, macroeconomic factors,
and the portfolio-specific coronavirus adjustments, DBRS
Morningstar maintains the expected MPPR at 8%.

Similarly, the portfolio yield is largely stable over the reported
period until March 2020. The most recent performance in November
2020 shows a total yield of 29.2%, increased from the record low of
26.5% in May 2020 because of the forbearance measures of payment
holiday and payment freeze offered and higher delinquencies. Based
on the observed trend and the potential yield compression because
of the forbearance measures, DBRS Morningstar revised the expected
cash interest yield down to 24.5% from 28%.

The reported historical charge-off rates had been high but stable
at approximately 16% until March 2020. The most recent performance
in November 2020 showed an annualised charge-off rate of 9.2%,
after reaching a record high of 17.6% in April 2020 because of
coronavirus. Based on the analysis of delinquency trends,
macroeconomic factors, and the portfolio-specific adjustment
because of the impact of coronavirus, DBRS Morningstar revised the
expected charge-off rate upward to 18% from 16%.

DBRS Morningstar also elected to stress the asset performance
deterioration over a longer period for the notes rated below
investment grade in accordance with its "Rating European Consumer
and Commercial Asset-Backed Securitisations" methodology.

Notes: All figures are in British pound sterling unless otherwise
noted.


OPTIMUS WEALTH: Enters Liquidation, Clients Can Now File Claims
---------------------------------------------------------------
Amy Austin at FTAdviser reports that advice firm Optimus Wealth
Management has gone into liquidation paving the way for clients to
make claims against it.

The advice firm entered liquidation on Dec. 17, FTAdviser relays,
citing the Financial Services Compensation Scheme.

This means the lifeboat scheme can now begin accepting claims
against the adviser and has so far received three, FTAdviser
notes.

According to the FCA register, Optimus Wealth Management has not
been authorized since May 2016 and as such is no longer able to
provide regulated products or services, FTAdviser relates.

The FSCS is unable to pay out on any claims until the firm goes
into default and at least one eligible claim is found, FTAdviser
states.

Eligible clients can bring claims to the FSCS for a maximum payout
of GBP85,000, FTAdviser discloses.


TEESSIDE GAS: Goes Into Liquidation After Court Battle Loss
-----------------------------------------------------------
Allister Thomas at Energy Voice reports that North Sea pipeline
firm Teesside Gas Transportation Limited (TGTL) has been forced
into liquidation after losing a court battle with Aberdeen-based
Kellas Midstream.

TGTL was forced to pay out GBP37 million to Kellas after losing its
final civil appeal against the company in April, Energy Voice
discloses.

Kellas successfully argued that TGTL had withheld the millions in
funds over its commercial agreement for the CATS pipeline system,
Energy Voice relates.

As a result, the TGTL has "no realistic alternative but to cease
trading", directors said in newly-published accounts, with
liquidation expected to complete next year, Energy Voice notes.

TGTL, which posted profits of GBP16 million for 2012, prior to the
dispute, ended 2019 with losses of GBP5.5 million, according to
Energy Voice.  The firm's employees are limited to its four
directors, Energy Voice states.


UNIQUE PUB: S&P Keeps 'BB+' Class A Notes Rating on Watch Neg.
--------------------------------------------------------------
S&P Global Ratings kept on CreditWatch negative its 'BB+ (sf)', 'B
(sf)', and 'B- (sf)' ratings on Unique Pub Finance Co. PLC's class
A, M, and N notes, respectively. The CreditWatch negative placement
reflects the continuing significant uncertainty surrounding the
timing and robustness of the COVID-19 recovery and the issuer's
available liquidity.

S&P said, "On April 17, 2020, we placed on CreditWatch negative our
ratings in this transaction to reflect the potential effect that
the U.K. government's measures to contain the spread of COVID-19
could have on both the U.K economy and the restaurant and public
houses (pub) sectors. On July 7, 2020, we lowered our ratings on
the class M and N notes, and kept our ratings on the class A, M,
and N notes on CreditWatch negative."

Unique Pub Finance is a corporate securitization of the U.K.
operating business of the leased and tenanted pub estate operator
Unique Pub Properties Ltd. (UPP or the borrower). It originally
closed in June 1999 and was last tapped in February 2005.

The transaction features three classes of notes (A4, M, and N), the
proceeds of which have been on-lent by Unique Pub Finance to UPP
via issuer-borrower loans. The operating cash flows generated by
UPP are available to repay its borrowings from the issuer that, in
turn, uses those proceeds to service the notes. S&P's ratings on
the notes address the timely payment of interest and principal due
on the class A notes, and the ultimate payment of interest and
principal due on the class M and N notes.

S&P Global Ratings believes there remains a high degree of
uncertainty about the evolution of the coronavirus pandemic. While
the early approval of a number of vaccines is a positive
development, countries' approval of vaccines 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 mid-2021. 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."

Business risk profile

S&P said, "We have applied our corporate securitization criteria as
part of our rating analysis on the notes in this transaction. As
part of our analysis, we assess whether the operating cash flows
generated by the borrower are sufficient to make the payments
required under the notes' loan agreements by using a debt service
coverage ratio (DSCR) analysis under a base-case and a downside
scenario. Our view of the borrowing group's potential to generate
cash flows is informed by our base-case operating cash flow
projection and our assessment of its business risk profile (BRP),
which we derive using our corporate methodology."

Recent performance and events

-- The U.K. government gave the go-ahead for pubs to reopen
beginning on July 4, 2020.

-- On Nov. 18, Stonegate Pub Co. released its interim trading
update for financial year ended Oct. 30, 2020 (FY2020), which
include 17 weeks' worth of trading that directly followed the
reopening of their pubs. These results are largely comparable with
the results communicated to us for the securitized estate.

-- Stonegate reported that around 97% of their leased and tenanted
(L&T) estate had reopened. The like-for-like (LFL) turnover results
over the summer months declined by 15% in July and by 10% in August
and September.

-- The 10 p.m. curfew imposed at the end of September decreased
trading volumes by 5%-10%.

-- Trading volumes were further suppressed after the introduction
of a tiered system and localized lockdowns in mid-October. Trading
volumes for L&T pubs were at about 70% LFL for the last full week
before the second lockdown introduced on Nov. 5.

-- In its investor report for the quarter to September 2020, UPP
reported annual EBITDA of GBP84.2 million, about 33% below the
reported FY2019 results

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a severe impact on the pub and casual
dining industry in the U.K. and more generally on the broader
macroeconomic environment, although the U.K. recovery has been
better than expected. However, the number of reported cases and
COVID-19-related fatalities in the U.K. has dramatically increased
in October, leading to a second national lockdown in November,
which added additional pressure on the industry and on the broader
economy. The U.K government imposed tougher post-lockdown
restrictions in an attempt to dampen the magnitude of a second
wave.

Recent restrictions imposed by the U.K. government to limit the
resurgence in infections will delay the economic rebound from this
second wave to the second and third quarters of 2021 when the
situation should start to normalize. S&P expects that some
restrictions will remain in place until that time.

S&P said, "Considering the current trajectory of coronavirus
transmissions and reported cases, when coupled with the expected
timing of effective and safe vaccines being widely available, we
anticipate reduced consumer spending and confidence, muted
inflation, and potential for further weakening in the pound
sterling as headwinds for pubs and restaurants over the next 12-18
months, the big question being 2021. Given the new, tougher
restrictions imposed by the U.K. government and remaining
uncertainties surrounding both the path that the COVID-19 pandemic
will take in the U.K., the prospects of and timing for vaccines
against the virus, we have revised downward our assumptions for
calendar year 2021. Although the timing and shape of the recovery
in trading conditions remains uncertain in the long term, we now
expect that the full recovery in operating performance will be
reached in calendar year 2022.

"That said, we continue to assess the borrower's BRP as fair,
supported by the group's sizeable scale of operations as part of
the recently consolidated Stonegate Pub Company (the largest pub
operator in the U.K.), its higher-than-average profitability, and
the earnings stability that its tied-in L&T model provides. We
believe that, together with the cash-preservation measures put in
place over the lockdown period, the above factors will support
UPP's longer-term recovery in earnings toward more sustainable
levels."

Issuer's liquidity position

The issuer's liquidity position at the end of the summer trading is
better than S&P had previously expected.

The outstanding issuer/borrower loan balance after the September
payment date is GBP668.7 million. This is after the scheduled
amortization has been fully paid for both the June and September
payment dates. In order to meet both payments, the borrower drew on
its cash reserve, which is available to cover the borrower's senior
fees and payments on the loans.

The amount of the drawing was GBP12.6 million on the June payment
date and GBP3.5 million on the September 2020 payment date, which
was less than our expected liquidity need for this period. The
remaining cash reserve account balance after the September payment
date is GBP48.9 million.

The committed liquidity facility remains fully undrawn with GBP152
million available to the issuer.

Rating Rationale

Unique Pub Finance's primary sources of funds for principal and
interest payments on the outstanding notes are the loan interest
and principal payments from the borrower, which are ultimately
backed by future cash flows generated by the operating assets. Our
ratings on the notes address the timely payment of interest and
principal due on the class A4 notes, and the ultimate payment of
interest and principal due on the class M and N notes.

In S&P's view, the transaction's credit quality has declined due to
health and safety fears related to COVID-19. It believes this will
negatively affect the cash flows available to the issuer.

DSCR analysis

S&P said, "Our cash flow analysis serves to both assess whether
cash flows will be sufficient to service debt through the
transaction's life and to project minimum DSCRs in our base-case
and downside scenarios.

"In the face of the liquidity stress resulting from the COVID-19
pandemic on those sectors directly affected by the U.K.
government's response, our current view is that the hardest-hit
sectors will not recover to 2019 levels until 2023 or later.
Importantly, it is our current view that the pandemic will not have
a lasting effect on the industries and companies themselves,
meaning that the long-term creditworthiness of the underlying
companies will not fundamentally or materially deteriorate over the
long term.

"Our downside analysis provides unique insight into a transaction's
ability to withstand the liquidity stress precipitated by the
closure of pubs in the U.K. Given those circumstances, the outcome
of our downside analysis alone determines the resilience-adjusted
anchor. As a result, our analysis begins with the construction of a
base-case projection from which we derive a downside case. However,
we have not determined our anchor, which does not reflect the
liquidity support at the issuer level--which we see as a mitigating
factor to the liquidity stress we expect to result from the U.K.
government's response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Rather, we
developed the downside scenario from the base case to assess
whether the COVID-19 liquidity stress would have a negative effect
on level of the resilience-adjusted anchor for each class of
notes.

"That said, we performed the base-case analysis to assess whether,
post-pandemic, the anchor would be adversely affected given the
long-term prospects currently assumed under our base-case
forecast."

Base-case forecast

S&P typically does not give credit to growth after the first two
years, however in this review, it considers the growth period to
continue through FY2023 in order to accommodate both the duration
of the COVID-19 stress and the subsequent recovery.

UPP's earnings depend largely on general economic activity and
discretionary consumer demand. Given the nature of the COVID-19
pandemic, S&P's base-case assumptions remain very uncertain. As a
result of the pandemic's escalation, S&P has revised its previous
macroeconomic forecasts to reflect the likely contraction in global
output and reduction of consumer spending.

Considering the state of and S&P's expectations for the COVID-19
pandemic, our current assumptions are:

-- U.K. real GDP contracting by 11.0% in calendar year 2020 amid a
COVID-19-induced slowdown and rebounding by 6.0% in 2021. S&P's
most recent economic forecasts for the U.K. for 2020 are more
pessimistic than our previous forecast. However, its expectation
for a recovery in 2022 has improved.

-- S&P anticipates revenues to decline in FY2020, resulting from a
prolonged lockdown period of about three months, followed by a
period of severe restrictions on in-site capacity due to social
distancing measures. S&P therefore anticipates FY2020 revenues to
fall by over 30%.

-- S&P anticipates revenues in FY2021 to be about 25% below the
FY2019 levels resulting from a second lockdown, followed by a
period of restrictions on social interaction and menu offering.
This is also based on S&P's expectation that trading restrictions
will ease progressively in the second and third quarter of calendar
year 2021, as one or more vaccines for COVID-19 are expected to
become widely available.

-- S&P anticipates that trading levels will only fully recover to
FY2019 levels in FY2023, as they will be affected by a deteriorated
macroeconomic environment.

-- S&P has assumed a progressive recovery in EBITDA margins from
2021 onward, from the recovery in revenues. Therefore, S&P
anticipates a gradual recovery in EBITDA through FY2021, reaching
FY2019 levels in FY2023.

-- S&P also expects UPP to control capital expenditures (capex) in
order to preserve cash. S&P anticipates total capex of about GBP14
million in FY2020, although increasing toward historical levels
over the course of FY2021 and thereafter, at about GBP25
million-GBP35 million on a capitalized basis.

-- Weakened earnings and tax relief will likely result in reduced
tax payments until FY2023.

Downside DSCR analysis

S&P said, "Our downside DSCR analysis tests whether the
issuer-level structural enhancements improve the transaction's
resilience under a moderate stress scenario. UPP falls within the
pubs, restaurants, and retail industry. Considering U.K. pubs'
historical performance during the financial crisis of 2007-2008, in
our view, a 25% decline in EBITDA from our base case is appropriate
for the tenanted pub subsector.

"Our current expectations are that the COVID-19 liquidity stress
will result in a reduction in EBITDA that is far greater than the
25% decline we would normally assume under our downside stress.
Hence, our downside scenario comprises both our short- to
medium-term EBITDA projections during the liquidity stress period
and our long-term forecast, but with the level of ultimate recovery
limited to 25% lower than what we would assume for a base-case
forecast over the long-term. For example, our downside scenario
forecast of EBITDA reflects our base-case assumptions for recovery
into FY2021 until the level of EBITDA is within 75% of our
projected long-term EBITDA.

"Our downside DSCR analysis resulted in a strong resilience score
for the class A notes, and weak resilience scores for the class M
and N notes, which are unchanged from our previous review. However,
our projected DSCRs improved slightly as a result of the
better-than-expected summer trading, leading to a better-than
expected liquidity available to the issuer at the end of the third
quarter 2020. This reflects the headroom above a 1.8:1.0 DSCR
threshold that is required under our criteria to achieve a strong
resilience score after considering the level of liquidity support
available to class A notes.

"Both the class M and N notes have limits on the amount of the
liquidity facility they may use to cover liquidity shortfalls.
Moreover, any more-senior classes may draw on those same amounts,
which makes the exercise of determining the amount of the liquidity
support available to the class M and N notes dynamic. Our ratings
on the class M and N notes address the ultimate payment of interest
and principal due on the notes. Due to their deferrable feature,
which means that these notes cannot default before their legal
final maturity date (March 2032),these classes of notes will not
experience interest shortfalls under our downside DSCR analysis
within three to four years. Consequently, the resulting resilience
scores are weak for both classes of notes, which are unchanged
since our previous review."

Each class's resilience score corresponds to rating
categories--excellent at 'AAA' through vulnerable at 'B'. Within
each category, the recommended resilience-adjusted anchor reflect
notching based on where the downside DSCR falls within a range (for
the class A notes) or the length of time the notes will survive
before S&P projects shortfalls (for the class M and N notes). As a
result, the resilience-adjusted anchors for each class of notes
would not be adversely affected under our downside scenario.

Liquidity facility adjustment

Given that we have given full credit to the liquidity facility
amount available to each class of notes, a further one-notch
increase to any of the resilience-adjusted anchors is not
warranted.

Modifiers analysis

S&P said, "We applied a one-notch downward adjustment to the class
N notes to reflect their subordination and weaker access to the
security package compared to the class M notes. We have also
applied a two-notch downward adjustment to the class A notes to
reflect the weaknesses of the effectiveness of the two main
covenant tests (financial covenant and restricted payment condition
covenant), which is unchanged since our Nov. 22, 2019 review."

Comparable rating analysis

S&P said, "As mentioned, we performed our base-case analysis to
assess whether, post-COVID-19, the anchor would be adversely
affected given the long-term prospects currently assumed in our
base-case forecast. Based on our post-COVID-19 base-case analysis,
which reflect the performance from FY2023 and beyond, we have
concluded that the anchor would not be adversely affected."

Counterparty risk

S&P said, "Due to weaker replacement provisions in the related
agreements, we do not consider the liquidity facility and bank
account providers to be in line with our current counterparty
criteria. As a result, the application of these criteria caps the
ratings at the weakest issuer credit rating (ICR) among the bank
account providers (National Westminster Bank PLC and Barclays Bank
PLC), and the liquidity facility provider, NatWest Markets PLC."

This combination of factors results in a maximum supported rating
on the notes at the level of the lowest applicable rating among the
ICR on the account banks, and the ICR on the liquidity facility
provider. The current minimum applicable rating is above the rating
on the senior notes, so they do not currently constrain our
ratings.

Outlook

S&P said, "Over the next 12 to 24 months, we expect that UPP's
operating performance will remain under pressure against a backdrop
the current economic shock stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic and
the U.K. government's response. As we receive more issuer-specific
and industry-level data, and as the course of both the coronavirus
and any resulting restrictions become clearer, we will assess the
transaction to determine whether rating actions are warranted."

Downside scenario

S&P said, "We may consider lowering our ratings on the class A
notes if their minimum projected DSCRs in our downside scenario
have a material-adverse effect on each class' resilience-adjusted
anchor.

"We may also consider lowering our ratings on the class A notes if
the minimum forecast DSCRs falls below 1.4:1.0 in our base-case
scenario.

"We could also lower our ratings on the class M or N notes if there
were a further deterioration in our assessment of the borrower's
overall creditworthiness, which is a reflection of its financial
and operational strength over the short-to-medium term. This could
be the result of increased leverage at UPP, driven by a sharp
earnings deterioration or a material increase in debt
outstanding."

Upside scenario

Due to the current economic situation, S&P does not anticipate
raising its assessment of UPP's BRP within the next two years.

CreditWatch resolutions

S&P said, "As we develop better clarity on the expected size and
duration of reductions in the transaction's securitized net cash
flows, we will evaluate whether adjustments to our base-case and
downside projections are appropriate. Changes in our projections
could adversely affect our DSCR estimates, which, in turn, could
put pressure on our ratings on the notes. If longer-term effects
emerge that reshape the economy or industry, we may revise our
assessment of a company's BRP, which could also result in rating
changes. We expect to resolve the CreditWatch placements within the
next 90 days when we have a clearer guidance on the overall effect
on each company's liquidity during the shutdown, our evolving view
of the severity and duration of the COVID-19 driven stress, the
prospects for recovery, and the long-term effects on the U.K
economy and the pub industry."


[*] DBRS Downgrades 6 Tranches on 5 EUR RMBS Transactions
---------------------------------------------------------
DBRS Ratings Limited and DBRS Ratings GmbH confirmed 26 tranches
and downgraded six tranches across five European RMBS transactions.
The rating actions additionally resolve the Under Review with
Negative Implications (UR-Neg.) status of 21 tranches across these
transactions, which were initially placed UR-Neg. on June 24, 2020
before having their UR-Neg. status extended on September 2020. For
more information regarding prior rating actions, please refer to
the following press releases: "DBRS Morningstar Places 56 Ratings
of 17 European RMBS Transactions Under Review with Negative
Implications" (published June 24, 2020) and "DBRS Morningstar
Maintains Ratings of Five European RMBS Transactions Under Review
with Negative Implications" (published September 24, 2020). The
complete list of rating actions can be found at the end of this
press release.

These transactions are secured by asset pools that may include high
levels of restructured or reperforming loans, past delinquencies,
refinancing risk exposure, or high concentrations of self-employed
borrowers, which have resulted in upward revisions of their base
case probability of default (PD) and loss given default (LGD)
assumptions. DBRS Morningstar considers the collateral performance
to date, available credit enhancement, and other structural
protections of three transactions, Rochester Financing No.2 plc,
Dublin Bay Securities 2018-MA1 DAC, and European Residential Loan
Securitisation 2019-PL1 DAC, to be consistent with rating
confirmations. Ratings on certain tranches issued under the
remaining two transactions, Miravet 2019-1 and Mulcair Securities
DAC, are considered to be more sensitive to coronavirus-related
performance deterioration, and have been downgraded. The UR-Neg.
status on all the aforementioned tranches has been removed. DBRS
Morningstar will continue to monitor these transactions, as the
ongoing impact of the coronavirus pandemic may have longer-term
credit implications, and levels of delinquencies, defaults, and
losses in excess of DBRS Morningstar's expectations may eventually
manifest.

The Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) and the resulting isolation
measures have caused an economic contraction, leading to sharp
increases in unemployment rates and income reductions for many
borrowers. DBRS Morningstar anticipates that delinquencies may
continue to increase in the coming months for many RMBS
transactions, some meaningfully. The ratings are based on
additional analysis and adjustments to expected performance as a
result of the global efforts to contain the spread of the
coronavirus. For these transactions, DBRS Morningstar incorporated
a moderate reduction in residential property values and, where
relevant for the portfolio, DBRS Morningstar increased the expected
default rate for self-employed borrowers, assessed a potential
reduction in portfolio prepayment rates, and applied additional
adjustments to restructured loans.

Should collateral performance deteriorate beyond the levels
contemplated under DBRS Morningstar's revised base case
assumptions, or in the event of a material change in DBRS
Morningstar's macroeconomic forecasts, these transactions may be
placed UR-Neg. once again.

KEY RATING DRIVERS AND CONSIDERATIONS

The rating actions follow a review of each transaction and are
based on the following analytical considerations:

-- Portfolio performance, in terms of delinquencies, defaults, and
losses.

-- PD, LGD, and expected loss assumptions on the remaining
collateral portfolios.

-- Current available credit enhancement to the rated notes to
cover the expected losses at their respective rating levels.

-- Current economic environment and an assessment of sustainable
performance, as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.

Notes: All figures are in euros or British pound sterling unless
otherwise noted.

The affected rating is available at https://bit.ly/3mNl8rJ




                           *********


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.

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