/raid1/www/Hosts/bankrupt/TCREUR_Public/210604.mbx        T R O U B L E D   C O M P A N Y   R E P O R T E R

                          E U R O P E

          Friday, June 4, 2021, Vol. 22, No. 106

                           Headlines



D E N M A R K

NORDIC AVIATION: Bank Lenders Seek to Cut Exposure


G E R M A N Y

ADLER GROUP: Moody's Withdraws 'Ba2' LongTerm Corp Family Rating


H U N G A R Y

WIZZ AIR: Posts EUR576MM Net Loss, Warns of Further Losses


I R E L A N D

ARBOUR CLO IX: Moody's Assigns B3 Rating to Class F Notes
ARBOUR CLO IX: S&P Assigns B- Rating on Class F Notes
AVOCA CLO XXIII: Fitch Assigns Final B- Rating on Class F Notes
BNPP AM EURO CLO 2021: Fitch Assigns B-(EXP) Rating on F Tranche


L I T H U A N I A

AKROPOLIS GROUP: Fitch Rates EUR300MM Unsec. Bond 'BB+'


M A L T A

MELITA BIDCO: Fitch Raises LT IDR to 'B+', Outlook Stable


N E T H E R L A N D S

NOBEL BIDCO: S&P Assigns Preliminary 'B+' LT ICR, Outlook Stable


S P A I N

[*] DBRS Takes Actions on Eight BBVA RMBS Transactions


T U R K E Y

ARCELIK AS: Fitch Raises LongTerm IDRs to 'BB+', Outlook Stable
ZORLU YENILENEBILIR: Fitch Assigns Final 'B-' LongTerm IDR


U K R A I N E

AGRICOLE BANK: Fitch Withdraws 'B/B+' Issuer Ratings


U N I T E D   K I N G D O M

AMIGO LOANS:Won't Challenge Court Ruling on Compensation Payments
BERG FINANCE 2021: DBRS Finalizes BB(high) Rating on Class E Notes
DEUCE MIDCO: Fitch Assigns FirstTime 'B(EXP)' IDR, Outlook Stable
GREENSILL CAPITAL: Credit Suisse Mulls Lawsuit Against SoftBank
GREENSILL CAPITAL: Trafigura Warned Credit Suisse on Gupta Invoice



X X X X X X X X

[*] BOOK REVIEW: Hospitals, Health and People
[*] Most of G7 Covid Aid Handed with No Green Strings Attached

                           - - - - -


=============
D E N M A R K
=============

NORDIC AVIATION: Bank Lenders Seek to Cut Exposure
--------------------------------------------------
Antonio Vanuzzo and Luca Casiraghi at Bloomberg News report that
bank lenders are seeking to cut their exposure to one of the
world's largest aircraft lessors before a moratorium on debt
payment ends next month.

An unnamed lender to a unit of Nordic Aviation Capital AS is
seeking to sell a US$50-million portion of a credit facility this
week, according to people familiar with the matter, who asked not
to be identified because they aren't authorized to speak publicly
about it, Bloomberg relates.

According to Bloomberg, they said the seller may dispose of the
debt, which is secured by assets held in NAC Aviation 29 DAC, at
roughly a 30% discount to face value.

Founded in Denmark in 1990, Nordic Aviation leases almost 500
aircrafts to about 75 airline customers and has about US$5.9
billion of debt backed by different assets held in subsidiaries,
Bloomberg relays, citing a separate person familiar with the
matter.  The company is seeking to draw a restructuring plan that
will capitalize on an expected pick up in international travel,
Bloomberg discloses.

The people said Sculptor Capital Management is one of the
investment funds that have previously bought bank loans to Nordic
Aviation, Bloomberg notes.

Last year, the lessor agreed a debt payment freeze with creditors
to last until the end of June 2021, Bloomberg recounts.  According
to Bloomberg, one of the people said it recently reached a deal to
extend the maturity until July 31.

Major Nordic Aviation's shareholders -- Singapore's sovereign fund
GIC and private equity firm EQT Partners -- have said they won't
contribute further to support the business after injecting US$60
million of fresh funds in 2020, Bloomberg relates.




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

ADLER GROUP: Moody's Withdraws 'Ba2' LongTerm Corp Family Rating
----------------------------------------------------------------
Moody's Investors Service has withdrawn the Ba2 long-term corporate
family rating, the Not Prime (NP) short-term issuer rating and the
Ba2 rating of ADLER Group S.A.'s 1.5% fixed rate senior unsecured
Euronotes due in 2024. Moody's has also withdrawn the stable
outlook.

RATINGS RATIONALE

Moody's has decided to withdraw the ratings for its own business
reasons.

ADLER Group S.A. is one of the largest residential landlords and
property developers in Germany. The company owns almost 70,000
residential units and a EUR11.4 billion real estate portfolio.




=============
H U N G A R Y
=============

WIZZ AIR: Posts EUR576MM Net Loss, Warns of Further Losses
----------------------------------------------------------
Laurence Frost at Reuters reports that European budget airline Wizz
Air warned of further losses in its current financial year, amid a
slower-than-expected recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.

The ultra-low cost carrier faces another "transition year" as
travel curbs linger on, Chief Executive Jozsef Varadi said on June
2, as the company posted a EUR576 million (US$703 million) net loss
for the 12 months ended March 31, Reuters relates.

"Unless we see an accelerated and permanent lifting of
restrictions, we expect a reported net loss in full-year 2022,"
Reuters quotes Mr. Varadi as saying.

The airline, as cited by Reuters, said it expects to fly around 30%
of its pre-crisis capacity in its current first quarter, returning
to full schedules only in its 2022-23 financial year.

The underlying full-year loss excluding fuel hedging deficits
amounted to EUR482 million, Wizz said, on a 73% revenue decline to
EUR739 million, Reuters discloses.

Liquidity stood at EUR1.617 billion as of March 31, with the
company burning cash at a rate of EUR84 million during the entire
last quarter, Reuters states.  The cash and earnings numbers were
in line with unaudited results published in an April 15 trading
statement, Reuters notes.




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

ARBOUR CLO IX: Moody's Assigns B3 Rating to Class F Notes
---------------------------------------------------------
Moody's Investors Service announced that it has assigned the
following definitive ratings to notes issued by Arbour CLO IX DAC
(the "Issuer"):

EUR1,500,000 Class X Senior Secured Floating Rate Notes due 2034,
Definitive Rating Assigned Aaa (sf)

EUR246,000,000 Class A Senior Secured Floating Rate Notes due
2034, Definitive Rating Assigned Aaa (sf)

EUR22,000,000 Class B-1 Senior Secured Floating Rate Notes due
2034, Definitive Rating Assigned Aa2 (sf)

EUR20,000,000 Class B-2 Senior Secured Fixed Rate Notes due 2034,
Definitive Rating Assigned Aa2 (sf)

EUR28,000,000 Class C Senior Secured Deferrable Floating Rate
Notes due 2034, Definitive Rating Assigned A3 (sf)

EUR25,000,000 Class D Senior Secured Deferrable Floating Rate
Notes due 2034, Definitive Rating Assigned Baa3 (sf)

EUR21,000,000 Class E Senior Secured Deferrable Floating Rate
Notes due 2034, Definitive Rating Assigned Ba3 (sf)

EUR12,000,000 Class F Senior Secured Deferrable Floating Rate
Notes due 2034, Definitive Rating Assigned B3 (sf)

RATINGS RATIONALE

The rationale for the ratings is based on a consideration of the
risks associated with the CLO's portfolio and structure as
described in Moody's methodology.

The Issuer is a managed cash flow CLO. At least 90% of the
portfolio must consist of senior secured obligations and up to 10%
of the portfolio may consist of senior unsecured obligations,
second-lien loans, mezzanine obligations and high yield bonds. The
portfolio is expected to be 95% ramped up as of the closing date
and to comprise of predominantly corporate loans to obligors
domiciled in Western Europe. The remainder of the portfolio will be
acquired during the approximately five month ramp-up period in
compliance with the portfolio guidelines.

Oaktree Capital Management (Europe) LLP ("Oaktree") will manage the
CLO. It will direct the selection, acquisition and disposition of
collateral on behalf of the Issuer and may engage in trading
activity, including discretionary trading, during the transaction's
four and half year reinvestment period. Thereafter, subject to
certain restrictions, purchases are permitted using principal
proceeds from unscheduled principal payments and proceeds from
sales of credit risk obligations or credit improved obligations.

Interest and principal amortisation amounts due to the Class X
Notes are paid pro rata with payments to the Class A notes. The
Class X Notes amortise by EUR250,000 over the six payment dates,
starting on the second payment date.

In addition to the eight classes of notes rated by Moody's, the
Issuer issued EUR 250,000 Class M Notes due 2034 and EUR30,200,000
Subordinated Notes due 2034 which are not rated. The Class M Notes
accrue interest in an amount equivalent to a certain proportion of
the senior and subordinated management fees and its notes' payment
is pari passu with the payment of the senior and subordinated
management fees.

The transaction incorporates interest and par coverage tests which,
if triggered, divert interest and principal proceeds to pay down
the notes in order of seniority.

The coronavirus pandemic has had a significant impact on economic
activity. Although global economies have shown a remarkable degree
of resilience to date and are returning to growth, the uneven
effects on individual businesses, sectors and regions will continue
throughout 2021 and will endure as a challenge to the world's
economies well beyond the end of the year. While persistent virus
fears remain the main risk for a recovery in demand, the economy
will recover faster if vaccines and further fiscal and monetary
policy responses bring forward a normalization of activity. As a
result, there is a heightened degree of uncertainty around Moody's
forecasts. Moody's analysis has considered the effect on the
performance of European corporate assets from a gradual and
unbalanced recovery in European economic activity.

Moody's regard the coronavirus outbreak as a social risk under its
ESG framework, given the substantial implications for public health
and safety.

Methodology underlying the rating action:

The principal methodology used in these ratings was "Moody's Global
Approach to Rating Collateralized Loan Obligations" published in
December 2020.

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

The rated notes' performance is subject to uncertainty. The notes'
performance is sensitive to the performance of the underlying
portfolio, which in turn depends on economic and credit conditions
that may change. The collateral manager's investment decisions and
management of the transaction will also affect the notes'
performance.

Moody's modeled the transaction using a cash flow model based on
the Binomial Expansion Technique, as described in Section 2.3 of
the "Moody's Global Approach to Rating Collateralized Loan
Obligations" rating methodology published in December 2020.

Moody's used the following base-case modeling assumptions:

Par Amount: EUR400,000,000

Diversity Score: 60

Weighted Average Rating Factor (WARF): 3133

Weighted Average Spread (WAS): 3.70%

Weighted Average Coupon (WAC): 4.5%

Weighted Average Recovery Rate (WARR): 43.5%

Weighted Average Life (WAL): 8.5 years


ARBOUR CLO IX: S&P Assigns B- Rating on Class F Notes
-----------------------------------------------------
S&P Global Ratings assigned its credit ratings to Arbour CLO IX
DAC's class X, A, B-1, B-2, C, D, E, and F notes. The issuer also
issued unrated subordinated notes.

Under the transaction documents, the rated notes 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 and
a half years after closing, and the portfolio's weighted-average
life test will be approximately 8.5 years after closing.

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

-- The diversified collateral pool, which primarily comprises
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       2839.65
  Default rate dispersion                                  487.65
  Weighted-average life (years)                              5.44
  Obligor diversity measure                                146.42
  Industry diversity measure                                20.92
  Regional diversity measure                                 1.16

  Transaction Key Metrics
                                                          CURRENT
  Total par amount (mil. EUR)                              400.00
  Defaulted assets (mil. EUR)                                   0
  Number of performing obligors                               179
  Portfolio weighted-average rating
    derived from S&P's CDO evaluator                          'B'
  'CCC' category rated assets (%)                            3.70
  'AAA' target weighted-average recovery (%)                34.29
  Covenanted weighted-average spread (%)                     3.60
  Reference weighted-average coupon (%)                      4.50

Workout obligation mechanics

Under the transaction documents, the issuer can purchase workout
obligations, 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 workout obligations is not subject to the
reinvestment criteria or the eligibility criteria. It receives no
credit in the principal balance definition, although where the
workout obligation meets the eligibility criteria with certain
exclusions, it is accorded defaulted treatment in the par coverage
tests. The cumulative exposure to workout obligations is limited to
10% of target par.

The issuer may purchase workout obligations using either interest
proceeds, principal proceeds, amounts in the collateral enhancement
account or the supplemental reserve account, or contributions. The
use of interest proceeds to purchase workout obligations is subject
to (i)the class D interest coverage test 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 following conditions:

-- Each workout obligation is a debt obligation;

-- Each workout obligation ranks pari passu with or senior to the
relevant collateral debt obligation issued by the obligor that is
the subject of the restructuring insolvency, bankruptcy,
reorganization, or workout in connection with which the applicable
workout obligation is to be acquired;

-- Each of the par value tests and the reinvestment
overcollateralization test must be satisfied immediately after the
acquisition of each obligation;

-- Each obligation has a maturity date that does not exceed the
rated notes' maturity date;

-- Each obligation's par value is greater than or equal to the
applicable obligation's purchase price; and

-- The aggregate collateral balance is greater that the unadjusted
reinvestment target par amount following the purchase.

To protect the transaction from par erosion, any distributions
received from workout obligations that are either purchased with
the use of principal, with interest, or amounts in the supplemental
reserve account, collateral enhancement account, or contribution
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 that 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 ratings reflect our assessment of the collateral
portfolio's credit quality, which has a weighted-average rating of
'B'. The portfolio primarily comprises 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 EUR400 million par amount,
the covenanted weighted-average spread of 3.60%, the reference
weighted-average coupon of 4.50%, and the target portfolio
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 negative. 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 (6.50%), 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."

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

S&P said, "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 ratings, as the exposure
to individual sovereigns does not exceed the diversification
thresholds outlined in our criteria.

"We consider the transaction's legal structure to 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, B-2, and C 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 ratings are
commensurate with the available credit enhancement for the class X,
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 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 the
covenanted weighted-average spread, coupon, and recoveries.

"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."

Environmental, social, and governance (ESG) credit factors

S&P said, "We regard the exposure to ESG credit factors in the
transaction as being broadly in line with our benchmark for the
sector. Primarily due to the diversity of the assets within CLOs,
the exposure to environmental credit factors is viewed as below
average, social credit factors are below average, and governance
credit factors are average. For this transaction, the documents
prohibit assets from being related to the following industries:
weapons, pornography or adult entertainment, coal, oil sands, food
commodity derivatives, tobacco, palm oil, and making or collection
of pay day loans or any unlicensed and unregistered financing.
Accordingly, since the exclusion of assets from these industries
does not result in material differences between the transaction and
our ESG benchmark for the sector, no specific adjustments have been
made in our rating analysis to account for any ESG-related risks or
opportunities."

S&P Global Ratings believes there remains high, albeit moderating,
uncertainty about the evolution of the coronavirus pandemic and its
economic effects. Vaccine production is ramping up and rollouts are
gathering pace around the world. Widespread immunization, which
will help pave the way for a return to more normal levels of social
and economic activity, looks to be achievable by most developed
economies by the end of the third quarter. However, some emerging
markets may only be able to achieve widespread immunization by
year-end or later. S&P said, "We use these assumptions about
vaccine timing in assessing the economic and credit implications
associated with the pandemic. As the situation evolves, we will
update our assumptions and estimates accordingly."

  Ratings List

  CLASS   RATING     AMOUNT     SUB (%)    INTEREST RATE*
                   (MIL. EUR)
  X       AAA (sf)     1.50      N/A       Three/six-month EURIBOR

                                           plus 0.28%
  A       AAA (sf)   246.00     38.00      Three/six-month EURIBOR

                                           plus 0.80%
  B-1     AA (sf)     22.00     29.49      Three/six-month EURIBOR

                                           plus 1.60%
  B-2     AA (sf)     20.00     29.49      2.00%
  C       A (sf)      28.00     22.74      Three/six-month EURIBOR

                                           plus 2.30%
  D       BBB (sf)    25.00     15.74      Three/six-month EURIBOR

                                           plus 3.25%
  E       BB- (sf)    21.00     10.00      Three/six-month EURIBOR

                                           plus 5.79%
  F       B- (sf)     12.00      7.49      Three/six-month EURIBOR

                                           plus 8.29%
  M       NR           0.25       N/A      N/A
  Sub     NR          30.20       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.


AVOCA CLO XXIII: Fitch Assigns Final B- Rating on Class F Notes
---------------------------------------------------------------
Fitch Ratings has assigned Avoca CLO XXIII final ratings.

DEBT               RATING            PRIOR
----               ------            -----
Avoca CLO XXIII DAC

A Loan     LT  AAAsf   New Rating   AAA(EXP)sf
A Notes    LT  AAAsf   New Rating   AAA(EXP)sf
B-1        LT  AAsf    New Rating   AA(EXP)sf
B-2        LT  AAsf    New Rating   AA(EXP)sf
C          LT  Asf     New Rating   A(EXP)sf
D          LT  BBB-sf  New Rating   BBB-(EXP)sf
E          LT  BB-sf   New Rating   BB-(EXP)sf
F          LT  B-sf    New Rating   B-(EXP)sf
Sub notes  LT  NRsf    New Rating   NR(EXP)sf
X          LT  AAAsf   New Rating   AAA(EXP)sf

TRANSACTION SUMMARY

Avoca CLO XXIII DAC is a securitisation of mainly senior secured
obligations (at least 92.5%) with a component of senior unsecured,
mezzanine, second-lien loans and high-yield bonds. Note proceeds
have been used to fund a portfolio with a target par of EUR400
million. The portfolio is actively managed by KKR Credit Advisors
(Ireland) Unlimited Company (KKR). The collateralised loan
obligation (CLO) has a 4.2-year reinvestment period and an 8.5-year
weighted average life (WAL).

The class A is divided into floating-rate notes and a floating-rate
loan. Both rank pari-passu in the priority of payments.

KEY RATING DRIVERS

Average Portfolio Credit Quality (Neutral): Fitch considers the
average credit quality of obligors to be in the 'B' category. The
Fitch weighted average rating factor (WARF) of the identified
portfolio is 32.7.

High Recovery Expectations (Positive): At least 92.5% of the
portfolio comprises senior secured obligations. Fitch views the
recovery prospects for these assets as more favourable than for
second-lien, unsecured and mezzanine assets. The Fitch weighted
average recovery rate (WARR) of the identified portfolio is
63.01%.

Diversified Asset Portfolio (Positive): The transaction has four
Fitch test matrices corresponding to two top 10 obligors'
concentration limits of 16% and 20% and maximum fixed-rate asset
limits of 0% and 10%, respectively. The manager can interpolate
within and between the matrices. The transaction also includes
various concentration limits, including the maximum exposure to the
three largest (Fitch-defined) industries in the portfolio at 40%.
These covenants ensure the asset portfolio will not be exposed to
excessive concentration.

Portfolio Management (Neutral): The transaction has a 4.2-year
reinvestment period and includes reinvestment criteria similar to
those of other European transactions. Fitch's analysis is based on
a stressed-case portfolio with the aim of testing the robustness of
the transaction structure against its covenants and portfolio
guidelines.

Deviation from MIR (Negative): Except for the class X notes, the
assigned ratings for all classes are one notch higher than the
model-implied rating (MIR). When analysing the updated matrices
with the stressed portfolio, the notes showed a maximum breakeven
default rate shortfall ranging from -1.14% to -3.63% across the
structure at the assigned ratings. The ratings are supported by the
significant default cushion on the identified portfolio at the
assigned ratings due to the notable cushion between the covenants
of the transactions and the portfolio's parameters, including the
higher diversity (152 obligors) of the identified portfolio.

All notes pass the assigned ratings based on the identified
portfolio and the coronavirus baseline sensitivity analysis that is
used for surveillance. The class F notes' deviation from the MIR
reflects Fitch's view that the tranche has a significant margin of
safety given the credit enhancement level at closing. The notes do
not present a "real possibility of default", which is the
definition of 'CCC' in Fitch's Rating Definitions.

RATING SENSITIVITIES

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

-- A reduction of the default rate (RDR) at all rating levels by
    25% of the mean RDR and an increase in the recovery rate (RRR)
    by 25% at all rating levels would result in an upgrade of up
    to five notches depending on the notes, except for the class A
    and class X notes, which are already at the highest rating on
    Fitch's scale and cannot be upgraded.

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

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

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

-- An increase of the RDR at all rating levels by 25% of the mean
    RDR and a decrease of the RRR by 25% at all rating levels will
    result in downgrades of no more than five notches depending on
    the notes.

Coronavirus Baseline Stress Scenario

Fitch recently updated its CLO coronavirus stress scenario to
assume half of the corporate exposure on Negative Outlook is
downgraded by one notch instead of 100%. The Stable Outlooks on all
the notes reflect the default rate cushion in the sensitivity
analysis run in light of the coronavirus pandemic. For more details
on Fitch's pandemic-related stresses see "Fitch Ratings Expects to
Revise Significant Share of CLO Outlooks to Stable".

Coronavirus Potential Severe Downside Stress Scenario

Fitch has added a sensitivity analysis that contemplates a more
severe and prolonged economic stress caused by a re-emergence of
infections in the major economies. The potential severe downside
stress incorporates the following stresses: applying a notch
downgrade to all the corporate exposure on Negative Outlook. This
scenario shows resilience at the current ratings for all notes.

BEST/WORST CASE RATING SCENARIO

International scale credit ratings of Structured Finance
transactions have a best-case rating upgrade scenario (defined as
the 99th percentile of rating transitions, measured in a positive
direction) of seven 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 seven notches over three years. The complete span of best- and
worst-case scenario credit ratings for all rating categories ranges
from 'AAAsf' to 'Dsf'. Best- and worst-case scenario credit ratings
are based on historical performance.

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

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

DATA ADEQUACY

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

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


BNPP AM EURO CLO 2021: Fitch Assigns B-(EXP) Rating on F Tranche
----------------------------------------------------------------
Fitch Ratings has assigned BNPP AM Euro CLO 2021 DAC expected
ratings.

The assignment of final ratings is contingent on the final
documents conforming to information already received.

DEBT               RATING
----               ------
BNPP AM Euro CLO 2021 DAC

A     LT  AAA(EXP)sf   Expected Rating
B-1   LT  AA(EXP)sf    Expected Rating
B-2   LT  AA(EXP)sf    Expected Rating
C     LT  A(EXP)sf     Expected Rating
D     LT  BBB-(EXP)sf  Expected Rating
E     LT  BB-(EXP)sf   Expected Rating
F     LT  B-(EXP)sf    Expected Rating
X     LT  AAA(EXP)sf   Expected Rating

TRANSACTION SUMMARY

BNPP AM Euro CLO 2021 DAC is a securitisation of mainly senior
secured obligations (at least 90%) with a component of senior
unsecured, mezzanine, second-lien loans and high-yield bonds. Net
proceeds from the note issuance will be used to fund a portfolio
with a target par of EUR400 million. The portfolio will be actively
managed by BNP Paribas Asset Management France SAS. The CLO
envisages a 4.2-year reinvestment period and an 8.5-year weighted
average life (WAL).

KEY RATING DRIVERS

Average Portfolio Credit Quality (Neutral): Fitch places the
average credit quality of obligors in the 'B' category. The Fitch
weighted average rating factor (WARF) of the identified portfolio
is 32.84, below the maximum WARF covenant for assigning expected
ratings of 35.00.

High Recovery Expectations (Positive): At least 90% of the
portfolio will comprise senior secured obligations. Fitch views the
recovery prospects for these assets as more favourable than for
second-lien, unsecured and mezzanine assets. The Fitch weighted
average recovery rate (WARR) of the identified portfolio is 62.43%,
above the minimum WARR covenant for assigning expected ratings of
61.00%.

Diversified Asset Portfolio (Positive): The indicative maximum
exposure of the 10 largest obligors for assigning the expected
ratings is 20% of the portfolio balance and maximum fixed rated
obligations are limited at 10% of the portfolio. The transaction
also includes various concentration limits, including the maximum
exposure to the three largest (Fitch-defined) industries in the
portfolio at 40%. These covenants ensure that the asset portfolio
will not be exposed to excessive concentration.

Portfolio Management (Positive): The transaction has a 4.2-year
reinvestment period and includes reinvestment criteria similar to
those of other European transactions. Fitch's analysis is based on
a stressed-case portfolio with the aim of testing the robustness of
the transaction structure against its covenants and portfolio
guidelines.

Deviation from Model-implied Rating (Negative): The expected
ratings on the class A, B, C, D, E and F notes are one notch higher
than the model-implied ratings (MIR). The ratings are supported by
the significant default cushion on the identified portfolio at the
assigned ratings due to the notable cushion between the covenants
of the transaction and the portfolio's parameters, including higher
diversity (108 obligors) of the identified portfolio.

All notes pass the assigned ratings based on the identified
portfolio and the coronavirus baseline sensitivity analysis that is
used for surveillance. The class F notes' deviation from the MIR
reflects the agency's view that the tranche displays a significant
margin of safety in the form of credit enhancement. The notes do
not present a "real possibility of default", which is the
definition of 'CCC' in Fitch's Rating Definitions.

RATING SENSITIVITIES

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

-- A reduction of the default rate (RDR) at all rating levels by
    25% of the mean RDR and an increase in the recovery rate (RRR)
    by 25% at all rating levels would result in an upgrade of up
    to five notches depending on the notes, except for the class A
    and class X notes, which are already at the highest rating on
    Fitch's scale and cannot be upgraded.

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

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

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

-- An increase of the RDR at all rating levels by 25% of the mean
    RDR and a decrease of the RRR by 25% at all rating levels will
    result in downgrades of no more than five notches depending on
    the notes.

Coronavirus Baseline Stress Scenario:

Fitch recently updated its CLO coronavirus stress scenario to
assume half of the corporate exposure on Negative Outlook is
downgraded by one notch instead of 100%. The Stable Outlooks on all
the notes reflect the default rate cushion in the sensitivity
analysis ran in light of the coronavirus pandemic.

Coronavirus Potential Severe Downside Stress Scenario

Fitch has added a sensitivity analysis that contemplates a more
severe and prolonged economic stress caused by a re-emergence of
infections in the major economies. The potential severe downside
stress incorporates the following stresses: applying a notch
downgrade to all the corporate exposure on Negative Outlook. This
scenario shows resilience at the current ratings for all notes.

BEST/WORST CASE RATING SCENARIO

International scale credit ratings of Structured Finance
transactions have a best-case rating upgrade scenario (defined as
the 99th percentile of rating transitions, measured in a positive
direction) of seven 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 seven notches over three years. The complete span of best- and
worst-case scenario credit ratings for all rating categories ranges
from 'AAAsf' to 'Dsf'. Best- and worst-case scenario credit ratings
are based on historical performance.

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

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

DATA ADEQUACY

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

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




=================
L I T H U A N I A
=================

AKROPOLIS GROUP: Fitch Rates EUR300MM Unsec. Bond 'BB+'
-------------------------------------------------------
Fitch Ratings has assigned Baltics-focused retail property company
Akropolis Group, UAB's EUR300 million senior unsecured bond a final
rating of 'BB+'.

The assignment of the bond's final rating follows the completion of
the bond issue and receipt of documents, which conform to
previously received information.

Akropolis' ratings are constrained by concentration on a limited
number of assets, restricting asset and geographical
diversification. The largest asset comprises above 40% of the
group's portfolio. This asset concentration is expected to improve
as assets are acquired and an ongoing development project completes
in 2024.

The ratings also reflect a portfolio of four regionally dominant
shopping centres in Lithuania (75% of market value) and Latvia
(25%) and a conservative financial profile. Akropolis' shopping
centres are anchored by Maxima Group, a Baltic leading grocery
chain, and other tenants with a range of fashion and entertainment
retail offers. The portfolio was valued at EUR0.8 billion at
end-2020.

KEY RATING DRIVERS

Concentrated Portfolio: Akropolis' portfolio comprises four
regional shopping centres. The largest one with 89,000 sqm of
retail gross lettable area (GLA) and at 40% of the total portfolio
market value (MV) is located in Vilnius (Lithuania). The
second-largest centre (61,000 sqm, 25% MV) in Riga (Latvia) and two
in Klaipeda (61,000 sqm, 25%) and Siaulai (36,000 sqm, 10%) which
are the third- and fourth-most populous cities in Lithuania.
Akropolis is negotiating the acquisition of another shopping centre
in the the Baltic states and plans an over-136,000 sqm GLA
mixed-use development in Vilnius.

Even including these two additions Akropolis will be one of the
most concentrated property companies among EMEA Fitch-rated peers.

Strong Market Position: Akropolis' shopping centres benefit from
high brand recognition as a result of a first-mover advantage of
investing in shopping centres in Lithuania. Its
conveniently-located shopping centres dominate their respective
catchment areas, providing a wide retail offering. The centres are
anchored by the largest food retailer in Baltics, Maxima Group
(owned by Akropolis' parent company, UAB Vilniaus prekyba (VP
Group)). Fashion sales are represented by a range of well-known
international or regional brands. The fashion offering is
complemented by food & beverage and entertainment segments
encompassing cinemas and indoor ice-skating rinks.

High Tenant Concentration: The top-10 tenant groups generate over
40% of Akropolis' income, including 17% by VP Group-owned tenants.
This is higher than Fitch-rated CEE peers' 20%. The comparatively
small scale of local retail markets and demographic trends have not
attracted many international retailers to enter the Baltics. This
results in the retail market being dominated by a small number of
regional companies operating own and/or franchised international
brands.

Low E-commerce Penetration: Online sales penetration in the Baltics
is lower than in other CEE and western European countries. It has
allowed bricks-and-mortar retail to capture more of the region's
consumption growth. In Lithuania and Latvia penetration ranged
between 3.5% and 5% (in 2019) versus Romania's over 5%, Poland's
7%, and the Czech Republic's 15%. While e-commerce is gaining
market share, accelerated by pandemic-related social-distancing
measures, each country's low population density is less conducive
to exponential growth in this retail channel.

Manageable Coronavirus Impact: Non-essential stores in Latvia have
remained closed since December 2020. In Lithuania they opened in
April 2021. Akropolis reports that 74% of its GLA was fully
operational in April. Even during 2020, Akropolis' operational
performance remained solid with 91% rental collection (including
granted discounts), high occupancy above 99% and a healthy
occupancy cost ratio (OCR) at 12%.

Tenancy Contracts' Features: A distinctive feature of a substantial
part (over 78% of rental income) of Akropolis' tenancy contracts is
an annual inflation-linked rent indexation of a minimum 1%-3%. The
assets' OCR and occupancy illustrate a sustainable profile. Even
after past years of like-for-like average 3% annual rent increases,
rent affordability is aided by tenants' sales growth reflecting
strong local consumption that has been converging towards western
European levels. As the Baltics are eurozone members tenant rents
and Akropolis' cost base are denominated in euros, resulting in no
exposure to currency risk.

Development Pipeline: Akropolis' Vingis development project will be
located next to a popular city park in Vilnius, providing a natural
entry point for park visitors. The first stage of the development
is expected to be completed in 2024 with full rental income
achieved in 2026 when the second phase is completed. Capex totals
around EUR300 million. To reduce development risk management
requires pre-lets and procurement of a fixed-price construction
contract with a third-party general contractor.

Moderate Leverage: Akropolis' net debt/EBITDA of 4.4x at end-2020
reflects the company's high-yielding Baltics-located retail assets
and a conservative 31% Fitch-adjusted loan-to-value (LTV). Cash
flow leverage is expected to moderately increase to 6.3x in 2021
when management's potential property acquisition is completed
(using annualised rents). Fitch expects the metric to remain around
this level until its development project is completed in 2024 when
it will settle at 5.6x. Interest cover remains over 6x due to
strong cash flows and low interest rates.

Governance Structure Limitations: As part of the VP Group,
Akropolis has benefitted from cooperation with VP Group-owned
retailers who create a comprehensive retail proposition and
coordinate retail offerings in its shopping centres. However,
concentrated ownership by a privately-held group means financial
disclosure and corporate governance are not comparable to listed
companies'. Indirect 77% ownership by dominant shareholder Nerijus
Numa, together with the lack of independent directors on Akropolis'
board, means that the arm's length nature of related-party
transactions (with Maxima Group and sister tenants) does not have
independent oversight.

DERIVATION SUMMARY

Akropolis' EUR0.8 billion portfolio, comprising four shopping
centres located in Lithuania (A/Stable) and Latvia (A-/Stable), is
smaller and materially more concentrated than the EUR5.8 billion
CEE retail portfolio owned by NEPI Rockcastle plc (BBB/Stable).
Atrium European Real Estate Limited's (BBB/Stable) has a CEE retail
portfolio of EUR2.5 billion, which is similar in size to the EUR2.4
billion office portfolio of Globalworth Real Estate Limited
(BBB-/Stable).

Akropolis' country risk exposure is comparable to that of Atrium
where assets are in 'A-' or above-rated countries except for 10% of
the latter's portfolio (by value), which is located in Russia
(BBB/Stable). NEPI has the highest diversification with a presence
in nine CEE countries but the average country risk is lower and
similar to that exhibited by Globalworth, whose office assets are
almost equally split between Poland (A-/Stable) and Romania
(BBB-/Negative).

Akropolis' end-2020 net debt/EBITDA at 4.4x was the lowest among
all CEE Fitch-rated peers. This is partly because Akropolis has the
highest income-yielding assets with a net initial yield estimated
at around 7.5% (adjusted for rent lost to Covid 19-related rent
discounts) and the lowest LTV at 31%. This net debt/EBITDA is most
comparable to NEPI's around 6x. NEPI's financial profile is
stronger than Atrium's and Globalworth's.

KEY ASSUMPTIONS

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

-- Given the extended effect of the pandemic and related
    tightening of social-distancing measures including essential
    shops closures, for 2021 rents Fitch assumes (i) two months of
    lost rent (adjusted to reflect Akropolis' share of essential
    stores) and (i) a 5% decrease in rents on scheduled lease
    renewals;

-- Increasing vacancy rate to 4% in 2024;

-- Sizable property acquisition completed in 2021 based on
    details provided by management;

-- Over EUR250 million of capex (including Vingis' development
    spend) during forecast horizon until 2024;

-- No dividends paid for the next four years.

RATING SENSITIVITIES

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

-- Expansion of the portfolio in less correlated markets while
    maintaining portfolio quality;

-- Unencumbered assets/unsecured debt cover above 2.0x;

-- Net debt/EBITDA below 8.5x;

-- Consistent interest-rate hedging policy;

-- Improved corporate governance;

-- Under Fitch's Parent and Subsidiary Rating Linkage Criteria,
    assuming a moderate to strong linkage, VP Group's credit
    profile would need to be investment-grade for an upgrade of
    Akropolis to investment-grade.

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

-- Net debt/EBITDA above 9.0x and LTV trending above 55%;

-- Unencumbered assets/unsecured debt cover below 1.75x;

-- Failure to complete the Vingis development as per schedule
    and/or materially outside the assumed budget;

-- Liquidity score below 1.0x;

-- Transactions with related-parties that are detrimental to
    Akropolis' interest.

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: Pro-forma for the EUR300 million bond, partial
repayment of bank loans and completion of the potential property
acquisition, Akropolis' cash is sufficient to cover an EUR5 million
loan amortisation in 2021. Akropolis does not use committed
revolving credit facilities as a contingent source of liquidity.

Following partial prepayment of secured bank loans with the bond
proceeds, three Akropolis assets will become unencumbered. Assuming
successful closing of the potential property acquisition, Fitch
calculates unencumbered assets/unsecured debt at 2.5x.

Akropolis is not a REIT so it is not constrained by dividend
distribution requirements. Fitch interprets its internal dividend
policy to mean no dividends when material outlays related to the
development programme or acquisitions are expected, or would cause
the company's reported LTV to be above 45%. No dividends during the
rating horizon (until 2024) will allow Akropolis to retain free
cashflow to finance the development of Vingis shopping centre.

ESG Considerations

Akropolis has an ESG Relevance Score of '4' for Governance
Structure reflecting the lack of corporate governance attributes
that would both mitigate key person risk from the dominant
shareholder Nerijus Numa and ensure independent oversight of
related-party transactions. This has a negative impact on the
credit profile, and is relevant to the ratings in conjunction with
other factors.

Unless stated otherwise above the highest level of ESG credit
relevance is a score of 3 - 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 company.

ISSUER PROFILE

Akropolis is a property investment and development company, which
holds four shopping centres, three in Lithuania and one in Latvia,
with a total market value of EUR0.8 billion at end-2020.




=========
M A L T A
=========

MELITA BIDCO: Fitch Raises LT IDR to 'B+', Outlook Stable
---------------------------------------------------------
Fitch Ratings has upgraded Melita BidCo Limited's Long-Term Issuer
Default Rating (IDR) to 'B+' from 'B'. The Outlook is Stable. Fitch
has also upgraded Melita's senior secured debt instrument and
recovery ratings to 'BB-'/'RR3' from 'B+'/'RR3'.

The upgrade of the Maltese cable and mobile operator reflects its
improved leverage profile, with a strong operating profile helped
by its competitive convergent offering in the small domestic
telecoms market. Melita and its competitors continue to push for
customer upsell to bundled packages to grow average revenue per
user (ARPU) and reduce churn, reflecting the trend towards
convergence in a three-operator market.

Melita's ambitious growth prospects are set against a backdrop of
resuming positive macro-economic trends in Malta post-pandemic.

KEY RATING DRIVERS

Outsized Economic Growth: Malta has the EU's fastest-growing
economy, with more rapid increases in population, GDP and the
formation of new businesses, as well as low unemployment. The
influx of companies and foreign skilled labour to the island should
also add to Melita's subscriber base. This presents an opportunity
to increase ARPU, as foreigners tend to have higher disposable
income than locals, which is positive for post-paid plans and
bundling. While many foreigners left Malta during the pandemic,
Fitch expects this to reverse as pre-pandemic conditions return.

Stable Three-Company Market: The Maltese telecoms market is
dominated by GO (a former government-owned operator with converged
fixed-mobile offering), Melita (cable operator with converged
fixed-mobile offering) and Vodafone (mainly mobile focused). The
Maltese regulatory authority is against further consolidation.
Fixed broadband and mobile are growing, supported by macro trends,
and customers are moving towards more bundled packages. As a
result, ARPU has increased due to the customer shift to
higher-value bundles and internet speeds. Fitch expects mobile ARPU
to grow with subscriber numbers and data volumes.

Prices have not increased for four years, which indicates high
market stability and a low risk of price deflation/competition, and
there is limited threat from mobile virtual network operators,
which have been unsuccessful in securing a foothold in the market
in the past. The island provides natural barriers to entry and the
cost to deploy a similar network would be prohibitive given the
size of the market.

Leading Market Position: Melita owns its mobile and fixed networks,
and has a commanding position as market share leader in the fixed
network segment. In 2018, Melita invested heavily as it upgraded to
1Gbps DOCSIS3.1 (deliverable to the entire coverage area, more than
200,000 homes passed as of mid-2019). The company enhanced its 4G
mobile network (4.5G) in February 2019. It currently the only
operator offering nationwide 5G coverage as well as nationwide
1Gbps fixed internet connections. Melita has also established fully
redundant fibre connectivity to mainland Europe.

The incumbent, GO, continues to roll out fibre to the home (FTTH)
with the aim of nationwide coverage by 2024. It also offers 1Gbps
in its FTTH areas and was second after Vodafone to launch 4.5G.
However, Fitch believes Melita has a more compelling
price-for-quality offering.

Deleveraging and FCF Generation Progressing: Melita's starting
leverage reflected its second acquisition by a sponsor since 2016.
Since the 2019 leveraged buyout (LBO), the company has been able to
delever to below the threshold for an upgrade to 'B+'. Fitch
expects funds from operations (FFO) net leverage to continue to
gradually decline to around 5.0x in 2022 and 2023 on the back of
growing EBITDA. However, free cash flow (FCF) remains affected by
relatively high capex intensity, which limits further upside to the
rating.

Fitch believes there remains some medium-term risk that sponsor EQT
could introduce a more aggressive financial policy as leverage
falls over the next few years, although the infrastructure focus of
the fund lessens the risk of significant shareholder-friendly
actions in the near term.

Small Market, Some Diversification: Malta's population is about
half a million and there is limited opportunity to expand beyond
the domestic market. This leads scale to be a limiting factor in
the rating. Offsetting this in part is Melita's diversification
into data centre services. It runs the leading Tier 3 data centre
on the island with a connection to Milan, which enables the company
to take advantage of the growth in the ICT (information and
communications technology), services, gaming and finance sectors.

Malta's natural barriers to entry are also barriers to expansion.
Melita made a push in 2019 into Italy with a broadband-only
offering using the Open Fiber network. The Italian venture, which
was affected by Covid-19 in 2020, could be reassessed as part of
Melita's operations in the near term, in Fitch's view, if it fails
to reach critical mass or profitability. The company is also
investing in its Internet of Things business in Europe.

DERIVATION SUMMARY

Melita has significantly smaller operational scale than other
similarly rated cable peers, such as Telenet Group Holding N.V.
(BB-/Stable) and VodafoneZiggo Group B.V.(B+/Stable). Irish
incumbent eircom Holdings (Ireland) Limited (B+/Stable) operates in
a single market like Melita, but has larger scale while facing
intense competition from large multi-national operators.

Melita has a state-of-the-art owned network and benefits from
above-sector-average revenue growth and EBITDA, driven by the
outlier trajectory of Malta's economy. This allows the company
further deleveraging capacity in the next few years, as its FCF
margin (lower than all peers) improves. However, the limited size
of the Maltese market presents a constraining factor to long-term
expansion.

KEY ASSUMPTIONS

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

-- Revenue growth in 2021 in mid-single digits, as the country
    returns to pre-pandemic conditions; thereafter, revenue growth
    roughly in line with Malta's real GDP growth forecast. The
    island continues to be the EU's fastest-growing economy;

-- Fitch-defined EBITDA margin in 2021-2024 of 55%-58%;

-- Capex of EUR23 million-EUR28 million a year in 2021-2024,
    excluding capitalised content costs;

-- No M&A;

-- No dividend payments.

KEY RECOVERY RATING ASSUMPTIONS

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

-- Fitch has assumed a 10% administrative claim.

-- Post-restructuring going-concern EBITDA at EUR35 million in a
    distressed scenario due to sluggish revenue growth and
    weakening margins from increased competitive pressure.

-- An enterprise value multiple of 6.0x is used to calculate a
    post-reorganisation valuation, similar to other European cable
    companies.

-- Fitch calculates the recovery prospects for the senior secured
    instruments at 64%, which implies a one-notch uplift of the
    ratings from the company's IDR to arrive at 'BB-' with a
    Recovery Rating of 'RR3'. This is in line with the Malta
    country cap limiting the instrument rating at one-notch higher
    than the IDR and the Recovery Rating at 'RR3'/70%.

RATING SENSITIVITIES

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

-- FFO net leverage below 4.5x on a sustained basis, with clear
    policy on use of cash.

-- Continued benign regulatory and competitive environment,
    supporting positive operating trends.

-- Significant improvement in absolute FCF, with FCF margin in
    the high single-digit percentage range.

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

-- FFO net leverage above 5.5x on a sustained basis.

-- Deterioration in the regulatory or competitive environment
    leading to a material reversal in positive operating trends.

-- Weaker cash flow generation with FCF margin expected to remain
    in the low-single-digit percentages, driven by lower EBITDA or
    higher capex.

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

Comfortable Liquidity: Melita's only funded maturity (EUR275
million seven-year Term Loan B) comes in 2026. Cash at 1Q21 was
EUR27 million and the company has access to a EUR20 million
revolving credit facility (6.5-year facility due in 2026), which
is, and is expected to remain, undrawn.




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

NOBEL BIDCO: S&P Assigns Preliminary 'B+' LT ICR, Outlook Stable
----------------------------------------------------------------
Netherlands-based Koninklijke Philips N.V., on March 25, 2021,
announced an agreement to sell its domestic appliances business,
(Philips Domestic Appliances; Philips DA), to investment firm
Hillhouse Capital for a total value of EUR4.4 billion including a
brand licensing agreement for 15 years.  Nobel Bidco B.V. is the
legal entity owned by Hillhouse Capital that will acquire Philips
DA, and the transaction is expected to close in the third quarter
of 2021, subject to customary closing conditions.

Philips DA plans to issue EUR1.7 billion of new debt (EUR850
million of term loan B [TLB], and EUR850 million of additional
senior secured debt, a EUR250 million senior secured revolving
credit facility (RCF), and EUR2.3 billion of equity contribution
(mix of common and preference shares).

S&P Global Ratings relates that Philips DA's strong brand awareness
translates into leading market shares across segments, as well as
healthy profitability, enabling the company to post sound free
operating cash flow (FOCF).

S&P has assigned its 'B+' preliminary long-term issuer credit
rating to Philips DA and a preliminary 'B+' issue credit rating
with a preliminary '3' recovery rating to the company's TLB and
senior secured debt.

The stable outlook reflects S&P's forecast that Philips DA's
operating performance will remain resilient, so that the S&P Global
Ratings-adjusted EBITDA margin remains above 10% and that adjusted
debt to EBITDA is at 5x-6.5x in the next 12-18 months.

Philips DA's brand has strong power within the small appliances
industry. Good brand reputation, innovative product features which
capture key trends, its long brand history, and investment in
advertising and promotion underpin our satisfactory assessment of
Philips DA's business risk. However, despite an international
presence, North America and China are markets largely open for
Philips DA's presence. The company has a clear strategy to revamp
its Chinese distribution toward the online channel and regain its
natural market share in that country.

S&P said, "In our view, Philips DA has a relatively lower risk of
product obsolescence than other small appliance brands. We
attribute this to the company's consumer-centric approach and
product mix, which is segregated between flagship products --
innovative market front runners that can command premium prices --
and staple, more competitively priced core appliances." The company
relies on the Philips brand licensed from Philips under the 15-year
brand license agreement, because it accounted for approximately 90%
of total sales in 2020, even though it operates through other
brands, such as Walita, Preethi, Saeco, and Gaggia.

Philips DA has a track record of organic growth, with resilient
profitability, but the company's strategy will weigh on margins
over the next two years. During 2009-2019, Philips DA's revenue
achieved a 4%-6% sales growth. However, the company experienced a
4%-6%nominal sales decline in 2020, due to COVID-19,
underperformance, and repositioning of the China business. The
company posted a solid 15.5% S&P Global Ratings-adjusted EBITDA
margin. S&P understands that Philips DA has put an ambitious new
strategy in place to achieve profitable growth in the future, in
which it will invest more in advertisement and promotion in
2021-2022, which will result in depressed profitability in the next
two years.

The strategy rests on:

-- Boosting the growth of its flagship premium products;

-- Optimizing the core value-for-money products portfolio to drive
higher efficiency;

-- Rationalizing and optimize the fill rate of stock-keeping units
to increase cost savings;

-- Pushing more direct to consumer (D2C) sales and direct digital
consumers;

-- Upgrading its go-to-market to support the online platforms;
and

-- Turning around the Chinese operation through a shift toward
online offerings.

As a result, the S&P Global Ratings-adjusted EBITDA margin should
decrease in the next two years to 10.5%-12.5% before bouncing back
to about 14% in 2023.

Chinese operations have been challenged in the past few years, but
S&P believes Philips DA can turn them around with the support of
its financial sponsor, which has a strong focus and successful
experiences in that country. Competitive pressure have challenged
China revenue in the past few years, which resulted in declining
sales in recent years. Philips DA's strategic plan to focus its
efforts on bringing innovations in key products while building a
pull-focused D2C market model will support our sales forecasts in
the coming years. In addition to these initiatives, by capitalizing
on Philips DA's strong brand awareness, the company expects to
return sales to the 2019 level (about EUR250 million) by 2025. And
higher penetration of its premium products should boost
profitability for the region even more.

Philips DA is adequately diversified across geographies and product
groups, although it still lacks scale relative to industry peers.
The company benefits from good product diversification across all
segments of the small appliances industry: kitchen appliances (34%
of total sales), coffee (26%), garment care (17%), floor care
(14%), air care (7%), and other (2%). Similarly, the company's
operations are not concentrated in any individual country. The
countries that provide the largest share of company revenue are
Germany, Netherlands, and India, representing approximately
one-third of total sales. We furthermore consider that Philips DA's
large exposure to emerging markets (more than half of sales)
supports growth prospects, given the favorable macroeconomic trends
in these markets with increase GDP per capita, rising middle
classes, and growing populations. However, relative to industry
peers such as French SEB and Swedish Electrolux, Philips DA's
revenue and EBITDA bases are much smaller.

S&P said, "Philips DA operates in a relatively resilient industry
that even during the pandemic continued to benefit from positive
macroeconomic trends, and we expect that this will continue in the
near term.Macroeconomic trends, such as increases in population and
a global increase in GDP per capita will translate into positive
underlying demand across all segments of the domestic appliance
market. We note that healthier lifestyles and digitalization trends
have emerged during COVID-19 and we considered Philips DA's
commercial strategy to coincide well with these trends." Philips
DA's ability to bring innovation to its products will be critical
to outperform the market's growth, but the company has a proven
track record in this field with nearly 30% of sales coming from new
products in 2020. The company's healthy product pipeline, with more
than 30 new products lined up for launch in the short term, also
supports our base case. The company also benefits from a global
research and development footprint (with sites in Netherlands,
Austria, Italy, Brazil, Hong Kong, China, India, and Singapore)
with a deep knowledge of local markets, enabling Philips DA to
create innovative products and solutions that fit consumer trends
and needs.

S&P said, "Strong cash flow conversion and supportive financial
metrics also support our current rating, with EUR75 million-EUR100
million of FOCF expected in the next 12-24 months. We anticipate
that debt to EBITDA at the transaction's close will be about 5.5x
with our adjustments and should increase slightly in 2022 on the
back of separation costs, higher level of operating expenditure,
and some capital expenditure (capex) deployed to support the
company's strategy, including higher advertisement and promotion
spending and various initiatives to boost D2C sales. This will
enable Philips DA to reap in 2023 the full benefits of its large
investments in 2021 and 2022. FOCF generation in 2021 and 2022 will
be hampered by these investments, but should remain healthy at
EUR75 million-EUR100 million in the next two years before reaching
EUR150 million in 2023. In our base case, we assume royalty
payments of approximately EUR70 million-EUR80 million in the next
three years. Positively, we forecast our adjusted EBITDA interest
coverage ratio at sustainably above 3.0x.

"The final ratings will depend on our receipt and satisfactory
review of all final documentation and final terms of the
transaction. The preliminary ratings should therefore not be
construed as evidence of final ratings. If we do not receive final
documentation within a reasonable time, or if the final
documentation and final terms of the transaction depart from the
materials and terms reviewed, we reserve the right to withdraw or
revise the ratings. Potential changes include, but are not limited
to, utilization of the proceeds, maturity, size and conditions of
the facilities, financial and other covenants, security, and
ranking."

S&P Global Ratings believes there remains high, albeit moderating,
uncertainty about the evolution of the coronavirus pandemic and its
economic effects. Vaccine production is ramping up and rollouts are
gathering pace around the world. Widespread immunization, which
will help pave the way for a return to more normal levels of social
and economic activity, looks to be achievable by most developed
economies by the end of the third quarter. However, some emerging
markets may only be able to achieve widespread immunization by
year-end or later. S&P said, "We use these assumptions about
vaccine timing 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 Philips
DA will continue to post adjusted EBITDA margins of above 10% in
the next 12-18 months and that adjusted debt to EBITDA will remain
at 5.0x-6.5x, with EBITDA interest coverage above 3.0x.

"We expect the company's performance will continue to benefit from
a track record of operational execution and management continuity.
Moreover, the favorable price mix contribution stemming from higher
sales of flagship products will support margins and translate into
a positive FOCF generation of EUR75 million-EUR100 million.

"We could lower our rating if Philips DA experienced significant
operational challenges in China stemming from unsuccessful
implementation of its commercial strategy and shift toward online
channel. This will translate into the company's failure to stay on
track toward deleveraging to 5x and EBITDA interest coverage
decreasing below 3x."

This could also result from a significant loss of market share in
the company's flagship categories or unfavorable consumption trends
in its core markets. This would lead to a reduction in sales
volumes, contraction of the EBITDA margins, and a material
deterioration in cash flow conversion.

S&P could raise its rating if Philips DA achieved a sustainable
increase in its operating profit, with material organic growth
translating into significantly higher cash flow generation enabling
the company to deleverage below 5x.

Any rating upside would, however, hinge on a clear commitment from
the financial sponsor to maintain a very conservative financial
policy to maintain debt to EBITDA under our adjustments at 4x-5x on
a sustainable basis.




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

[*] DBRS Takes Actions on Eight BBVA RMBS Transactions
------------------------------------------------------
DBRS Ratings GmbH, on May 24, 2021, took the following rating
actions on the notes issued by eight Spanish residential
mortgage-backed securities (RMBS) transactions originated and
serviced by Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria, S.A. (BBVA):

BBVA RMBS 5 FTA:
-- Series A confirmed at AA (sf)
-- Series B confirmed at BBB (high) (sf)
-- Series C confirmed at BB (high) (sf)

BBVA RMBS 9 FTA:
-- Bonds confirmed at AA (sf)

BBVA RMBS 10 FTA:
-- Series A confirmed at AA (sf)
-- Series B upgraded to A (sf) from BBB (high) (sf)

BBVA RMBS 11 FTA:
-- Series A confirmed at AA (sf)
-- Series B upgraded to A (high) (sf) from BBB (high) (sf)
-- Series C upgraded to BB (high) (sf) from BB (sf)

BBVA RMBS 12 FTA:
-- Series A confirmed at AA (sf)
-- Series B confirmed at BBB (high) (sf)

BBVA RMBS 13 FTA:
-- Series A Notes confirmed at AA (sf)
-- Series B Notes upgraded to A (sf) from BBB (high) (sf)

BBVA RMBS 15 FTA:
-- Bonds confirmed at AA (sf)

BBVA RMBS 16 FT:
-- Bonds confirmed at AA (sf)

All ratings address the timely payment of interest and ultimate
payment of principal by the legal final maturity date for each
transaction.

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

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

-- Updated portfolio default rate (PD), loss given default (LGD),
and expected loss assumptions on the outstanding collateral pools.

-- The credit enhancement available 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 Disease (COVID-19)
pandemic.

PORTFOLIO PERFORMANCE

-- For BBVA RMBS 5 FTA, as of March 2021, loans two to three month
in arrears represented 0.2% of the outstanding portfolio balance,
down from 0.5% in March 2020. The 90+-day delinquency ratio was
0.3%, down from 0.5% in March 2020. The cumulative default ratio
was 7.7%.

-- For BBVA RMBS 9 FTA, as of March 2021, loans two to three
months in arrears represented 0.1% of the outstanding portfolio
balance, down from 0.3% in March 2020. The 90+-day delinquency
ratio was 0.3%, down from 0.4% in March 2020. The cumulative
default ratio was 2.6%.

-- For BBVA RMBS 10 FTA, as of April 2021, loans two to three
months in arrears represented 0.1% of the outstanding portfolio
balance, down from 0.2% in April 2020. The 90+-day delinquency
ratio remained unchanged at 0.1%. The cumulative default ratio was
0.6%.

-- For BBVA RMBS 11 FTA, as of April 2021, loans two to three
months in arrears represented 0.1% of the outstanding portfolio
balance, down from 0.3% in April 2020. The 90+-day delinquency
ratio remained unchanged at 0.2%. The cumulative default ratio was
2.2%.

-- For BBVA RMBS 12 FTA, as of April 2021, loans two to three
months in arrears represented 0.1% of the outstanding portfolio
balance, down from 0.3% in April 2020. The 90+-day delinquency
ratio remained unchanged at 0.3%. The cumulative default ratio was
0.9%.

-- For BBVA RMBS 13 FTA, as of April 2021, loans two to three
months in arrears represented 0.1% of the outstanding portfolio
balance, down from 0.3% in April 2020. The 90+-day delinquency
ratio was 0.2%, down from 0.3% in April 2020. The cumulative
default ratio was 0.8%.

-- For BBVA RMBS 15 FTA, as of February 2021, loans two to three
months in arrears represented 0.1% of the outstanding portfolio
balance, down from 0.2% in February 2020. The 90+-day delinquency
ratio remained unchanged at 0.2%. The cumulative default ratio was
0.3%.

-- For BBVA RMBS 16 FT, as of February 2021, loans two to three
months in arrears represented 0.2% of the outstanding portfolio
balance, down from 0.3% in February 2020. The 90+-day delinquency
ratio was 0.3%, down from 0.2% in February 2020. The cumulative
default ratio was 0.3%.

PORTFOLIO ASSUMPTIONS AND KEY DRIVERS

DBRS Morningstar conducted a loan-by-loan analysis on the remaining
pools of receivables and updated its base case PD and LGD
assumptions for each transaction as follows:

-- For BBVA RMBS 5 FTA, DBRS Morningstar updated its PD and LGD
assumptions to 5.1% and 36.8%, respectively, for the B (sf) rating
level.

-- For BBVA RMBS 9 FTA, DBRS Morningstar updated its PD and LGD
assumptions to 5.0% and 35.8%, respectively, for the B (sf) rating
level.

-- For BBVA RMBS 10 FTA, DBRS Morningstar updated its PD and LGD
assumptions to 4.2% and 30.9%, respectively, for the B (sf) rating
level.

-- For BBVA RMBS 11 FTA, DBRS Morningstar updated its PD and LGD
assumptions to 6.1% and 32.7%, respectively, for the B (sf) rating
level.

-- For BBVA RMBS 12 FTA, DBRS Morningstar updated its PD and LGD
assumptions to 4.5% and 27.6%, respectively, for the B (sf) rating
level.

-- For BBVA RMBS 13 FTA, DBRS Morningstar updated its PD and LGD
assumptions to 4.4% and 27.3%, respectively, for the B (sf) rating
level.

-- For BBVA RMBS 15 FTA, DBRS Morningstar updated its PD and LGD
assumptions to 3.8% and 17.5%, respectively, for the B (sf) rating
level.

-- For BBVA RMBS 16 FT, DBRS Morningstar updated its PD and LGD
assumptions to 5.4% and 19.2%, respectively, for the B (sf) rating
level.

CREDIT ENHANCEMENT

For each transaction, credit enhancement to the rated notes is
provided by subordination of junior classes and a cash reserve.

-- For BBVA RMBS 5 FTA, as of the March 2021 payment date, credit
enhancement to the Series A notes was 23.0%, unchanged from last
year's review because of the pro rata amortization of the notes.
Credit enhancement to the Series B and Series C notes was 13.0% and
10%, respectively, also stable since March 2020.

-- For BBVA RMBS 9 FTA, as of the March 2021 payment date, credit
enhancement to the Bonds was 28.8%, up from 26.4% at March 2020.

-- For BBVA RMBS 10 FTA, as of the April 2021 payment date, credit
enhancement to the Series A notes was 31.5%, up from 28.8% at April
2020. Credit enhancement to the Series B notes was 8.5%, up from
7.7% at April 2020.

-- For BBVA RMBS 11 FTA, as of the April 2021 payment date, credit
enhancement to the Series A notes was 31.5%, up from 29.2% at April
2020. Credit enhancement to the Series B notes was 17.7%, up from
16.3% at last year's review. Credit enhancement to the Series C
notes was 8.6%, up from 8.0% at April 2020.

-- For BBVA RMBS 12 FTA, as of the April 2021 payment date, credit
enhancement to the Series A notes was 36.2%, up from 33.3% at April
2020. Credit enhancement to the Series B notes was 8.6%, up from
7.8% at last year's review.

-- For BBVA RMBS 13 FTA, as of the April 2021 payment date, credit
enhancement to the Series A Notes was 31.5%, up from 29.1% at April
2020. Credit enhancement to the Series B Notes was 8.3%, up from
7.6% at last year's review.

-- For BBVA RMBS 15 FTA, as of the February 2021 payment date,
credit enhancement to the Bonds was 32.8%, up from 30.3% at
February 2020.

-- For BBVA RMBS 16 FT, as of the February 2021 payment date,
credit enhancement to the Bonds was 28.3%, up from 26.1% at
February 2020.

BBVA acts as the account bank for the eight transactions. Based on
the account bank reference rating of A (high) on BBVA (which is one
notch below the DBRS Morningstar public Long-Term Critical
Obligations Rating of AA (low)), the downgrade provisions outlined
in the transaction documents, and other mitigating factors inherent
in the transaction's structure, DBRS Morningstar considers the risk
arising from the exposure to the account bank 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 analyzed the transaction structures in Intex
DealMaker.

The coronavirus 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 increased its expected PD
for self-employed borrowers, incorporated a moderate reduction in
property values, and conducted an additional sensitivity analysis
to determine that the transactions benefit from sufficient
liquidity support to withstand potential high levels of payment
holidays in the portfolios. As of March 2021, the loans that
benefit from moratorium due to the coronavirus represented 9.09% of
the portfolio for BBVA RMBS 5, 3.66% for BBVA RMBS 9, 2.86% for
BBVA RMBS 10, 5.40% for BBVA RMBS 11, 6.77% for BBVA RMBS 12, 7.40%
for BBVA RMBS 13, 5.84% for BBVA RMBS 15, and 6.26% for BBVA RMBS
16.

Notes: All figures are in euros unless otherwise noted.




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

ARCELIK AS: Fitch Raises LongTerm IDRs to 'BB+', Outlook Stable
---------------------------------------------------------------
Fitch Ratings has upgraded Arcelik A.S.'s Long-Term Foreign- and
Local-Currency (FC and LC) Issuer Default Ratings (IDRs) to 'BB+'
from 'BB'. The Outlook is Stable. Simultaneously, Fitch has
assigned a final rating of 'BB+' to Arcelik's 2026 EUR350 million
green bond.

The upgrade reflects Arcelik's improved FC debt coverage ratios
following the green bond issue, and Fitch's expectations that the
consumer goods company will maintain a conservative funding policy
that would maintain its two-notch IDR uplift above the Turkish
Country Ceiling of 'BB-'. Fitch assesses Arcelik's Standalone
Credit Profile (SCP) at 'bb+'.

The final rating on the green bond is in line with Arcelik's IDR
and senior unsecured rating of 'BB+', as the notes are direct,
unconditional, unsubordinated and unsecured obligations of Arcelik
and rank parri passu with all its other outstanding unsecured and
unsubordinated obligations.

KEY RATING DRIVERS

Free Cash Flow (FCF) to Soften: Fitch expects FCF to come under
pressure in 2021 and 2022, driven by increased working-capital
needs, higher capex and the resumption of dividends, despite record
FCF generation in 2020 (Fitch-defined FCF of TRY2.6 billion).
Volatile working-capital needs have historically weighed on FCF
generation but Arcelik has been successfully managing its working
capital for the past two years, aided by strong domestic
receivables collection. Fitch expects FCF generation to turn
positive by 2023, as its expansion programme completes and
inventory levels in factories normalise.

Profitability Under Pressure: Fitch expects robust revenue growth
to persist, given the continuation of stay-at-home practices, a
faster recovery in exports and more favourable FC conversion
impact. In the medium term, Fitch sees some challenges stemming
from higher raw material costs, which Fitch expects will have a
negative impact on profitability. However, Arcelik is monitoring
its cost base through hedging activities by fixing raw-material
purchases on a six-month basis, and has been successfully
controlling its cost, partially mitigating the negative impact of
cost inflation.

Leverage Still Commensurate with Ratings: Fitch forecasts funds
from operations (FFO) adjusted (for receivables) net leverage to
remain under 2x throughout Fitch's four-year horizon, below Fitch's
negative rating sensitivity, which is comfortably in line with a
high-investment-grade median. Fitch forecasts EBIT margin to remain
slightly resilient at an average of 7.9% from 2021-2024, versus a
historical four-year average of 7.8%, and negative FCF.
Nevertheless, Fitch expects Arcelik to maintain some headroom under
Fitch's current leverage sensitivity.

No Impact from Covid-19: Domestic revenue grew 63% yoy during 4Q20,
as stay-at-home behavior skewed consumer spending towards the home
appliances sector rather than the services sector. International
revenues increased 58% yoy in lira terms during 4Q20, driven by a
mix of 45% and 13% currency and organic growth impact,
respectively. In 4Q20, Arcelik achieved high double-digit revenue
growth in euro terms in Europe (about 15%-20% in eastern Europe and
5%-10% in western Europe). The Asia Pacific region also delivered a
15%-20% growth in euro terms with sales picking up in Pakistan (48%
yoy in LC).

Record Margins: Arcelik recorded the highest operating margin and
FCF generation in the past five years, helped by increased sales
volumes, a weak US dollar against the euro and the pound sterling
and continued strength in the high-margin Turkish market.
Profitability was shielded against industry-wide cost inflation due
to raw-material hedging and the ability to pass on increased costs.
As a result EBITDA more than doubled in 4Q20 with a margin of
14.5%.

No Immediate Impact from Hitachi: Arcelik's USD300 million purchase
of a 60% share in Japanese appliance maker Hitachi Global Life
Solutions will have no immediate rating impact. The purchase
consideration, which will be paid from cash, will have a limited
impact on Arcelik's FFO net leverage, which Fitch forecasts to
remain below 2.0x in the medium term. The final purchase price is
subject to a change in the net working capital and net debt levels
and the value corresponding to the minority share in the affiliated
companies as of closing date.

Growing Market Shares: Arcelik has generated strong international
revenue growth in the past five years, by attracting more
price-conscious consumers in western Europe and by capitalising on
its strong marketing and distribution network, which has allowed it
to become one of the top-three white goods manufacturers in Europe.
Arcelik has been a strong performer in the domestic market, gaining
substantial market share following Whirlpool's decision to exit
from Turkey and its wider price choice for Turkish consumers with
weakening affordability. Fitch expects Arcelik to maintain its
market share.

Financial Services Adjustments: Fitch adjusts Arcelik's domestic
receivables, and deems the portion above 60 days as a part of its
financing operations. The receivable adjustments will be zero days
when domestic receivables decline to below 60 days, and 120 days
when the domestic receivables increase to 180 days. Fitch
considered 40 days of the 100 days of reported domestic receivables
at end-2020 as financial services debt.

Nonetheless, the maximum amount of domestic receivables that could
be allocated to financial services is 120 days, and Fitch will
consider any additional increase as working capital. After this
adjustment, Fitch applies a 2x debt/equity ratio for these
receivables based on its financial services criteria.

DERIVATION SUMMARY

Arcelik has strong market shares in Turkey and Europe, which drive
stable through-the-cycle EBITDA (about 10%) and FFO margins (about
7%). These financial metrics are broadly commensurate with the 'BB'
rating median in Fitch's Capital Goods Navigator, and are in line
with that of higher-rated peers Whirlpool Corp. (BBB/Stable) and
Panasonic Corporation (BBB-/Stable). However, these strengths are
offset by expected weak FCF generation, driven by intense capex in
new markets, and structurally high working capital needs. Despite
the current investment phase, Arcelik's leverage metric adjusted
for financial services remains below Fitch's negative rating
sensitivity and conforms with the 'BBB' rating median in Fitch's
Capital Goods Navigator.

Arcelik's technological content and R&D capabilities are broadly in
line with those of Whirlpool, Electrolux and the broader white
goods industry. However, Arcelik has a much higher share of revenue
from emerging markets (EMs) than higher-rated white goods
manufacturers. Arcelik is diversifying away from Turkey, but
remains vulnerable to macro-economic, political and FC risks in
EMs.

KEY ASSUMPTIONS

-- Double-digit revenue growth for the next four years across
    Turkey and the international market, supported by stay-at-home
    practices and favourable FC impact on sales;

-- Slight EBITDAR margin pressure in the medium term;

-- Successful refinance of upcoming short-term maturities;

-- Financial-services adjustment assumes 120 days of domestic
    receivables;

-- Resumption of dividends distribution;

-- Hitachi Acquisition during 2021.

RATING SENSITIVITIES

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

-- The ratings could be upgraded if Turkey's Country Ceiling is
    upgraded, in conjunction with an improvement in Arcelik's SCP.

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

-- Receivables-adjusted FFO net leverage above 3.5x;

-- Substantial deterioration in liquidity;

-- FFO margin below 6%;

-- Consistently negative FCF.

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

Low Liquidity Score: Historically, Arcelik's liquidity score has
been below 1x, driven by the use of short-term debt to finance its
high working-capital needs. Available cash on balance sheet was
TRY12.8 billion at end-2020, which almost covers short-term debt
and an upcoming Eurobond maturity of TRY10 billion and Fitch's
expected negative FCF of TRY3.9 billion - which includes the
estimated cash paid consideration for the Hitachi acquisition.

Fitch believes that liquidity risk is mitigated by Arcelik's
sufficient but uncommitted lines from Turkish banks, which were
available even during the global financial crisis of 2008-2009, and
continues to be in place despite the current economic downturn.
While the liquidity score below 1x is not adequate for the current
rating, the risk is partly mitigated by customer receivables
financing that is deemed self-liquidating.

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.


ZORLU YENILENEBILIR: Fitch Assigns Final 'B-' LongTerm IDR
----------------------------------------------------------
Fitch Ratings has assigned Zorlu Yenilenebilir Enerji Anonim
Sirketi (Zorlu RES) a final Long-Term Issuer Default Rating (IDR)
of 'B-'. The Outlook on the IDR is Stable. Fitch has also assigned
the company's USD300 million 9% notes due 2026 a final senior
unsecured rating of 'B-', with a Recovery Rating of 'RR4'.

The final rating of the notes reflects the bond's final terms.

The ratings of Zorlu RES reflect its high leverage, small size and
scale of operations, and rising exposure to merchant price as
feed-in tariffs gradually expire. Rating strengths are its asset
quality, low volume risk, supportive regulation for renewable
energy producers in Turkey, high profitability and mitigated
foreign-exchange (FX) exposure on its debt by naturally hedged
revenues.

Zorlu RES's 'B-' IDR is based on the deconsolidation of Zorlu Dogal
- one of its three fully owned operating companies - as the
subsidiary's cash flows will mainly be used to service its
project-finance debt. Zorlu Dogal accounted for around 80% of group
EBITDA in 2020, and the other two operating companies Zorlu
Jeotermal and Rotor Elektrik Uretim (Rotor) represented the
remaining 20%.

KEY RATING DRIVERS

Deconsolidated Group Profile: Fitch's analysis of Zorlu RES
deconsolidates the EBITDA and debt of Zorlu Dogal, but includes
dividends from the subsidiary. Zorlu Jeotermal and Rotor are fully
consolidated.

Fitch's deconsolidation reflects the large amount of
project-finance debt at Zorlu Dogal at over USD700 million, which
will be senior to Zorlu RES's bond. Zorlu Dogal's cash flows will
mainly be used for servicing its own interest and debt
amortisation, which, together with bank covenants, will limit cash
upstream to Zorlu RES. Fitch assumes Zorlu Dogal will upstream
dividends averaging TRY70 million (USD8 million) p.a. in 2022 and
2023. In 2024-2025 Zorlu Dogal's cash flows will be sufficient only
to service the company's own debt.

High Leverage: Zorlu RES's deconsolidated credit profile is weaker
than most rated utility peers', which weighs on the ratings. Fitch
forecasts funds from operations (FFO) gross and net leverage to
increase to around 10x and 7x, respectively, in 2021, before easing
to an average of around 6x and 5.5x over 2022-2025, levels that are
commensurate with the rating. This is driven by cash flow from
operations averaging TRY157 million (USD18 million) over 2021-2025,
which includes distributions from Zorlu Dogal in 2022-2023, average
capex of TRY159 million (USD19 million) and small dividend payments
starting from 2023. More rapid deleveraging, as currently
anticipated by management, may be positive for the ratings.

Small Renewable Energy Producer: Zorlu RES is a small renewable
energy producer operating across the territory of Turkey via Zorlu
Dogal (three geothermal (GPP) and seven hydro plants (HPP)), Zorlu
Jeotermal (one GPP) and Rotor Elektrik Uretim (one wind power plant
(WPP)). With an installed capacity of 559MW and generation volumes
of around 2.4 billion kWh annually, including 379MW and 1.8 billion
kWh at Zorlu Dogal, the group holds less than a 1% market share in
Turkey.

Reliance on GPP: Zorlu RES produces 70% of electricity volumes and
earns over 80% of revenue from GPP, which benefits from more stable
generation and lower dependence on weather conditions than solar or
wind plants. It is one of the leaders in a small, but fast-growing
geothermal sector in Turkey with a 19% share. Zorlu RES plans to
construct an additional 40MW of capacity, including 36.5MW GPP, by
2023.

Supportive Regulation: Around 80% of Zorlu RES's capacities
providing 94% of consolidated revenue in 2018-2020 benefitted from
Renewable Energy Support Mechanism (YEKDEM), a law that provides
fixed feed-in tariffs (FiTs) denominated in US dollars for 10
years. Assets under YEKDEM framework benefit from a lack of price
risk and low offtake risk as all renewable generation is purchased
by Energy Market Regulatory Authority. After 10 years, assets
switch to merchant-market terms and start selling at wholesale
prices in Turkish liras, which are 2x-3x lower than FiTs.

Rising Merchant Exposure: Fitch forecasts the share of FiT-linked
revenue to fall to 88% of consolidated revenue in 2021-2023, 78% in
2024-2025 and below 70% in 2026-2027 as FiTs for GPP capacity of
80MW, 45MW and 165MW expire in 2023, 2025 and 2027. This will
weaken the group's business and financial profiles due to
decreasing revenue visibility and rising FX mismatch. However,
rising merchant exposure will be gradual, which should give the
group sufficient time to adapt its business strategy and capital
structure. Zorlu RES will amortise around 40% of consolidated debt
by 2026, mitigating the increasing merchant exposure.

Positive Free Cash Flow (FCF): Fitch forecasts the deconsolidated
group to generate positive FCF starting from 2023 after completion
of several expansionary projects. This is backed by strong
profitability, a very low cost base and small maintenance capex
needs, supporting the credit profile. Fitch expects Zorlu Dogal's
EBITDA averaging USD125 million over 2021-2025 will mainly be
directed towards interest payments and amortisations of the
subsidiary's project-finance debt averaging USD41 million and USD81
million, respectively.

Challenging Operating Environment: The ratings incorporate FX
volatility and operating-environment risks in Turkey. A sharp fall
in Turkish lira of around 16% against the US dollar since the
replacement of the governor of the Central Bank on 20 March 2021
and prospects of an erosion in international reserves or severe
stress in the corporate or banking sectors create risks for the
stability of YEKDEM. A compromised YEKDEM could threaten the stable
US dollar-linked tariffs for renewable energy producers, for Zorlu
RES's business processes and for smooth currency conversion.

Part of a Larger Group: Zorlu RES is part of a larger Zorlu Enerji
Elektric Uretim AS (Zorlu Enerji) and, ultimately, Zorlu Holding.
Zorlu Enerji is present across the utility value chain in Turkey
and also has generating assets in Israel and Pakistan. Zorlu RES is
the largest part of the parent's business and the companies share
top management teams, treasury functions and Board of Director
members. Zorlu RES accounts for around 50% of Zorlu Enerji's
operating cash flow.

Standalone Profile Drives Rating: Zorlu RES's bondholders benefit
from covenants that will restrict dividend payments, loans to the
parent and other affiliate transactions. Fitch therefore views the
overall parent links as weak and focus Fitch's analysis on a
standalone Zorlu RES.

Final Notes Terms: The notes constitute the direct, general and
unconditional obligations of Zorlu RES and are guaranteed on a
joint and several basis by Zorlu Jeotermal and Rotor. The notes are
subordinated to existing and future debt at Zorlu Dogal, which is
not a guarantor. The proceeds are mostly being used to repay
certain financial debt at Rotor, Zorlu Jeotermal and Zorlu Dogal as
well as shareholder loans, and for capex. The notes assume two
amortisation payments of USD37.5 million each in 2024-2025 and a
bullet payment of USD225 million in 2026.

DERIVATION SUMMARY

Zorlu RES has a stronger business profile than Ukraine-based
renewable energy producer DTEK Renewables B.V. (B-/Stable) due to
lower counterparty risk of the renewable energy off-taker in Turkey
than in Ukraine, more established regulation, higher cash-flow
predictability and a stronger operating environment. Zorlu RES's
business profile also compares well with that of Uzbekistan-based
hydro power generator Uzbekhydroenergo JSC (UGE, B+/Stable, SCP
'b') on the back of a stronger regulatory framework with long-term
tariffs and better asset quality.

Zorlu RES lacks the size and scale of Russia-based electricity
generator Public Joint-Stock Company Territorial Generating Company
No. 1 (TGC-1, BBB/Stable, SCP 'bbb-'), which produces around half
of electricity from HPPs. TGC-1 also benefits from an established
capacity market in Russia with good revenue visibility and has
lower counterparty risk. Among Turkish peers, Zorlu RES has a
slightly weaker business profile than Enerjisa Enerji A.S. and
Baskent Elektrik Dagitim A.S. (both AA+(tur)/Stable) due to higher
cash-flow predictability of regulated electricity distribution than
Zorlu RES's mix of quasi-regulated FiT and merchant exposure.

Zorlu RES's financial profile is a rating constraint. Its leverage
and coverage ratios are much weaker than that of UGE, TGC-1,
Enerjisa and Baskent, but comparable to DTEK Renewables'. This is
partially offset by Zorlu RES's strong profitability and positive
FCF expectations, which should support deleveraging.

KEY ASSUMPTIONS

-- GDP growth in Turkey of 6.7% in 2021, 4.7% in 2022 and 4%
    annually in 2023-2025. Inflation of 14% in 2021, 10% in 2022
    and 9% in 2023-2025;

-- Electricity generation volumes 3%-5% below management
    forecasts for the next five years;

-- US dollar-denominated tariffs as approved by the regulator and
    merchant price increasing below CPI in Turkish lira for the
    next five years;

-- Operating expenses in Turkish liras to increase slightly below
    inflation rate until 2025;

-- Dividends received from Zorlu Dogal averaging USD8 million
    over 2022-2023;

-- Capex close to management forecasts for the next five years;

-- Dividend outflow of around 50% of pre-dividend deconsolidated
    FCF starting from 2023.

KEY RECOVERY RATING ASSUMPTIONS

For issuers with IDRs of 'B+' and below, Fitch performs a recovery
analysis for each class of obligations of the issuer. The issue
rating is derived from the IDR and the relevant Recovery Rating
(RR) and notching, based on the going-concern enterprise value (EV)
of the company in a distressed scenario or its liquidation value.

-- Zorlu RES would be a going concern (GC) in bankruptcy and that
    the company would be reorganised rather than liquidated.

-- A 10% administrative claim.

-- The assumptions cover the guarantor group only and includes
    Zorlu Jeotermal and Rotor Elektrik Uretim.

GC Approach

-- The GC EBITDA estimate reflects Fitch's view of a sustainable,
    post-reorganisation EBITDA level upon which Fitch bases the
    valuation of Zorlu RES;

-- The GC EBITDA is estimated at around USD27 million;

-- An enterprise value (EV) multiple of 5x;

-- With these assumptions, Fitch's waterfall generated recovery
    computation (WGRG) for the senior unsecured notes is in the
    'RR4' band, indicating a 'B-' instrument rating. The WGRC
    output percentage on current metrics and assumptions was 41%.

RATING SENSITIVITIES

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

-- Improved financial profile with funds from operations (FFO)
    gross and net leverage below 6.5x and 5.5x, respectively, and
    FFO interest cover above 1.7x on a sustained basis.

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

-- Liquidity ratio falling below 1x;

-- Generation volumes well below current forecasts, a sustained
    reduction in profitability or a more aggressive financial
    policy leading to FFO gross and net leverage above 8x and 7x,
    respectively, and FFO interest cover below 1x on a sustained
    basis;

-- Disruption of payments from Energy Market Regulatory
    Authority, reduction of FiTs or cancellation of FiTs' hard
    currency linkage or assets switching to merchant price faster
    than assumed in the existing business plan.

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

The bond refinancing significantly improves the group's liquidity
profile in Fitch's deconsolidated scope with no debt maturities
over 2021-2023. Proceeds from USD300 million notes issuance are
mostly being used to refinance debt at operating companies, except
for the major part of Zorlu Dogal loan, and partially repay the
shareholder loan, with the conversion of the remainder into equity.
The remaining proceeds of around USD100 million are mainly being
used for expansion capex, removing the need to raise additional
debt for investments.

Zorlu RES's FX exposure will gradually become less balanced as the
share of US dollar-linked revenue falls to 88% in 2021-2023, 78% in
2024-2025 and below 70% in 2026. This will limit financial
flexibility and increasingly expose the group to a volatile USD/TRY
exchange rate.

SUMMARY OF FINANCIAL ADJUSTMENTS

-- Fitch's rating analysis focuses on Zorlu RES deconsolidating
    EBITDA and debt of Zorlu Dogal, but including dividends from
    Zorlu Dogal.

-- Other operating income and expenses are not part of EBITDA.

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.




=============
U K R A I N E
=============

AGRICOLE BANK: Fitch Withdraws 'B/B+' Issuer Ratings
----------------------------------------------------
Fitch Ratings has affirmed PJSC Credit Agricole Bank's (CAB)
Long-Term Foreign-Currency Issuer Default Ratings (IDRs) at 'B' and
Long-Term Local-Currency IDRs at 'B+' with Stable Outlooks. Fitch
has simultaneously withdrawn the ratings.

Fitch has withdrawn the ratings for commercial reasons and will no
longer provide ratings and analytical coverage for CAB.

KEY RATING DRIVERS

IDRS, SUPPORT RATING, NATIONAL RATING

CAB's Long-Term Foreign-Currency IDR of 'B' and Support Rating (SR)
of '4' reflect the limited extent to which institutional support
from the bank's foreign shareholder can be factored into the
ratings, as captured by Ukraine's Country Ceiling of 'B'. The
Country Ceiling reflects Fitch's view of transfer and
convertibility risks in Ukraine. CAB is fully owned by Credit
Agricole S.A. (A+/Negative). CAB's Long-Term Foreign-Currency IDR
is also underpinned by its standalone profile, as captured by the
bank's Viability Rating (VR) of 'b'.

CAB's 'B+' Long-Term Local-Currency IDR is one notch above its
Long-Term Foreign-Currency IDR and the sovereign IDRs. This
considers the likely lower potential impact of Ukrainian country
risks on the issuer's ability to service senior unsecured
obligations in local currency than in foreign currency.

The Stable Outlooks on the IDRs of CAB are in line with that on the
Ukrainian sovereign.

The 'AAA(ukr)' National Long-Term Rating reflects the bank's
creditworthiness relative to peers in Ukraine.

VR

CAB's 'b' VR captures its good profitability metrics through the
cycle, the limited impact of the pandemic on loan quality to date,
healthy capitalisation and stable funding profile. At the same
time, the VR remains constrained by the bank's exposure to the
high-risk Ukrainian operating environment.

The share of impaired loans (Stage 3) was a low 1.8% of loans at
end-1Q21, fully covered by total loan loss allowances. Stage 2
loans were 8% of loans, although Fitch believes these are not
necessarily high risk and are unlikely to migrate in large volumes
to Stage 3. The impact of the pandemic on CAB's loan quality
metrics has been limited to date, but Fitch believes further
deterioration is possible as loans season in a post-stress
environment.

Bank's profitability has been healthy through the cycle. The
operating profit to risk-weighted assets ratio increased to 5.8% in
1Q21 from 3.2% in 2020 on the back of lower loan impairment
charges. However, competition in the market, lower interest rates
and the accumulation of a sizeable liquidity buffer continue to
pressure the bank's margins.

Capitalisation is healthy, as reflected in Fitch Core Capital (FCC)
ratio of 17.9% at end-1Q21, underpinned by good internal capital
generation and moderate credit growth. At end-4M21, CAB's
regulatory common equity ratio and total capital adequacy ratios
were 12.3% and 19.3%, respectively, above the current minimums of
7.0% and 10.0%.

CAB's funding profile benefits from stable deposit franchise and
healthy liquidity buffer. High liquid assets (cash, short-term
interbank placements, unencumbered securities) covered about 60% of
customer deposits at end-1Q21.

RATING SENSITIVITIES

Not applicable.

BEST/WORST CASE RATING SCENARIO

International scale credit ratings of Financial Institutions and
Covered Bond 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.

PUBLIC RATINGS WITH CREDIT LINKAGE TO OTHER RATINGS

CAB's Long-Term IDRs reflect potential support it may receive from
its shareholder (Credit Agricole S.A.), in case of need.

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.




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

AMIGO LOANS:Won't Challenge Court Ruling on Compensation Payments
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Ben Martin at The Times reports that Amigo Loans has fuelled fears
among investors that it will fall into insolvency by saying it will
not challenge a High Court decision to block its plan to cut
compensation payments to customers who were mis-sold loans.

The guarantor lender said that it had decided against pursuing an
appeal against last week's judgment from Mr. Justice Miles, The
Times relates.  

According to The Times, it said that it would examine its other
options, which include either devising a new rescue plan or
entering insolvency, and that it expected to delay its annual
results for the year to the end of March as it deliberates its
future.


BERG FINANCE 2021: DBRS Finalizes BB(high) Rating on Class E Notes
------------------------------------------------------------------
DBRS Ratings GMBH finalized its provisional ratings on the
following classes of commercial mortgage backed floating-rate notes
issued by Berg Finance 2021 DAC (the Issuer):

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

All trends are Stable.

The Issuer is a EUR 295.3 million securitization (the Transaction)
of two senior commercial real estate (CRE) loans: Big Mountain (EUR
148.3 million) and Sirocco (EUR 150.8 million). The two loans were
advanced by Goldman Sachs Bank Europe SE (Goldman Sachs Europe) to
unrelated independent borrowing entities. The loans in aggregate
are secured against 29 predominantly office assets in the
Netherlands, France, Austria, Finland, and Germany.

BIG MOUNTAIN

The Big Mountain loan relates to a term loan facility granted to
the 14 Big Mountain borrowers on March 17, 2021. The purpose of the
loan was for the sponsor, Fortress Investment Group LLC, to finance
and partly refinance the acquisition of certain target companies in
the Stena AB group, which owns 25 office assets in the Netherlands
and in France. Furthermore, the loan refinanced the existing
intragroup indebtedness.

The EUR 148.3 million loan is secured by 18 predominantly freehold
office assets in the Randstad region of the Netherlands and by
seven freehold office assets in France's Sophia Antipolis
technology park, the largest office market on the French Riviera.
On November 30, 2020, Cushman & Wakefield plc (C&W) carried out
valuations on the Dutch properties and appraised their market value
at EUR 145.5 million. On December 3, 2020, Savills plc (Savills)
conducted valuations on the French properties and appraised their
market value at EUR 102.9 million. In aggregate, the market value
for the entire portfolio is EUR 248.4 million and the Big Mountain
loan represents a loan-to-value (LTV) ratio of 59.7%. The valuers'
net operating income (NOI) is EUR 17.5 million, implying a net
initial yield (NIY) of 7.0% and a day-one debt yield (DY) of 11.8%.
As of March 2021, the portfolio was 87% occupied by 238 unique
tenants with the largest 10 tenants accounting for 40.5% of the EUR
19.0 million in-place gross rental income (GRI). DBRS Morningstar's
long-term stable net cash flow (NCF) assumption for the Big
Mountain portfolio is EUR 12.6 million and DBRS Morningstar's
long-term value for the portfolio is EUR 170.9 million.

The target acquisition included 16 employees, five of which are
based in France and 11 of which are based in the Netherlands;
however, a letter of credit (LOC) has been put in place to cover
any costs associated with the employees. DBRS Morningstar believes
that such LOC is sufficient to mitigate any employee
ownership-related risk and, therefore, did not make any value
adjustment.

The loan is interest only and bears interest equal to three-month
Euribor plus a loan margin of 3.13%, which increases to a margin of
3.38% after the second anniversary of the date of the facility
agreement. The interest rate risk is to be fully hedged by a
prepaid cap with a maximum strike rate of 1.5% provided by Goldman
Sachs Bank Europe SE, a hedge provider with a rating plus relevant
triggers, as at the cut-off date, commensurate with that of DBRS
Morningstar's rating criteria.

The Big Mountain loan has LTV and DY covenants for cash trap and
events of default (EODs). The LTV cash trap covenant is set at
77.5% in year one, 75.0% in year two, 65.0% in year three, and
40.0% in year four. The DY cash trap covenant is triggered if the
DY falls below 7.2% within year one, below 8.5% in year two, or
below 9.0% in years three and four. The LTV default covenants are
set at 82.5% in year one, 80.0% in year two, 70.0% in year three,
and 60.0% in year four. The DY default covenant is triggered if the
DY falls below 6.2% within year one, below 7.5% within year two, or
below 8.0% within years three and four.

The initial loan maturity date is in April 2023; however, two
one-year extension options are available provided that (1) no loan
EOD is continuing and (2) hedging agreements in respect of the
relevant extended period have been entered into which comply with
the terms of the facility agreement.

SIROCCO

The Sirocco loan relates to a term loan facility granted to four
Sirocco borrowers. The purpose of the loan was for the sponsors,
Ares European Real Estate Fund V SCSp and Ares European Real Estate
Fund V (Dollar) SCSp, to refinance existing indebtedness and to
finance or refinance permitted capital expenditure projects.

The EUR 150.8 million loan is secured against four freehold office
assets in Vienna, Austria; Rotterdam, Netherlands; Helsinki,
Finland; and Ratingen/Düsseldorf, Germany. In March 2021, Jones
Lang Lasalle Incorporated (JLL) carried out valuations on all four
properties and, in aggregate, appraised their market value at EUR
237.5 million. As a result, the Sirocco loan represents a LTV ratio
of 63.5%. The valuers' NOI is EUR 11.6 million, implying a NIY of
4.9% and a day-one DY of 7.7%. As of February 2021, the portfolio
was 83% occupied by 56 unique tenants with the largest 10 tenants
accounting for 56.1% of the EUR 13.2 million in-place GRI. DBRS
Morningstar's long-term stable NCF assumption for the Sirocco
portfolio is EUR 10.3 million and DBRS Morningstar's long-term
valuation of the portfolio is EUR 171.1 million.

The loan bears interest equal to three-month Euribor plus a loan
margin of 3.75%. The interest rate risk is to be fully hedged by a
prepaid cap with a strike rate of no more than 1.75% provided
Standard Chartered Bank, a hedge provider with a rating plus
relevant triggers, as at the cut-off date, commensurate with that
of DBRS Morningstar's rating criteria. Starting 18 months after the
loan utilization date, the borrower is required to amortize the
loan by 0.25% of the outstanding amount of the Sirocco loan per
quarter until the second loan anniversary date, after which the
repayment steps up to 0.50% of the outstanding amount of the loan
at each quarterly payment date. After the third anniversary of the
loan utilization date and until the fourth-anniversary date, the
quarterly repayment steps up to 0.75% of the outstanding loan
amount.

The Sirocco loan has LTV and DY covenants for cash trap and EODs.
The LTV cash trap covenant is set at 70.99% and the DY cash trap
covenant is triggered if the DY falls below 6.75%. The LTV default
covenant is set at 80.99% and the DY default covenant is triggered
if the DY falls below 5.81%.

The initial loan maturity date is in April 2024; however, two
one-year extension options are available provided that (1) no loan
EOD is continuing and (2) hedging agreements in respect of the
relevant extended period have been entered into which comply with
the terms of the facility agreement.

In aggregate, DBRS Morningstar's NCF and valuation for the Big
Mountain portfolio and the Sirocco portfolio are EUR 22.91 million
and EUR 343.97 million, respectively, implying a blended cap rate
of 6.7%. This represents an DBRS Morningstar LTV of 91%, a haircut
to the issuers' day one NCF of 19.7% and a haircut to the combined
market value of both loan portfolios of 29.6%. Also in its
evaluation and in relation to the Big Mountain properties only,
DBRS Morningstar made a qualitative adjustment to its rating
hurdles to give benefit to the prescribed release price, ranging
from the higher of (1) an amount equal to the 115% of the allocated
loan amount for that property and (2) an amount equal to the 73% of
the disposal proceeds for that property, and also to the LTV cash
trap covenant pertaining to be no greater than 40% in year 4 which
resulted in a one-notch enhancement to DBRS Morningstar's ratings
on the Class B and Class C notes.

Based on the premise that the two loans will be fully extended, the
Transaction is expected to repay in full by April 22, 2026. If the
loans are not repaid by then, the Transaction will have seven years
to allow the special servicer to work out the loan(s) by April 2033
at the latest, which is the legal final maturity date.

The Transaction features a Class X interest diversion structure.
The diversion trigger is aligned with the financial covenants of
the loans; once triggered, any interest and prepayment fees due
(or, where such Class X diversion trigger event relates to one loan
only, a portion thereof attributable to such loan) to the Class X
certificate holders will instead be paid directly into the Issuer's
transaction account and credited to the Class X diversion ledger.
The diverted amount will be released once the trigger is cured;
only following the expected note maturity or the delivery of a note
acceleration notice can such diverted funds be used to amortize the
notes and the issuer loan.

On the closing date, the Issuer established a reserve that was
credited with the initial issuer liquidity reserve required amount.
Part of the noteholders' subscription for the Class A notes was
used to provide 95% of the liquidity support for the Transaction,
which was set at EUR 11.8 million or 4.4% of the total outstanding
balance of the notes. The remaining 5% was funded by the issuer
loan. DBRS Morningstar understands that the liquidity reserve will
cover the interest payments to Classes A to D. No liquidity
withdrawal can be made to cover shortfalls in funds available to
the Issuer to pay any amounts in respect of interest due on the
Class E notes. The Class D and Class E notes are subjected to an
available funds cap where the shortfall is attributable to an
increase in the weighted-average margin of the notes.

Based on a blended cap strike rate of 1.63% and a Euribor cap of
5.00% for the two loans, DBRS Morningstar estimated that the
liquidity reserve will cover 18 months of interest payments and
eight months of interest payments, respectively, assuming the
Issuer does not receive any revenue.

To maintain compliance with applicable regulatory requirements,
Goldman Sachs Europe retained an ongoing material economic interest
of 5% of the securitization via an issuer loan, which was advanced
by Goldman Sachs Europe.

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
tenants and borrowers. DBRS Morningstar anticipates that vacancy
rate increases and cash flow reductions may continue to arise for
many CMBS borrowers, some meaningfully. In addition, commercial
real estate values will be negatively affected, at least in the
short term, impacting refinancing prospects for maturing loans and
expected recoveries for defaulted loans.

Notes: All figures are in euros unless otherwise noted.


DEUCE MIDCO: Fitch Assigns FirstTime 'B(EXP)' IDR, Outlook Stable
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Fitch Ratings has assigned Deuce Midco Limited (David Lloyd
Leisure, DLL) a first-time expected Long-Term Issuer Default Rating
(IDR) of 'B(EXP)' with a Stable Outlook. Fitch has also assigned
its prospective senior secured notes a long-term rating of
'B+(EXP)' with a Recovery Rating of 'RR3'.

The assignment of final ratings is conditional on the completion of
the transaction, including equity injection and payment-in-kind
(PIK) instrument issue, repayment of existing debt and final terms
and conditions of the transaction being in line with information
already received.

The proposed GBP900 million-equivalent senior secured notes to be
issued by Deuce FinCo Plc will rank behind a new GBP125 million
super senior revolving credit facility (RCF), but ahead of the
GBP250 million PIK instrument raised outside the restricted group.

The 'B' IDR encapsulates DLL's high funds from operations (FFO)
adjusted gross leverage under the new capital structure, and low
rating headroom. However, Fitch expects leverage to reduce to 7.0x
by 2023, underpinned by good post-pandemic recovery prospects,
solid inherent profitability with FFO margin trending towards 14%
and enhanced financial flexibility post-transaction. Fitch expects
free cash flow (FCF) to turn positive in 2023, following repayment
of deferred payments and expected lower capex intensity.

The Stable Outlook is driven by recovery in memberships following
the reopening of sites in the UK, and increased attendance as clubs
gradually reopen in Europe and people gain confidence amid
vaccination rollout. Fitch could revise the Outlook to Negative on
slower recovery, weaker profitability and larger FCF outflows
eroding liquidity and delaying deleveraging prospects.

KEY RATING DRIVERS

Solid Operations: Fitch views DLL as a strong business benefitting
from a growing health & fitness sector and a sticky affluent
membership base that is less sensitive to economic pressures.
Current management have turned DLL around with net membership
gains, following years of net customer losses. Its premium
lifestyle offering sets DLL apart from the traditional gym format,
resulting in less direct competition and lower attrition rates.
Subscription income (around 80% of sales) is complemented mainly by
food and beverage and personal-training revenue streams.

High Leverage: Fitch expects FFO adjusted gross leverage to decline
to below 7.5x in 2022, and trend below 7.0x over Fitch's four-year
rating horizon, which is commensurate with a 'B' rating category.
Shareholder's equity injection and PIK instrument (which Fitch
treats as equity) of a combined GBP350 million will help reduce
DLL's debt by around GBP135 million. This, along with TDR's focus
on growing the business and no planned dividends over the rating
horizon, suggests some commitment to deleveraging. FFO-adjusted
gross leverage increased to above 8.5x following a debt- funded
dividend payment in 2018, and is distorted in 2020 and 2021 by the
pandemic.

Post-Pandemic Recovery: While management expects a fairly swift
recovery reaching pre-pandemic levels in September 2021, Fitch
conservatively assumes overall membership numbers will still be 5%
below 2019 levels (pro-forma for acquisitions and new clubs) before
a full recovery by 2022. This is based on strong net member gain
after re-opening in mid-April 2021 leading to pro-forma memberships
being 9% below 2019 levels at end-April, on increasing usage of
facilities, and on positive lead indicators. Fitch estimates UK
memberships alone are 5% below pre-pandemic levels at end-May.

Post-pandemic trends, such as more working from home and a greater
focus on health and wellbeing, are also positive for DLL.

Healthy Profitability: DLL has demonstrated healthy profitability
over the four years before pandemic on a like-for-like basis. Fitch
expects broadly break-even EBITDA in 2021, followed by margins
trending towards 24% by 2024. Improvement is driven by maturing
clubs, net membership gains, yield increase offsetting inflationary
cost pressures, and also its cost-savings programme. Fitch assumes
continued strong cost control, while maintaining the premium
quality of its offering. Growth in EBITDA to around GBP145 million
by 2023 and turning FCF positive carries some execution risks.
Since 2019, Fitch has reversed IFRS16 impact on leases in line with
Fitch's corporate criteria, which has a GBP19 million negative
impact on EBITDA and FFO in comparison to prior years.

Deleveraging Capability: Deleveraging will depend on management's
appetite for M&A and expansion versus debt reduction. Fitch expects
positive FCF from 2023 as deferred payments relating to pandemic
(GBP96 million) are paid over 2021 and 2022. This is supported by
lower capex intensity than in the couple of years before the
pandemic. Fitch expects maintenance capex to remain at around 5% of
sales, while investment capex will reduce following completion of a
few investment initiatives.

Lower Pipeline Capex: DLL's strategy is to add four sites per year,
which historically have been funded via pipeline capex, but
management plans to finance more projects on a turn-key basis,
whereby developer invests money upfront (land and construction) and
DLL only pays for fit-outs. Once the site is open, it is treated as
long-leasehold. Such strategy will reduce expansionary capex,
improving deleveraging capacity.

Improved Financial Flexibility: DLL will have materially improved
financial flexibility under the new capital structure benefitting
from the shareholder support and the new GBP125 million RCF, which
Fitch does not expect to be drawn. Fitch assumes the inclusion of
Meridian within the restricted group as a shareholder investment
with no cash payment beyond its GBP9 million debt repayment as part
of the transaction. This transaction addresses immediate
refinancing risks as current RCFs mature in July 2021, and removes
interest accrued and capitalised during the pandemic.

DERIVATION SUMMARY

DLL's IDR reflects the company's niche leading position with an
affluent membership base that is less sensitive to economic
pressures.

Its closest Fitch-rated peer is Pinnacle Bidco plc (Pure Gym;
B-/Negative), the second-largest gym and fitness operator in Europe
with a value/low-cost business model, even though both credits have
different business models. While Pure Gym faces more rigorous price
competition in a more crowded market, DLL's members are less
price-sensitive. Pure Gym is smaller by revenue, has a
geographically more balanced portfolio following its Fitness World
acquisition, while DLL is increasing its geographic
diversification. The gym market is polarised and both companies
have been winning market share from their mid-market peers.

Due to its low-cost business model, Pure Gym operates on higher
EBITDAR margins of around 48%-50% versus around 40% at DLL. Pure
Gym has a more aggressive expansion strategy resulting in weaker
expected FCF generation and higher FFO-adjusted gross leverage,
which Fitch expects to reduce to 7.8x in 2022 following
coronavirus-related disruptions. DLL's FFO-adjusted gross leverage
is expected to trend towards 7.0x under the company's new capital
structure.

KEY ASSUMPTIONS

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

-- Membership levels to recover to 5% below 2019 levels (pro
    forma for acquisitions and new clubs) by September 2021. This
    is followed by 1% growth in average members per site between
    2022 and 2024;

-- DLL European clubs start opening in May, and contribution from
    Meridian clubs assumed from July;

-- Average yield at GBP56 in 2021 (post-reopening; benefits from
    price increases in early 2020), GBP57 in 2022 and growing by
    2.5% annually afterwards till 2024;

-- Four and five gym openings in 2022 and 2023, respectively;

-- Ancillary sales to decline 30% in 2021, before recovering to
    2019 levels in 2022 and growing 4%-7% in 2023-2024;

-- EBITDA margin to improve from 22.5% in 2022 towards 24% by
    2024, supported by cost savings, synergies and yield
    increases;

-- Capex on average around 9% of revenues over the rating horizon
    to 2024;

-- No dividends or material M&A over the rating horizon.

KEY RECOVERY RATING ASSUMPTIONS

The recovery analysis assumes that DLL would be reorganised as a
going-concern (GC) in bankruptcy rather than liquidated. Fitch has
assumed a 10% administrative claim.

DLL's GC EBITDA of GBP110 million is based on expected EBITDA,
including pro-forma adjustments for cash flows added via
acquisitions. The GC EBITDA assumption reflects no new club
openings, lower membership revenues amid fewer members per club, no
increase in yield, and an EBITDA margin slightly below 2019 levels
due to higher operating spending. The GBP110 million GC EBITDA is
16% below estimated 2022 EBITDA, and reflects Fitch's view of a
sustainable, post-reorganisation EBITDA level upon which Fitch
based the enterprise valuation (EV).

Fitch has applied a 6x EV/EBITDA multiple to the GC EBITDA to
calculate a post-reorganisation EV. The multiple, which is 0.5x
higher than for Pure Gym, reflects a well-invested premium estate
(long leases mainly), an established brand name and lower attrition
rate of members in comparison to budget fitness operators, expected
positive FCF generation during the rating horizon and reasonable
performance through past recessions when the estate was less
well-invested.

Its GBP900 million equivalent senior secured notes rank behind the
GBP125 million super senior RCF, which Fitch assumes to be fully
drawn.

Fitch's waterfall analysis generates a ranked recovery for the
senior secured notes in the 'RR3' band, indicating a 'B+'
instrument rating, one notch up from the IDR. The waterfall
analysis output percentage on current metrics and assumptions is
52% based on the proposed capital structure.

RATING SENSITIVITIES

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

-- Fitch does not expect a positive rating action under the
    planned capital structure at least over the rating horizon,
    unless;

-- FFO-adjusted gross leverage falls below 6.0x suggesting a more
    robust underlying performance than expected, or a more
    conservative financial policy;

-- FFO fixed charge cover is sustainably above 1.8x; and

-- Positive FCF margin above 4%.

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

Slower recovery in memberships, weaker profitability amid lower
yields / higher attrition, and/or higher cash outflows leading to:

-- FFO-adjusted gross leverage above 7.5x in 2022, remaining
    sustainably above 7.0x beyond 2022;

-- FFO fixed charge cover sustainably below 1.5x; and

-- FCF margin remaining neutral to negative beyond 2022.

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: Available liquidity will amount to around
GBP250 million upon completion of the transaction. This will be
sufficient to meet deferred payments and to accommodate a slower
recovery than envisaged under Fitch's rating case. Fitch does not
expect the GBP125 million RCF to be drawn.

DLL's liquidity position is further supported by Fitch's
expectation that, once deferrals are paid, FCF generation will turn
positive as Fitch expects business expansion to require limited
expenditure due to partnership with developers. Under the new
structure DLL would have no near-term maturities with its RCF
maturing in 2025 and the planned senior secured notes in 2026.

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.


GREENSILL CAPITAL: Credit Suisse Mulls Lawsuit Against SoftBank
---------------------------------------------------------------
Arash Massoudi, Owen Walker, Tabby Kinder and Kana Inagaki at The
Financial Times report that Credit Suisse is preparing for
litigation against SoftBank after the collapse of Greensill Capital
soured the relationship between the Swiss bank and one of the
world's largest tech investors, according to people briefed on the
plans.

The move comes as the Swiss lender scrambles to appease angry
clients who stand to lose as much as US$3 billion following the
failure of Greensill, whose largest investor was SoftBank's Vision
Fund, the FT notes.

The dispute centres on US$440 million in funds that the bank's
wealthy customers are owed by Katerra, a struggling US construction
group that was a Greensill client, the FT discloses.  It was also
backed by the Vision Fund.

Katerra was included in the Credit Suisse's dedicated suite of
Greensill supply chain finance funds, which packaged up invoices
into investments and marketed them as low-risk, the FT states.  The
funds ballooned to US$10 billion in size before the bank suspended
them in March, helping precipitate Greensill's collapse, the FT
relays.

The FT earlier this year revealed that when SoftBank agreed to
provide an emergency cash injection into Greensill in November 2020
to cover debts at Katerra, the money did not reach the Credit
Suisse funds as intended.

The Swiss bank has launched a wide-ranging probe into the failure
of its Greensill funds, which is examining what information was
shared by the finance firm and SoftBank, including on Katerra, with
the Credit Suisse managers running the funds, according to the FT.

SoftBank's Vision Fund has instructed law firm Quinn Emanuel to
defend it against any claims linked to Greensill, the FT relays,
citing a person familiar with the matter.

The threat of a lawsuit comes as Credit Suisse clients press the
bank to compensate them for losses from the funds, which were
launched in 2017, the FT notes.


GREENSILL CAPITAL: Trafigura Warned Credit Suisse on Gupta Invoice
------------------------------------------------------------------
Robert Smith and Neil Hume at The Financial Times report that
commodities trader Trafigura warned Credit Suisse last year that
the bank's supply-chain finance funds appeared to contain a
suspicious invoice from industrialist Sanjeev Gupta's business
empire, according to three people with knowledge of the
discussions.

According to the FT, the collapse of the US$10 billion suite of
Credit Suisse funds, which packaged up invoices linked to the
failed supply-chain finance specialist Greensill Capital, has
enraged clients of the Swiss bank who poured billions into them.

Credit Suisse has warned that US$1.2 billion of debt linked to
metals magnate Gupta, one of Greensill's largest former clients,
may prove hard to recover, the FT relates.  Greensill, which was
once one of the UK's most highly valued financial start-ups,
counting former prime minister David Cameron as an adviser, filed
for administration in March, the FT recounts.

Trafigura raised the alarm with Credit Suisse in July 2020 over a
so-called receivable listed in one of the supply-chain finance
funds' annual accounts, the FT relays, citing three people briefed
on the matter.  The receivable indicated that Trafigura owed money
to Gupta's Liberty Commodities, his main metals trading business
founded nearly 30 years ago and part of his GFG Alliance, the FT
notes.

The fund accounts in question indicated that Liberty Commodities
had raised financing from Greensill against a US$30 million invoice
to Trafigura, one of the world's largest commodities trading
houses, the FT states.  This meant investors in the Credit Suisse
funds should have earned a return when Trafigura paid the invoice,
the FT notes.

However, Trafigura executives told bankers at Credit Suisse that
they did not believe this invoice was genuine, the FT relays,
citing the people familiar with the discussions.  The warning came
as Credit Suisse was in the middle of an internal review of the
funds.

According to two people familiar with the matter, Credit Suisse
executives then approached Lex Greensill, the founder of the
eponymous finance firm, who explained that he believed there had
been a misunderstanding around what the fund filings represented,
the FT relates.




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

[*] BOOK REVIEW: Hospitals, Health and People
---------------------------------------------
Author: Albert W. Snoke, M.D.
Publisher: Beard Books
Softcover: 232 pages
List Price: $34.95
Order your personal copy today at
http://www.beardbooks.com/beardbooks/hospitals_health_and_people.html

Hospitals, Health and People is an interesting and very readable
account of the career of a hospital administrator and physician
from the 1930's through the 1980's, the formative years of today's
health care system. Although much has changed in hospital
administration and health care since the book was first published
in 1987, Dr. Snoke's discussion of the evolution of the modern
hospital provides a unique and very valuable perspective for
readers who wish to better understand the forces at work in our
current health care system.

The first half of Hospitals, Health and People is devoted to the
functional parts of the hospital system, as observed by Dr. Snoke
between the late 1930's through 1969, when he served first as
assistant director of the Strong Memorial Hospital in Rochester,
New York, and then as the director of the Grace-New Haven Hospital
in Connecticut. In these first chapters, Dr. Snoke examines the
evolution and institutionalization of a number of aspects of the
hospital system, including the financial and community
responsibilities of the hospital administrator, education and
training in hospital administration, the role of the governing
board of a hospital, the dynamics between the hospital
administrator and the medical staff, and the unique role of the
teaching hospital.

The importance of Hospitals, Health and People for today's readers
is due in large part to the author's pivotal role in creating the
modern-day hospital. Dr. Snoke and others in similar positions
played a large part in advocating or forcing change in our hospital
system, particularly in recognizing the importance of the nursing
profession and the contributions of non-physician professionals,
such as psychologists, hearing and speech specialists, and social
workers, to the overall care of the patient. Throughout the first
chapters, there are also many observations on the factors that are
contributing to today's cost of care. Malpractice is just one
example. According to Dr. Snoke, "malpractice premiums were
negligible in the 1950's and 1960's. In 1970, Yale-New Haven's
annual malpractice premiums had mounted to about $150,000." By the
time of the first publication of the book, the hospital's premiums
were costing about $10 million a year.

In the second half of Hospitals, Health and People, Dr. Snoke
addresses the national health care system as we've come to know it,
including insurance and cost containment; the role of the
government in health care; health care for the elderly; home health
care; and the changing role of ethics in health care. It is
particularly interesting to note the role that Senator Wilbur Mills
from Arkansas played in the allocation of costs of hospital-based
specialty components under Part B rather than Part A of the
Medicare bill. Dr. Snoke comments: "This was considered a great
victory by the hospital-based specialists. I was disappointed
because I knew it would cause confusion in working relationships
between hospitals and specialists and among patients covered by
Medicare. I was also concerned about potential cost increases. My
fears were realized. Not only have health costs increased in
certain areas more than anticipated, but confusion is rampant among
the elderly patients and their families, as well as in hospital
business offices and among physicians' secretaries." This aspect of
Medicare caused such confusion that Congress amended Medicare in
1967 to provide that the professional components of radiological
and pathological in-hospital services be reimbursed as if they were
hospital services under Part A rather than part of the co-payment
provisions of Part B.

At the start of his book, Dr. Snoke refers to a small statue,
Discharged Cured, which was given to him in the late 1940's by a
fellow physician, Dr. Jack Masur. Dr. Snoke explains the
significance the statue held for him throughout his professional
career by quoting from an article by Dr. Masur: "The whole question
of the responsibility of the physician, of the hospital, of the
health agency, brings vividly to mind a small statue which I saw a
great many years ago.it is a pathetic little figure of a man, coat
collar turned up and shoulders hunched against the chill winds,
clutching his belongings in a paper bag-shaking, tremulous,
discouraged. He's clearly unfit for work-no employer would dare to
take a chance on hiring him. You know that he will need much more
help before he can face the world with shoulders back and
confidence in himself. The statuette epitomizes the task of medical
rehabilitation: to bridge the gap between the sick and a job."

It is clear that Dr. Snoke devoted his life to exactly that
purpose. Although there is much to criticize in our current
healthcare system, the wellness concept that we expect and accept
today as part of our medical care was almost nonexistent when Dr.
Snoke began his career in the 1930's. Throughout his 50 years in
hospital administration, Dr. Snoke frequently had to focus on the
big picture and the bottom line. He never forgot the importance of
Discharged Cured, however, and his book provides us with a great
appreciation of how compassionate administrators such as Dr. Snoke
have contributed to the state of patient care today. Albert Waldo
Snoke was director of the Grace-New Haven Hospital in New Haven,
Connecticut from 1946 until 1969. In New Haven, Dr. Snoke also
taught hospital administration at Yale University and oversaw the
development of the Yale-New Haven Hospital, serving as its
executive director from 1965-1968. From 1969-1973, Dr. Snoke worked
in Illinois as coordinator of health services in the Office of the
Governor and later as acting executive director of the Illinois
Comprehensive State Health Planning Agency. Dr. Snoke died in April
1988.


[*] Most of G7 Covid Aid Handed with No Green Strings Attached
--------------------------------------------------------------
Camilla Hodgson at The Financial Times reports that the world's
leading economies have allocated more than US$189 billion of
pandemic recovery funds in support of fossil fuels, despite
government pledges to "build back greener" and cut carbon
emissions.

More than half of US$372 billion given by G7 countries to
energy-producing and consuming activities from January 2020 until
March this year was for coal, oil and gas, according to research
from Tearfund, a development charity, backed by two independent
think-tanks, the FT discloses.

According to the FT, most of the money was handed over "no strings
attached" without any demands on the companies receiving help to
reduce their carbon footprint.

"The economic recovery post-Covid is a huge opportunity to
accelerate the transition to a green economy," the FT quotes Rich
Gower, a senior associate at Tearfund, as saying.  "At the moment,
the G7 are not taking that opportunity."

Pandemic lifelines highlighted in the report included the German
government's EUR9 billion bailout of airline Lufthansa and US$10
billion in US government support for airports, the FT discloses.



                           *********


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

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

Copyright 2021.  All rights reserved.  ISSN 1529-2754.

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

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

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


                * * * End of Transmission * * *