/raid1/www/Hosts/bankrupt/TCREUR_Public/211014.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

          Thursday, October 14, 2021, Vol. 22, No. 200

                           Headlines



C Y P R U S

HELLENIC BANK: Fitch Rates EUR1.5-Billion Preferred Debt 'B'


F R A N C E

CHROME HOLDCO: S&P Affirms 'B' ICR on Acquisition of Lifebrain


G R E E C E

DANAOS CORP: Moody's Upgrades CFR to B1, Outlook Remains Positive
NAVIOS MARITIME: Egan-Jones Keeps CC Senior Unsecured Ratings


I R E L A N D

ENDO INTERNATIONAL: Egan-Jones Keeps CCC+ Senior Unsecured Ratings
RRE 10 LOAN: S&P Assigns Prelim. BB- Rating on Class D Notes


I T A L Y

ENEL SPA: Egan-Jones Keeps BB+ Senior Unsecured Ratings


L U X E M B O U R G

ADLER GROUP: S&P Lowers ICR to 'B+' on Business Uncertainty


P O R T U G A L

BANCO COMERCIAL: Fitch Alters Outlook on 'BB' LT IDR to Stable
BANCO MONTEPIO: Fitch Affirms 'B-' LT IDR, Outlook Negative
EDP - ENERGIAS: Egan-Jones Keeps BB+ Senior Unsecured Ratings


R U S S I A

AKTIV BANK: Bank of Russia Terminates Provisional Administration
PRESTIGE POLICY: Bank of Russia Ends Provisional Administration


S L O V A K I A

NOVIS INSURANCE: S&P Assigns 'BB-' LongTerm ICR, Outlook Stable


S P A I N

ACI AIRPORT: Moody's Assigns (P)Ba1 Rating to New $260MM Sec. Notes
ELVIS UK MIDCO: Moody's Assigns First Time B1 Corp. Family Rating


S W I T Z E R L A N D

PEACH PROPERTY: S&P Raises LongTerm ICR to 'BB-', Outlook Stable


U K R A I N E

VF UKRAINE: Fitch Affirms 'B' Foreign Currency IDR, Outlook Pos.


U N I T E D   K I N G D O M

ATLANTICA SUSTAINABLE: Egan-Jones Keeps B- Sr. Unsecured Ratings
ELVIS UK: S&P Assigns Preliminary 'B' LT ICR, Outlook Positive
EVCL CHILL: Redundant Workers to Launch Legal Action
FLYBE: Joint Administrators Try to Claim Cash From Buyer
INTERNATIONAL PERSONAL: Fitch Alters Outlook on BB- IDR to Stable

LIBERTY GLOBAL: Egan-Jones Hikes Senior Unsecured Ratings to B+
PROVIDENT FINANCIAL: Fitch Gives 'B+(EXP)' Rating to Tier 2 Notes
SHACKLETON WINTLE: To Be Wound Down Following Administration
WM MORRISON: Egan-Jones Keeps BB+ Senior Unsecured Ratings

                           - - - - -


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C Y P R U S
===========

HELLENIC BANK: Fitch Rates EUR1.5-Billion Preferred Debt 'B'
------------------------------------------------------------
Fitch Ratings has assigned Cyprus-based Hellenic Bank Public
Company Limited's (HB; B/Negative/b) EUR1.5 billion euro
medium-term note (EMTN) programme a senior preferred (SP) rating of
'B'/'RR4' and senior non-preferred (SNP) rating of 'B-'/'RR5'.

KEY RATING DRIVERS

HB's long-term SP debt rating is in line with the bank's Long-Term
Issuer Default Ratings (IDR) to reflect that the likelihood of
default on SP obligations is the same as that of the bank. The
'RR4' Recovery Rating for HB's SP debt reflects Fitch's expectation
of average recovery prospects, as the progress on the bank's asset
quality clean-up plans and Fitch's expectation that the bank will
maintain comfortable capitalisation relative to its risk profile
will materially reduce solvency risks.

Additionally, Fitch believes that the recent disclosure of HB's
minimum requirements for own funds and eligible liabilities (MREL)
will underpin the build-up of larger resolution debt buffers and
increase the protection available to SP creditors. HB's resolution
debt buffer is currently low but Fitch expects it to gradually
build up as the bank aims to meet its interim and final MREL, which
will become binding by end-2025.

Long-term SNP debt is rated one notch below the bank's Long-Term
IDR to reflect the risk of below-average recovery prospects, which
corresponds to a Recovery Rating of 'RR5'. Below-average recovery
prospects arise from the possible use of more senior debt to meet
resolution buffer requirements, and from the combined buffer of
additional Tier 1, Tier 2 and SNP debt being unlikely to exceed 10%
of risk-weighted assets.

The SNP obligations are senior to any subordinated claims and
junior to SP liabilities under Cypriot law. Fitch expects the SNP
debt to be bailed-in before more senior debt in the event of
insolvency or resolution.

RATING SENSITIVITIES

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

-- The ratings of SP and SNP debt issued under the EMTN programme
    could be downgraded if HB's Long-Term IDR was downgraded.

-- The notching of HB's debt ratings from its Long-Term IDR could
    widen if Fitch believes that recoveries for the bank's SP and
    SNP creditors weaken and become below-average (RR5) or poor
    (RR6). This could be the case if the bank's asset quality
    deteriorates unexpectedly due to the economic fallout of the
    pandemic or if Fitch believes the building of resolution debt
    buffers will fall short of requirements.

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

-- The SP and SNP debt ratings could be upgraded if HB's Long
    Term IDR is upgraded.

-- The ratings could also be upgraded if the bank is expected to
    meet its resolution buffer requirements exclusively with SNP
    debt and junior instruments or if, at some point in the
    future, SNP and more junior resolution buffers sustainably
    exceed 10% of risk-weighted assets, which Fitch currently
    views as unlikely.

ESG CONSIDERATIONS

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

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.




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

CHROME HOLDCO: S&P Affirms 'B' ICR on Acquisition of Lifebrain
--------------------------------------------------------------
S&P Global Ratings affirmed its 'B' long-term issuer credit rating
on Cerba's holding company, Chrome HoldCo SAS, and its 'B' issue
rating on its senior secured term loan B, which has a '3' (50%)
recovery rating.

S&P's stable outlook reflects its view that Cerba will successfully
integrate Lifebrain into its operations while managing declining
sales from the COVID-19 business, translating in positive free
operating cash flow (FOCF; after lease payments) of around EUR150
million-EUR160 million, which will enable adjusted leverage to
remain around 7x over 2022-2023.

France-based biological diagnostics operator Cerba Healthcare is
acquiring the leading provider of laboratory clinical analyses in
Italy, Lifebrain, with the transaction expected to close at the end
of October 2021.

Cerba has funded the acquisition with EUR800 million of new debt,
including an add-on of EUR300 million to its existing term loan B,
a EUR316 million pure equity contribution, as well as EUR150
million of preferred shares.

S&P said, "The proposed transaction will result in S&P Global
Ratings-adjusted leverage of around 7x over 2022-2023 and solid
positive FOCF (after lease payments) of EUR150 million-EUR160
million, which support the 'B' ratings in our view. Cerba announced
its acquisition of a majority stake in Lifebrain on July 22, 2021.
To support the transaction, Cerba is issuing new debt of EUR800
million, including a EUR300 million add-on to existing term loan B,
and a EUR75 million add-on to its RCF, expected to be fully undrawn
at closing. We project these issuances will lead to S&P Global
Ratings-adjusted debt to EBITDA of about 7.2x (from 6.0x at
year-end 2021, on pro forma basis) and FFO cash interest coverage
of about 3.0x-4.0x in 2022. We project adjusted EBITDA of EUR490
million-EUR510 million over the next 12 months (from around EUR600
million in 2021). The EBITDA decrease reflects a material decline
in COVID-19 testing activities and lower average sales prices, as
well as some integration-related costs (about EUR40 million-EUR50
million in total in 2022 followed by EUR30 million in 2023 as per
our estimates). Nevertheless, we expect strong organic sales growth
from routine and specialized testing as well as mergers and
acquisitions (M&A). We forecast only a limited EBITDA improvement
to EUR510 million-EUR530 million in 2023, reflecting our assumption
of a limited contribution from COVID-19 businesses, offset by our
view that the experienced management team should successfully
extract synergies, and the favorable underlying industry trends
will continue to drive volumes with limited reliance on underlying
economic cycles. As a result, we assume that the company will
maintain its profitability around 27.0%-27.5% in 2022 and 2023,
which compares favorably with peers, which should translate into
FOCF (after lease payments) of EUR150 million-EUR160 million,
supported by continued working capital discipline and limited
capital expenditure (capex) expansion needs. Although we forecast
leverage will increase in 2022 and 2023 once COVID-19 testing
tapers off, it should remain near 7.0x. We estimate adjusted debt
of EUR3.6 billion following the proposed transaction including
EUR3.1 billion of bank debt (EUR800 million of which is new debt),
about EUR230 million-EUR240 million of lease liabilities, EUR80
million of rolled local lines, about EUR150 million-EUR160 million
of preferred shares, which we treat as debt-like as per our
criteria, and EUR26 million of pension-related liabilities.

"The acquisition of Lifebrain will improve the group's scale and
diversity of revenue in a market with a supportive regulatory
environment, in our view. The acquisition of Lifebrain will
strengthen Cerba's scale in the European laboratory testing market
as the combined company will generate pro forma sales of close to
EUR1.9 billion-EUR2.0 billion in 2021 (of which Lifebrain is
expected to account for EUR370 million-EUR380 million, according to
our estimates). This will close the gap with closest rated peer
Synlab, which generates more than EUR2.6 billion sales in the
medical laboratory market. In addition, we view positively that
Lifebrain operates in a relatively supportive regulatory
environment for medical laboratory testing operators, reflecting
mandatory co-payment for medical testing in Italy. This will help
mitigate subdued organic growth for the medical lab business in
France (Cerba's largest contributor) because of regulation-linked
structural pricing pressure to contain volume growth. The current
three-year agreement allows for increases capped at 0.4% in 2020,
0.5% in 2021, and 0.6% in 2022 in France. The Italian framework
diminishes the price gap between public and private operators and
the incentive for patients to use public facilities, meaning
instead they favor factors like proximity of collection centers or
speed of result. In addition, Lifebrain will build on its
established position in the testing, inspection, and certification
(TIC) market, which will further diversify the combined group's
profile. We view Lifebrain's established presence in the
environment, food, and pharmaceutical market as supportive of its
growth prospects, given new customer wins and rising demand from
the underlying customer base, since we observe increased consumer
awareness and stronger regulatory pressure. Since TIC is a pure
business-to-business segment, it takes the private portion of the
company's revenue close to 80%. The ability to influence pricing is
an important competitive advantage when compared with other players
operating in jurisdictions like France, where prices for medical
testing are regulated.

"We see limited risks associated with the integration of Lifebrain,
due to Cerba's limited overlap in Italy, although there is some
execution risk in relation to fast inorganic growth at Lifebrain in
recent years. The Italian medical laboratory market is the third
largest in Europe and remains highly fragmented. We believe that
the rapid consolidation of the market will continue, with 60% held
by players with less than 1% market share and 28% by public
laboratories. Lifebrain is the leading consolidator, with 50
targets added in 2018-2020 and 26 secured for 2021. Although we
understand that the pace of M&A should slow down, we believe
execution risk relating to the Lifebrain acquisition is high,
reflecting Lifebrain's rapid inorganic growth over the past few
years and reliance on smooth integration and delivery of planned
synergies to remain self-funded." Management must divide its focus
between the underlying business, delivering organic growth, and
maintaining existing customers, while dealing with the impacts of
COVID-19, expansion into Austria, and the integration of the
business.

Earnings volatility will arise beyond this year for COVID-19
related testing, as the rate of volume decline and magnitude of
price cuts remain uncertain. Material COVID-19 testing
contributions boosted 2020 and 2021 earnings for European labs. In
Cerba's main market, France, polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests
will no longer be automatically reimbursed by statutory health
insurance (only by medical subscription) starting mid-October and
tariffs gradually declined to about EUR45 in second-quarter 2021.
S&P said, "Although the three-year agreement currently excludes
reimbursement for COVID-19 PCR tests, we believe prices could
reduce beyond 2021 in line with government measures to contain
health care budgets and due to competition from COVID-19 auto tests
in pharmacies. Moreover, volumes will markedly decrease once a
large share of the population has been vaccinated. Similarly,
Lifebrain generates most of its revenue in Italy from routine
testing, but the company's revenue diversity currently benefits
from contracts signed in Austria for COVID-19 testing that will
contribute significantly to revenue in 2021 and 2022. However, the
ability to sustain these revenue streams post 2022, once sufficient
immunization of the population is reached, remains uncertain, in
our view."

S&P said, "The stable outlook reflects our view that the combined
group will sustain the recent recovery in routine and specialized
tests and maintain profitable organic growth, despite tariff
pressure in its main market, France, while benefiting from PCR
testing contributions and overcoming M&A-related integration risks.
This should translate into S&P Global Ratings adjusted debt to
EBITDA (including preferred shares) remaining at about 7x in the
12-18 months from transaction close, reaching 7.1x in 2022, and
improving to 6.9x in 2023.

"In our base case, we assume that the combined group will have
EBITDA margins of about 27.0%-27.5% in the next 12-18 months,
reflecting a gradually declining contribution from COVID-19
testing, some exceptional expenses to integrate Lifebrain and
realize associated synergies, and ongoing operating efficiencies
from existing assets.

"The stable outlook reflects our belief that management's focus on
cash collection will continue to translate into comfortable FOCF of
about EUR150 million and FFO cash interest coverage of close to
3x-4x. This considers normalized pre-COVID-19 working capital
outflows and declining capex, following a peak in investments in
2021 at Lifebrain for the PCR facility in Austria."

S&P could lower the ratings if the group's credit metrics weaken,
including one or more of the following factors:

-- The company encounters unexpected operating setbacks that would
prevent it from realizing envisaged synergies from the acquired
assets and the underlying network or financial policy becomes more
aggressive, causing adjusted debt to EBITDA to rise persistently
and materially above 7x.

-- FFO cash interest coverage weakens toward 2.0x; or

-- The group's earnings deteriorate once the PCR testing
contribution dissipates, in turn leading to materially lower FOCF.

S&P said, "We could take a positive rating action if the group
successfully integrates Lifebrain into its operations including
planned synergies and cost efficiencies, while effectively managing
lower sales from the COVID-19 segment. This should be combined with
further geographical expansion outside France, decreasing single
payor risk exposure to this market. In our view, this would
translate into margins positioned strongly in the 25%-30% range on
a sustainable basis, which would ensure increased deleveraging
capacity toward 6x."




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

DANAOS CORP: Moody's Upgrades CFR to B1, Outlook Remains Positive
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Moody's Investors Service has upgraded the corporate family rating
of Danaos Corporation to B1 from B2 and its probability of default
rating to B1-PD from B2-PD. Concurrently, the senior unsecured
rating was changed to B3 from Caa1. The outlook remains positive.

RATINGS RATIONALE

The rating action reflect the currently very strong market demand
for container transport, where a capacity shortage to meet demand
has pushed charter rates to unprecedented levels combined with an
ongoing deleveraging of Danaos capital structure. With its
established position as one of the world's largest containership
charter-owners, Danaos has been able to secure around 70% of
revenue during 2022-2024 to considerably higher charter rates than
normal. Adding the company's track record of positive free cash
flow (FCF) generation and disciplined capital spending, current as
well as Moody's-projected key credit ratios positions the rating
strongly in the B1 rating category. In addition, following the IPO
of Zim Integrated Shipping Services Ltd (ZIM) in February 2021,
Danaos' value of its shares increased to $415 million as of
September 30, 2021, which has improved its liquidity profile.

Notwithstanding the projected strong performance during at least
the next 12-18 months, Danaos' has a very high concentration in
terms of customers, some of which historically has had a relatively
low credit quality and have experienced financial difficulties in
the past. Having a strong balance sheet is one way to be able to
cope with at times struggling customers. Although Danaos a
relatively conservatively leveraged balance sheet, a large part of
this is due to EBITDA growth on the back of a strong market rather
than debt repayments.

Moody's note as positive that Danaos has chosen a very selective
approach to growth, why its fleet has not grown materially during
the last five years. The company will take delivery of the six
5,500 TEU vessels that was acquired in July this year which was
done to an attractive purchase price given its contract mix. The B1
rating incorporates that Danaos will continue to occasionally
pursue similar opportunities when such is presented to the
company.

LIQUIDITY PROFILE

Danaos has good liquidity, with $294 million of cash on balance
sheet as of June 2021, although this will be partly used for the
company's vessel acquisitions. In addition, the unencumbered
holding of 8.2 million ZIM shares serves as an alternative source
of liquidity. The company's maintenance capex is very low,
historically around $3 million - $4 million annually. Moody's
projects that mandatory debt and lease amortizations will amount to
around $195 million annually, which the company will be able to
cover with its strong free cash flow generation of around $300
million - $400 million annually. The size of the free cash flow
depends on the size of the company's dividend payments, which
remains discretionary given the absence of a formal dividend
policy.

RATING OUTLOOK

The positive outlook reflects Moody's expectation of continued
deleveraging helped by currently supportive underlying industry
fundamentals and ongoing debt amortization, but also balanced by
some potential for further debt-funded vessel acquisitions.
Although current key credit metrics points to a higher rating,
Moody's would require the company to show a track record of
maintaining these metrics for the next 12-18 months before
considering further positive rating actions.

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

Prerequisites for further positive rating pressure over the next 12
to 18 months is the introduction of a more formal financial policy
and a commitment to maintaining a more conservatively leveraged
balance sheet and a substantial cash balance absent access to a
revolving credit facility. Furthermore, other factors that would
except positive pressure would be; (1) debt/EBITDA sustainably
below 3x; (2) (funds from operations + interest)/interest
sustainably above 5.0x; (3) free cash flow remaining visibly
positive; (4) keeping rechartering risk limited and (5) a well
managed debt maturity profile.

Conversely, negative pressure could develop if the company's (funds
from operations + interest)/interest falls to 3x, debt/EBITDA
reaches 4.5x or free cash flow weakens. Downward pressure on the
ratings could also result if GSL experiences strained liquidity and
difficulties in terms of the rechartering of vessels at adequate
rates when contracts expire.

PRINCIPAL METHODOLOGY

The principal methodology used in these ratings was Shipping
published in June 2021.

COMPANY PROFILE

Incorporated in Marshall Islands and with an operational
headquarters in Piraeus, Greece, Danaos is one of the world's
largest containership charter-owners, with a fleet of 71
containerships and an aggregated capacity of roughly 437 thousand
twenty-foot equivalent units. Danaos is listed on the New York
Stock Exchange and its largest shareholder is Coustas Family Trust
with a share close to 40%. The company generated around $517
million of revenues for 12 months that ended June 2021.


NAVIOS MARITIME: Egan-Jones Keeps CC Senior Unsecured Ratings
-------------------------------------------------------------
Egan-Jones Ratings Company, on September 20, 2021, maintained its
'CC' foreign currency and local currency senior unsecured ratings
on debt issued by Navios Maritime Holdings, Inc. EJR also
maintained its 'D' rating on commercial paper issued by the
Company.

Headquartered in Pireas, Greece, Navios Maritime Holdings, Inc.
offers maritime freight transportation services.




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I R E L A N D
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ENDO INTERNATIONAL: Egan-Jones Keeps CCC+ Senior Unsecured Ratings
------------------------------------------------------------------
Egan-Jones Ratings Company, on September 20, 2021, maintained its
'CCC+' foreign currency and local currency senior unsecured ratings
on debt issued by Endo International PLC. EJR also maintained its
'B' rating on commercial paper issued by the Company.

Headquartered in Dublin, Ireland, Endo International PLC ... Endo
International Public Limited Company provides specialty healthcare
solutions.


RRE 10 LOAN: S&P Assigns Prelim. BB- Rating on Class D Notes
------------------------------------------------------------
S&P Global Ratings assigned its preliminary credit ratings to RRE
10 Loan Management DAC's class A-1 to D notes. At closing the
issuer will also issue unrated subordinated notes.

This is a European cash flow CLO transaction, securitizing a
portfolio of primarily senior secured leveraged loans and bonds.
The transaction will be managed by Redding Ridge Asset Management
(UK) LLP.

The preliminary 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.

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

-- The transaction's legal structure, which S&P expects to be
bankruptcy remote.

-- The transaction's counterparty risks, which S&P expects to be
in line with its counterparty rating framework.

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

The portfolio's reinvestment period will end approximately five
years after closing, and the portfolio's maximum average maturity
date is eight and a half years after closing.

  Portfolio Benchmarks
                                                        CURRENT
  S&P Global Ratings weighted-average rating factor    2,750.01
  Default rate dispersion                                414.04
  Weighted-average life (years)                            5.19
  Obligor diversity measure                              122.97
  Industry diversity measure                              19.42
  Regional diversity measure                               1.21

  Transaction Key Metrics
                                                        CURRENT
  Total par amount (mil. EUR)                               500
  Defaulted assets (mil. EUR)                                 0
  Number of performing obligors                             159
  Portfolio weighted-average rating
   derived from S&P's CDO evaluator                           B
  'CCC' category rated assets (%)                          0.20
  'AAA' covenanted weighted-average recovery (%)          36.76
  Covenanted weighted-average spread (%)                   3.55
  Reference weighted-average coupon (%)                    3.50

Workout obligations

Under the transaction documents, the issuer may purchase debt and
non-debt assets of an existing borrower offered in connection with
a workout, restructuring, or bankruptcy (workout obligations), to
maximize the overall recovery prospects on the borrower's
obligations held by the issuer.

The transaction documents limit the CLO's exposure to workout
obligations quarterly, and on a cumulative basis, may not exceed
10% of target par if purchased with principal proceeds.

The issuer may only purchase workout obligations provided the
following are satisfied:

Using principal proceeds or amounts designated as principal
proceeds, provided that:

-- The obligation is a debt obligation;

-- It is pari passu or senior to the obligation already held by
the issuer;

-- Its maturity date falls before the rated notes' maturity date;

-- It is not purchased at a premium; and

-- The class A-1, A-2, B, and C par value tests are satisfied
after the acquisition, or the performing portfolio balance exceeds
the reinvestment target par balance.

Using interest proceeds, provided that:

-- The class C interest coverage test is satisfied after the
acquisition; and

-- The manager believes there will be enough interest proceeds on
the following payment date to pay interest on all the rated notes.

-- The issuer may also purchase workout obligations using amounts
standing to the credit of the supplemental reserve account.

In all instances where principal proceeds or amounts designated as
principal proceeds are used to purchase workout obligations:

-- A zero carrying value is assigned to the workout obligations
until they fully satisfy the eligibility criteria (following which
the obligation will be subject to the same treatment as other
obligations held by the issuer); and

-- All and any distributions received from a workout obligation
will be retained as principal and may not be transferred into any
other account.

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

S&P said, "In our cash flow analysis, we used the EUR500 million
target par amount, the covenanted weighted-average spread (3.55%),
the reference weighted-average coupon (3.50%), and the actual
weighted-average recovery rates at all rating levels as indicated
by the collateral manager. We applied various cash flow stress
scenarios, using four different default patterns, in conjunction
with different interest rate stress scenarios for each liability
rating category. Our credit and cash flow analysis indicates that
the available credit enhancement for the class A-2 and D notes
could withstand stresses commensurate with higher ratings than
those we have assigned. However, as the CLO will be in its
reinvestment phase starting from closing, during which the
transaction's credit risk profile could deteriorate, we have capped
our preliminary ratings assigned to the notes.

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

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

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

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

"In addition to our standard analysis, to provide an indication of
how rising pressures among speculative-grade corporates could
affect our ratings on European CLO transactions, we have also
included the sensitivity of the ratings on the class A-1 to D notes
to five of the 10 hypothetical scenarios we looked at in our
publication, "How Credit Distress Due To COVID-19 Could Affect
European CLO Ratings," published on April 2, 2020. The results
shown in the chart below are based on 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 D notes."

Environmental, social, and governance (ESG) 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:
controversial weapons, nuclear weapons, thermal coal, oil and gas,
pornography or prostitution, opioid manufacturing or distribution,
and hazardous chemicals. 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."

  Ratings Assigned

  CLASS   PRELIM     PRELIM     SUB (%)     INTEREST RATE§
          RATING*    AMOUNT
                    (MIL. EUR)

  A-1     AAA (sf)    307.50   38.50    Three/six-month EURIBOR
                                        plus 1.00%
  A-2     AA (sf)      37.50   31.00    Three/six-month EURIBOR
                                        plus 1.70%
  B       A (sf)       52.50   20.50    Three/six-month EURIBOR
                                        plus 2.05%
  C       BBB- (sf)    32.50   14.00    Three/six-month EURIBOR
                                        plus 3.05%
  D       BB- (sf)     22.50    9.50    Three/six-month EURIBOR
                                        plus 6.15%
  Sub notes†   NR      56.30     N/A    N/A

*The preliminary ratings assigned to the class A-1 and A-2 notes
address timely interest and ultimate principal payments. The
preliminary ratings assigned to the class B, C, and D notes address
ultimate interest and principal payments.
§The payment frequency switches to semiannual and the index
switches to six-month EURIBOR when a frequency switch event occurs.

†Sub notes balance includes the balance of performance notes and
preferred return notes.
NR--Not rated.
N/A--Not applicable.
EURIBOR--Euro Interbank Offered Rate.




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

ENEL SPA: Egan-Jones Keeps BB+ Senior Unsecured Ratings
-------------------------------------------------------
Egan-Jones Ratings Company, on September 30, 2021, maintained its
'BB+' foreign currency and local currency senior unsecured ratings
on debt issued by Enel Spa.

Headquartered in Rome, Italy, Enel Spa operates as a multinational
power company and an integrated player in the global power, gas,
and renewables markets.




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

ADLER GROUP: S&P Lowers ICR to 'B+' on Business Uncertainty
-----------------------------------------------------------
S&P Global Ratings lowered its long-term issuer credit rating on
Adler Group S.A. (Adler) and its subsidiary Adler Real Estate AG to
'B+' from 'BB' and lowering the issue ratings on its senior
unsecured debt to 'BB-' from 'BB+'.

The CreditWatch placement reflects the high degree of uncertainty
regarding the final size and timing of the company's planned asset
disposals, as well as the company's ability and willingness to
refinance its upcoming short-term debt maturities.

Adler's strategic review, announced on Oct. 4, 2021, suggests that
it plans to dispose of a material part of its yielding asset base.
However, it doesn't give full details of the final amount and
timing of the transaction. In S&P's view, selling a substantial
proportion of the assets in its stable rental business will make
Adler more dependent on development activities, and make its cash
flows less stable and less predictable. The company announced today
that it has signed a letter of intent to dispose of about EUR1.45
billion of yielding assets to LEG Immobilien SE (LEG). Adler's
current total assets are valued at about EUR12.5 billion and
include EUR8.9 billion of residential properties spread across
Germany. The company's development projects have a gross asset
value of about EUR3.6 billion. The German residential market has
favorable supply and demand trends and good prospects on occupancy
levels and like-for-like rental income.

S&P said, "We see an elevated refinancing and liquidity risk, given
that about EUR1 billion of short-term debt will mature by June 30,
2022. We have revised our liquidity assessment to less than
adequate as we expect Adler's committed liquidity sources will be
unable to cover its uses by 1.2x over the 12 months from June 30,
2021. Adler is likely to depend on the collection of its
outstanding receivables, the successful execution of today's
announced sales to LEG, or on new bank funding to cover its
upcoming short-term debt maturities, including the senior unsecured
bond of EUR400 million due in April 2022. However, we understand
that as part of the strategic review, the company is likely to use
part of its sales proceeds for debt refinancing, which could
improve its short-term liquidity position. That said, the final
amount and timing of the sale and the collection of the related
receivables remains uncertain. The company's share price has fallen
by approximately 55% since the beginning of 2021 and it has seen an
increasing credit default spread of its traded bonds. We anticipate
that its access to capital markets might become increasingly
tough.

"We have updated our base-case scenario for Adler and revised our
financial risk profile downward, based on the weaker operating
performance of its development business. In our view, its credit
metrics are less likely to improve over the next 12 months.
Contrary to our earlier expectations of a reduction in debt,
Adler's leverage remained high in the first six months of the year.
As of June 30, 2021, S&P Global Ratings-adjusted ratio of debt to
debt plus equity stood at 61.1%, debt to EBITDA around 29.2x, and
EBITDA interest coverage at only 0.8x (rolling 12 months). We now
forecast its adjusted debt-to-debt-plus-equity ratio will remain
close to 60% (versus 55%-57% in our previous base case), debt to
EBITDA will be about 23x-24x (versus 19x-20x) and EBITDA interest
coverage will be close to 1.5x-1.7x (versus 1.9x-2.0x) in the next
12 months.

"Our updated base case is in line with an aggressive financial risk
profile. Our forecast reflects the recent cancellation of forward
sold projects, slow disposal of nonstrategic (Consus) projects, and
our expectations of further delays in collecting outstanding
receivables. As a result, we predict that the free cash flow base
will be smaller and debt repayment capacity will remain weak. Adler
has publicly announced that it will use part of the disposal
proceeds to reduce leverage, which we understand is a priority for
the company and could help it restore its credit metrics. That
said, given the high uncertainty related to the sales proceeds, our
base case does not yet take any benefits into account. We
understand that the company may also use part of the proceeds for
share buybacks, which would partially offset a reduction in
leverage."

Performance at Adler's development business was sluggish in the
first half of 2021, which constrained our assessment of its
business risk. Institutional buyers cancelled about EUR300 million
in forward sold projects, including the reversal of its upfront
sold Gerresheim project. Adler also suffered ongoing delays in
collecting outstanding financial receivables. The company had to
impair some of its financial and trade receivables, because of the
reversal of its upfront sold projects and outstanding receivables.
The company had around EUR825 million left of outstanding
receivables (excluding Gerresheim) as of June 30, 2021, most of
them related to projects sold in previous years and to loans
provided to minority shareholders. That said, the operating
performance of its yielding assets was in line with other German
peers, and it reported a solidly positive like-for-like rental
growth of 4.3% for the first half of 2021 and good like-for-like
portfolio value growth of 6.4%.

S&P said, "We still regard the management and governance framework
as weak because it is not fully transparent. The group also has a
limited record of converting strategic decisions into constructive
actions and achieving operational and financial goals in a timely
manner. In the past, unexpected events have occasionally prevented
Adler from meeting its targets in a given timeframe.

"We have lowered to 'BB-' our issue ratings on Adler's senior
unsecured debt, including the bonds issued by Adler Real Estate.
The issue ratings remain one notch above the issuer credit rating.
We perform our recovery analysis at a consolidated group level,
including Adler Real Estate and Consus. Our recovery analysis on
Adler is unchanged and we expect recovery prospects to remain above
85%, reflecting the combined entities' robust yielding asset base
and the limited amount of prior-ranking debt. The recovery rating
remains '2'."

CreditWatch

S&P said, "The CreditWatch placement reflects the high degree of
uncertainty regarding the final amount and timing of the company's
planned asset disposals, as well as the company's ability and
willingness to refinance its upcoming short-term debt maturities.
We aim to resolve the CreditWatch in the next few months, once we
have more information on the above-mentioned matters.

"We could lower the ratings on Adler and Adler Real Estate by one
or more notches if the company fails to take solid actions to
refinance its upcoming debt maturities, including the EUR400
million bond due in April 2022, in a timely manner.

"A rating downgrade could also stem from a materially reliance on
development activities as a result of the disposal of a substantial
part of its yielding asset base. This could trigger a change in the
criteria we apply to rate the company."




===============
P O R T U G A L
===============

BANCO COMERCIAL: Fitch Alters Outlook on 'BB' LT IDR to Stable
--------------------------------------------------------------
Fitch Ratings has revised the Outlook on Banco Comercial Portugues,
S.A.'s (BCP) Long-Term Issuer Default Rating (IDR) to Stable from
Negative and affirmed the IDR at 'BB' and Viability Rating (VR) at
'bb'.

The Outlook revision primarily reflects the resilience of BCP's
asset quality and profitability since the pandemic crisis,
supported by an efficient and fairly diverse business model. Fitch
expects BCP to be able to generate sufficient pre-impairment profit
to absorb future additional loan impairment charges (LICs) from
downside asset quality pressures in Portugal, and the potential
impact from increasing provisioning against the legal risks in its
Polish subsidiary, Bank Millennium S.A's (BBB-/Negative/bbb-)
legacy Swiss franc-denominated mortgage loans.

The Outlook revision also considers that short-term risks to
Portugal's improved economic prospects have receded but have not
yet subsided sufficiently to stabilise the operating environment
score of 'bbb-' for domestic banks and could still pose moderate
risks to BCP's asset quality and earnings, albeit lower than
previously anticipated.

KEY RATING DRIVERS

IDRS AND VR

BCP's ratings primarily reflect the bank's improved asset quality,
although it remains weaker than higher-rated domestic peers and
international averages. They also reflect Fitch's view that
capitalisation remains vulnerable to severe asset quality shocks,
despite meaningful improvements since 2016. These relative rating
weaknesses are mitigated by BCP's resilient pre-impairment
profitability, thanks to a leading franchise in Portugal and sound
cost-efficiency.

BCP is the second-largest Portuguese bank by assets and had top
three market shares of about 18% in domestic loans and deposits.
The bank's multi-channel and more diverse business model than some
of its local peers supports recurring fee income.

BCP's asset quality improved over the past four years and in 1H21,
despite difficult economic conditions. The impaired loans ratio
decreased to 5.2% at end-June 2021 (250bp down from end-2019),
which is in line with the domestic average, thanks to active
management of legacy impaired loans, notably through sales. The
extensive use of loan moratoriums (18% of Portuguese loan
portfolio), which expired at end-September 2021, has to date
prevented abrupt asset quality weakening in 2020-2021 but continues
to pose downside risks.

Given the nature and size of the Portuguese economy, BCP is exposed
to borrowers in sectors that are most affected by the pandemic,
such as tourism, hotels or non-food retail (totalling EUR2 billion
or about 6% of BCP's exposure at default at end-June 2021). This
leaves room for higher than expected asset quality deterioration by
end-2021 and into 2022, but Fitch expects BCP's impaired loans
ratio to remain below 6.5%. This is supported by the improvement of
economic conditions in Portugal and a better tourist season in
2021. Fitch expects BCP to be able to manage increase in impaired
loan inflows through proactive measures, as demonstrated in recent
years.

BCP's profitability had recovered when the bank entered the
pandemic crisis thanks to sound cost efficiency and a gradual
decline in impairment charges in Portugal. The improving trend
stalled in 2020, although the bank reported a still acceptable
operating profit/risk-weighted assets (RWA) of 0.9%. BCP's
operating efficiency remains a strength and the bank targets
reducing the cost/income ratio further to 40% by 2024 from 50% in
2020.

BCP's operating profit generation will remain challenged in
2021-2022, notably from subdued profitability at Bank Millennium,
due to increasing provisioning on the material Swiss
franc-denominated mortgage loans in Poland (about EUR2.8 billion
equivalent at end-June 2021). Beyond 2022, Fitch expects
profitability to recover to 2019 levels, at close to 1.5%.

BCP's capital buffers are moderate and at the low end of mid-sized
southern European peers. The fully loaded common equity Tier 1
(CET1) and total capital ratios were 11.8% (excluding a 10bp
benefit from the transitional implementation of IFRS9 provisions
and pro-forma the sale of the Swiss bank subsidiary) and 15.1% at
end-June 2021, respectively. These ratios provide a moderate buffer
relative to BCP's 2021 Supervisory Review and Evaluation Process
requirements of about 8.8% for the CET1 ratio and 13.3% for the
total capital ratio.

Fitch expects that BCP's CET1 ratio will remain between 11.5% and
12.0% in 2021 and 2022, as organic capital generation will remain
subdued due to higher costs against legal risks in Poland. If BCP
chooses the sector-wide solution proposed by the Polish regulator,
the bank estimates that it would have an impact of between PLN4.1
billion and PLN5.1 billion (of which around PLN2.5 billion is
already booked, including the 3Q21 provisions), which could be
equivalent to an impact on capital ratios of roughly 50-60bp, after
the deduction of minority interests and considering the amount of
provisions already booked by the bank. In this scenario, after the
50-60bp dip, Fitch would expect BCP to start gradually replenishing
its capital buffers towards its medium-term CET1 ratio target of
around 12.5%.

Our assessment of capitalisation also considers BCP's exposure to
risks from problem assets, including unreserved Stage 3 loans,
holdings of foreclosed real estate assets and corporate
restructuring funds. Fitch estimates BCP's unreserved problem
assets were still high at about 50% of fully-loaded CET1 capital at
end-June 2021. This leaves the capital base highly vulnerable to
severe asset quality shocks.

BCP's funding structure has been generally stable and its liquidity
position has benefited from substantial loan deleveraging over the
past four years, resulting in a satisfactory loans/deposits ratio
below 100%. Customer deposits are the bank's main funding source
and reliance on wholesale and central bank funding is limited.
BCP's liquidity profile is adequate but sensitive to investor
confidence, like most Portuguese peers. It has benefited from large
targeted long-term refinancing operations drawings in 2020 and in
2021.

SENIOR PREFERRED AND SENIOR NON-PREFERRED DEBT

Fitch rates BCP's senior preferred debt in line with the bank's
IDRs because Fitch expects that the bank will meet its minimum
requirement for own funds and eligible liabilities (MREL) with a
combination of senior preferred and more junior instruments. In
addition, Fitch does not expect the buffer of hybrid, subordinated
and senior non-preferred instruments to exceed 10% of RWAs of the
resolution group headed by BCP.

For the same reasons, BCP's senior non-preferred notes are rated
'BB-' or one notch below the Long-Term IDR as Fitch sees a
heightened risk of below-average recoveries for this debt class in
a resolution.

DEPOSIT RATINGS

BCP's long-term deposit rating of 'BB+' is one notch above the
bank's Long-Term IDR, reflecting Fitch's view that depositors would
be protected by the bank's senior preferred instruments, junior
debt and equity buffers in a resolution. This is because Fitch
expects BCP to comply with MREL and Portugal is a country where
full depositor preference has been enacted as law since 2019.

SUBORDINATED DEBT AND OTHER HYBRID SECURITIES

The ratings of subordinated debt and other hybrid capital issued by
BCP are notched down from its VR in accordance with Fitch's
assessment of each instrument's respective non-performance and
relative loss severity risk profiles, which vary considerably.

Fitch rates BCP's Tier 2 securities 'B+', two notches below the VR,
which is the baseline notching under Fitch's Bank Rating Criteria.
The notching reflects the expected loss severity and poor recovery
prospects for those instruments.

Fitch rates BCP's additional Tier 1 (AT1) instruments at 'B-', four
notches below the VR. This notching reflects the instruments'
higher expected loss severity relative to the bank's VR due to the
notes' deep subordination (two notches) and higher non-performance
risk relative to the VR given fully discretionary coupon payments
and mandatory coupon restriction features (another two notches).

The notching of AT1 notes reflects Fitch's expectations that BCP
will maintain moderate capital buffers above regulatory
requirements. BCP had buffers of about 180bp above its total
capital requirement and about 300bp above the CET1 requirement at
end-June 2021 (pro-forma for the sale of Swiss private bank),
representing a buffer of about EUR0.8 billion above mandatory
coupon restriction points.

SUPPORT RATING AND SUPPORT RATING FLOOR

The bank's Support Rating (SR) of '5' and Support Rating Floor
(SRF) of 'No Floor' reflect Fitch's belief that senior creditors of
the bank cannot rely on receiving full extraordinary support from
the sovereign in the event that the bank becomes non-viable. The
EU's Bank Recovery and Resolution Directive (BRRD) and the Single
Resolution Mechanism (SRM) for eurozone banks provide a framework
for resolving banks that is likely to require senior creditors to
participate in losses, if necessary, instead of or ahead of a bank
receiving sovereign support.

RATING SENSITIVITIES

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

-- An upgrade would be contingent on the stabilisation of the
    Portuguese operating environment and subject to BCP further
    improving its financial profile, in particular asset quality.
    This could be evidenced by a good repayment record for
    borrowers that recently exited moratoriums and the impaired
    loans ratio remaining below 6%.

-- Stronger capital ratios, which are comparatively low at BCP,
    would also be rating positive as they would further increase
    BCP's headroom relative to capital requirements. Improved
    visibility on final legal costs from Bank Millennium's legacy
    Swiss franc-denominated mortgage loans would be required for
    positive rating action.

-- The senior non-preferred and senior preferred debt ratings
    could be upgraded if BCP's IDRs were upgraded. They could also
    be upgraded if Fitch expects that BCP will either meet its
    MREL without recourse to senior preferred debt or if the
    buffer of AT1, Tier 2 and senior non-preferred debt will
    sustainably exceed 10% of the Portuguese resolution group's
    RWAs.

-- BCP's deposit ratings could be upgraded if BCP's IDRs were
    upgraded. BCP's AT1 and Tier 2 ratings could be upgraded if
    the bank's VR was upgraded.

-- An upgrade of the bank's SR and upward revision of the SRF
    would be contingent on a positive change in the sovereign's
    propensity to support the bank. While not impossible, this is
    highly unlikely, in Fitch's view.

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

-- BCP's ratings could be downgraded if there was an unexpected
    severe setback to the economic recovery implying negative
    financial repercussions on the bank's credit profile. Fitch
    would likely downgrade BCP's Long-Term IDR and VR if there was
    a substantial and prolonged deterioration in asset quality and
    profitability, which would lead to an increase of BCP's stage
    3 impaired loans ratio to levels above 8% and an operating
    profit/RWA that would fall to levels below 0.5% with no
    credible plan to restore these ratios to pre-coronavirus
    crisis levels.

-- An unexpected and material drop in BCP's CET1 ratio to around
    10%-10.5% without credible plans to restore it above 12% could
    lead to a downgrade. This could come from larger than expected
    legal costs from Bank Millennium's legacy Swiss franc-
    denominated mortgage loans, if these result in a material
    erosion of the group's capital position beyond Fitch's
    baseline expectation of earnings pressure from those legal
    costs.

-- BCP's senior preferred and senior non-preferred debt ratings
    could be downgraded if the bank's Long-Term IDR was
    downgraded. BCP's Tier 2 ratings could be downgraded if the
    bank's VR was downgraded. The rating of BCP's AT1 instruments
    would be downgraded only if the VR was downgraded by more than
    one notch given the tighter notching applied to those
    instruments for 'bb-' rated banks under Fitch's criteria.
    Fitch could also downgrade the AT1 instrument's rating if
    Fitch no longer expects BCP to maintain moderate buffers above
    its capital requirements (typically at least 100bp) or if
    available distributable items decline to only modest levels
    leading to higher non-performance risk.

-- BCP's deposit ratings are sensitive to changes in BCP's IDRs
    and could be downgraded if the latter were downgraded. Fitch
    could also downgrade BCP's deposit ratings if Fitch expects
    that the bank fails to comply with its MREL requirement,
    without the use of eligible deposits.

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.

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.


BANCO MONTEPIO: Fitch Affirms 'B-' LT IDR, Outlook Negative
-----------------------------------------------------------
Fitch Ratings has affirmed Caixa Economica Montepio Geral, Caixa
economica bancaria, S.A.'s (Banco Montepio) Long-Term Issuer
Default Rating (IDR) at 'B-' and Viability Rating (VR) at 'b-'. The
Outlook on the Long-Term IDR is Negative.

The affirmation reflects Fitch's view that the bank's recovery plan
is advancing broadly as expected. Fitch expects Banco Montepio's
progress will help the bank navigate the remaining short-term risks
to Portugal's operating environment, for which prospects are
improving. The Negative Outlook on the Long-Term IDR reflects the
bank's current inability to generate capital organically, given its
high level of problem assets and weak profitability, and the risk
of capital erosion beyond Fitch's current expectations if the bank
is unable to turn its profitability around.

KEY RATING DRIVERS

IDRS AND VR

Banco Montepio's ratings reflect weaker asset quality than peers,
resulting in higher levels of problem assets and more vulnerable
capitalisation, given high capital encumbrance from unreserved
problem assets. The ratings also reflect weak profitability
prospects, given Banco Montepio's moderate franchise and the
business model's sensitivity to interest rate levels.

Capital buffers remain low compared with domestic and international
peers. The end-June 2021 total capital ratio was still below Banco
Montepio's overall capital requirements of 13.9% (including the
2.69% combined buffer requirement, which was temporarily waived by
the Bank of Portugal), after some erosion from losses in 2020. At
end-June 2021, the bank's phased-in common equity Tier 1 (CET1) and
total capital ratios were 11.4% and 13.6%, respectively, and Fitch
expects only a gradual recovery to levels above fully implemented
requirements. The bank's fully loaded capital ratios are also lower
(about 100bp) than phased in ratios, due to deferred tax assets
deduction and IFRS9 phase in.

Fitch believes that capital levels are not commensurate with risks.
Banco Montepio's capitalisation remains highly vulnerable to the
large stock of unreserved problem assets, which makes it sensitive
to moderate asset quality shocks. Fitch estimates unreserved
problem assets (including net impaired loans, net foreclosed
assets, investment properties and holdings of corporate
restructuring and real estate funds) were about 1.2x the bank's
fully loaded CET1 capital at end-June 2021. If Banco Montepio fails
to deliver on its planned de-risking plan, its asset quality will
likely deteriorate and lead to an increase in capital encumbrance.

The bank is currently unable to generate capital internally, making
capital ratios vulnerable to potential losses generated by higher
impairment charges, which could ultimately weaken the longer-term
viability of the business model.

Fitch believes corporate governance has improved, as evidenced by
some notable successes in executing the recovery plan, notably in
terms of branch network reduction and asset quality clean up.
However, Fitch still views corporate governance dynamics at Banco
Montepio's majority shareholder, Montepio Geral Associaçao
Mutualista, as a potential risk for the bank's creditors. This is
reflected in Banco Montepio's ESG Relevance Score of '4' for
governance structure. These less effective corporate governance
dynamics resulted in a weaker and slower execution record than
domestic peers and recurring challenges to appoint and then
stabilise the bank's senior management since 2015. A longer record
of successful execution and effective corporate governance
resulting in an upgrade of the Long-Term IDR would be a
prerequisite for a lower ESG Relevance Score for governance
structure.

Banco Montepio's non-performing loans (similar to IFRS9 stage 3)
ratio has improved but remains high, at about 9.3% at end-June
2021, 110bp lower than at end-2020, thanks to write offs, loan
recoveries, sales and moderate loan growth. Fitch estimates a
problem asset ratio of about 14% when including real estate assets.
This ratio is the highest among rated Portuguese banks and is
higher than many Italian and Spanish peers.

Downside risks for asset quality have not completely receded,
despite active management of the large legacy stock of impaired
loans. Fitch's view is supported by the bank's significant exposure
to small-and-medium-sized businesses in the most affected sectors
such as tourism, transportation or non-food retail and a higher
share of loans under moratorium than the sector average (almost a
quarter of gross loans at end-June 2021), for which repayment
behaviour remains uncertain. However, Fitch expects Banco
Montepio's impaired loan ratio to remain below 11% by end-2022.

Banco Montepio's core operating profitability is weak, driven by
relatively high loan impairment charges (LICs), lack of scale and
limited business diversification as well as low operating
efficiency. Profitability is highly sensitive to the level of
interest rates and economic cycles. Fitch expects the bank to
remain loss- making in 2021, although by less than in 2020.
Management's ability to deliver on the bank's operating efficiency
plan (branch closure and staff reduction), will be key to restoring
profitability from 2022 onwards. Improving profitability will also
require normalisation of LICs and development of Banco Montepio's
franchise.

Customer deposits are Banco Montepio's main funding source. Its
liquidity profile remains sensitive to changes in creditor
sentiment and to the Portuguese operating environment, but has
proved fairly stable recently. Access to wholesale markets is less
established and more price-sensitive than peers, but it will be
pivotal to the bank meeting its minimum requirement for own funds
and eligible liabilities (MREL) in coming years. The bank's
liquidity position was acceptable at end-June 2021, given modest
upcoming maturities and fairly large holdings of cash and sovereign
debt.

SENIOR PREFERRED AND SENIOR NON-PREFERRED DEBT

The senior preferred debt and senior non-preferred debt ratings are
notched down twice from the bank's IDR at 'CCC' and have 'RR6'
Recovery Ratings. This is because of full depositor preference in
Portugal and the bank's very thin senior and subordinated debt
buffers relative to net problem assets. This means that losses for
senior creditors would likely be very large in a default.

The short-term senior preferred debt rating of 'B' is in line with
Banco Montepio's Short-Term IDR because short-term bank issue
ratings incorporate only an assessment of the default risk on the
instrument and do not factor in recovery prospects.

DEPOSIT RATINGS

Banco Montepio's long-term deposit ratings (B) is one notch above
the Long-Term IDR, reflecting the deposits' lower vulnerability to
default than senior debt, given Fitch's expectation that the bank
would be resolved in a manner that protects depositors if it fails,
and also because of full depositor preference in Portugal. Banco
Montepio will be subject to MREL, although its final requirements
have not yet been made public. The rating uplift on deposits above
the Long-Term IDR reflects Fitch's expectation that Banco Montepio
will manage to build up its MREL buffer over the next 12-18
months.

SUBORDINATED DEBT

Banco Montepio's subordinated notes' 'CCC' long-term ratings are
notched down twice from the VR, in line with the baseline notching
for subordinated Tier 2 debt. The notching reflects the notes' poor
recovery prospects ('RR6' Recovery Rating) if the bank becomes
non-viable. Fitch does not apply additional notching for
incremental non-performance risk relative to the VR since there is
no coupon flexibility included in the notes' terms and conditions.

SUPPORT RATING AND SUPPORT RATING FLOOR

Banco Montepio's Support Rating (SR) of '5' and Support Rating
Floor (SRF) of 'No Floor' reflect Fitch's belief that senior
creditors of the bank cannot rely on receiving full extraordinary
support from the sovereign in the event that the bank becomes
non-viable. The EU's Bank Recovery and Resolution Directive (BRRD)
and the Single Resolution Mechanism (SRM) for eurozone banks
provide a framework for resolving banks that is likely to require
senior creditors to participate in losses, if necessary, instead of
- or ahead of - a bank receiving sovereign support.

RATING SENSITIVITIES

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

-- The Outlook could be revised to Stable if the operating
    environment in Portugal stabilises and Banco Montepio
    successfully manages to execute its restructuring and capital
    remediation plan. A replenishment of Banco Montepio's total
    capital buffers to levels moderately above regulatory
    requirements, including the capital conservation buffer,
    coupled with a stabilisation or contained deterioration of
    asset quality and profitability improvements would support an
    affirmation of the ratings and a revision of the Outlook to
    Stable.

-- In the event Banco Montepio is able to withstand rating
    pressure, upside to the rating would be limited by a still
    large stock of problem assets and structurally weak core
    operating profitability. An upgrade would be contingent on the
    bank substantially improving its operating profitability and
    asset quality metrics and materially reducing capital
    encumbrance from unreserved problem assets. Evidence of more
    effective and developed corporate governance, combined with
    positive developments in the bank's financial profile, would
    be positive for ratings.

-- The long-term senior preferred and non-preferred debt ratings
    could be upgraded if Banco Montepio's Long-Term IDR was
    upgraded or if the amount of senior non-preferred and
    subordinated liabilities issued and maintained by Banco
    Montepio increases while the bank continues to work out its
    legacy problem assets. This is because in a resolution, losses
    could be spread over a larger debt layer resulting in smaller
    losses and higher recoveries for senior bondholders, which may
    lead to higher long-term senior preferred and non-preferred
    debt ratings.

-- Banco Montepio's deposit ratings could be upgraded if the IDRs
    were upgraded. Tier 2 ratings could be upgraded if the bank's
    VR was upgraded.

-- An upgrade of the SR and upward revision of the SRF would be
    contingent on a positive change in the sovereign's propensity
    to support it. This is highly unlikely, in Fitch's view.

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

-- Banco Montepio's ratings would likely be downgraded if it
    fails to deliver continuous progress on restoring its
    capitalisation to levels that Fitch considers commensurate
    with the bank's risk profile. This could result from a more
    substantial and prolonged deterioration in asset quality than
    Fitch envisages or its inability to return profitable. The
    ratings would likely be downgraded if the fully-loaded CET1
    ratio falls below 9.5% or if capital encumbrance by unreserved
    problem assets rises to around 175%-200% without credible
    prospects to bring these ratios in line with at least current
    levels.

-- Fitch would also likely downgrade the ratings in the event of
    a material increase in impaired loans inflows or in
    restructured loan exposures to levels that would drive the
    problem asset ratio above 20%. A materially weaker funding and
    liquidity profile, for example in case of large and unexpected
    customer deposit outflows, could also put pressure on ratings.

-- Banco Montepio's senior preferred and senior non-preferred
    debt ratings could be downgraded if the bank's Long-Term IDR
    was downgraded. The bank's subordinated Tier 2 ratings are
    sensitive to changes in the bank's VR.

-- Banco Montepio's deposit ratings are sensitive to changes in
    the bank's IDRs and would be downgraded if the latter were
    downgraded. Fitch could also downgrade Banco Montepio's
    deposit ratings if Fitch expects the bank to use potentially
    eligible deposits to comply with its MREL requirement, or in
    case of failure to comply with it.

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.

ESG CONSIDERATIONS

Banco Montepio has an ESG Relevance Score of '4' for governance
structure. Alleged disagreements between Banco Montepio's previous
management team and the bank's majority shareholder, MGAM, led to
the nomination and appointment of a new management team, within a
new governance framework, since March 2018. The stabilisation of
the bank's management and board of directors has taken longer than
expected and Fitch believes this has weighed on the bank's
strategic execution over the past two years. This reflects a weaker
corporate governance culture than those of its domestic peers,
although the bank has been making progress. Banco Montepio's
governance structure is relevant to the bank's ratings in
conjunction with other factors.

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


EDP - ENERGIAS: Egan-Jones Keeps BB+ Senior Unsecured Ratings
-------------------------------------------------------------
Egan-Jones Ratings Company, on September 24, 2021, maintained its
'BB+' foreign currency and local currency senior unsecured ratings
on debt issued by EDP - Energias de Portugal, S.A..

Headquartered in Lisbon, Portugal, EDP - Energias de Portugal, S.A.
generates, supplies and distributes electricity and the supply of
gas in Portugal and Spain.




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

AKTIV BANK: Bank of Russia Terminates Provisional Administration
----------------------------------------------------------------
The Bank of Russia, on Oct. 13, 2021, terminated the activity of
the provisional administration appointed to manage the credit
institution JSC AKTIV BANK (hereinafter, the Bank).

The provisional administration established circumstances suggesting
that the Bank's former management and owners performed activities
aimed at withdrawing liquid assets through lending to borrowers
with dubious creditworthiness or known to be incapable of meeting
their obligations to the Bank.

According to the assessment of the provisional administration, the
value of the Bank's assets is insufficient to fulfil its
obligations to creditors.

On September 28, 2021, the Arbitration Court of the Republic of
Mordovia recognized the Bank as insolvent (bankrupt) and initiated
a bankruptcy proceeding against it.

The State Corporation Deposit Insurance Agency was appointed as
receiver.

Further information on the results of the provisional
administration's activity is available on the Bank of Russia
website.

Settlements with the Bank's creditors will be made in the course of
the bankruptcy proceeding as the Bank's assets are sold (enforced).
The quality of these assets is the responsibility of the Bank's
former management and owners.


PRESTIGE POLICY: Bank of Russia Ends Provisional Administration
---------------------------------------------------------------
The Bank of Russia, on Sept. 24, 2021, terminated the activity of
the provisional administration appointed to manage PRESTIGE POLICY
INSURANCE GROUP (hereinafter, the Insurer).

The provisional administration carried out the analysis of the
Insurer's financial standing and concluded that the Insurer had
sufficient property (assets) to fulfil its obligations to creditors
and showed no signs of insolvency (bankruptcy).

Further information on the results of the activity of the
provisional administration is available on the Bank of Russia
website.

The provisional administration was appointed by virtue of Bank of
Russia Order No. OD-1432, dated July 8, 2021, due to the revocation
of insurance licenses of the Insurer.




===============
S L O V A K I A
===============

NOVIS INSURANCE: S&P Assigns 'BB-' LongTerm ICR, Outlook Stable
---------------------------------------------------------------
S&P Global Ratings assigned its 'BB-' long-term issuer credit
rating to Slovakia-based life insurer Novis Insurance Co. The
outlook is stable.

S&P believes Novis has grown fast since its foundation in 2012 and
has attracted distribution partners in different regional markets
in Europe. The insurer writes unit-linked business with additional
protection coverage on mortality, morbidity, accidents, and
disability. Novis writes business in a number of markets in the EU.
Main markets include Italy, Iceland, Slovakia, Hungary, and
Germany.

In 2020 and first-half 2021, business growth was affected by the
pandemic and, to a lesser extent, interim regulatory measures,
including fines. Consequently, gross written premiums declined by
7% in 2020 and new business 16% in first-half 2021. However, in
that period, Novis continued to generate new business. S&P said,
"Under our base-case scenario, we assume the company will maintain
full license to continue to write business in the target markets.
While an interim measure was withdrawn in April 2021, we will
closely monitor regulatory actions on Novis and their implications
for its competitive position. The company distributes via third
parties, so we believe its competitive position depends
significantly on reinsurance support or capital market financing to
cover acquisition costs for new business. In 2020, reinsurance
utilization was above 80% based on premiums and liabilities toward
reinsurers were about 32% of its total balance sheet. Under our
base-case scenario, we believe gross premiums will increase 5%-10%
in 2021-2022."

S&P said, "We believe Novis' financial risk profile reflects the
company's sufficient solvency position, with a 137% solvency ratio
as of year-end 2020 and capital adequacy above the 'A' range
according to our capital model. The company's capital adequacy
under our capital model and regulatory solvency consists
predominantly of value in force, which in our view creates a high
sensitivity toward lapses and assumption changes such as
administrative expenses on portfolio profitability. This makes
Novis' capital base more sensitive to assumption changes and less
fungible compared with that of higher-rated peers. Moreover, the
company's absolute size of capital makes it more vulnerable to
adverse economic developments than larger, more diverse peers. We
believe capital adequacy will remain in the 'A' range and the
Solvency II ratio at 140%-160% in 2021-2023, although sensitivity
toward lapses and assumption changes will persist. We believe
additional open items with the regulator on lapse assumptions could
further stress the Solvency II ratio, but this is partly offset via
a subordinated convertible bond issuance of EUR20 million, which we
believe will be fully paid in 2021 and accepted under regulatory
solvency." The insurer maintains a conservative investment
portfolio, with the majority of investments in government bonds
that have an average rating of 'A' on them.

S&P said, "Novis reported return on equity of 10%-12% in 2019-2020,
with a net income of about EUR4 million, and we assume net income
of EUR5 million-EUR10 million in 2021-2023. The company's gross
revenue, however, consists of more than 50% of changes in insurance
contracts' value and reinsurance commissions, highlighting the
company's dependance on up-front financing and assumption changes,
in particular on costs and lapse development. Under our base-case
scenario, we believe Novis will continue to write profitable new
business, which will help increase the value of its insurance
portfolio that flows through the company's profit and loss
account.

"We believe Novis' funding structure will change in 2021-2023. The
company started to issue a subordinated convertible bond in 2021
with a EUR20 million volume, and we expect Novis to issue material
senior debt to finance its acquisition costs from 2021-2025. At the
same time, we believe the insurer will reduce its reinsurance
protection, which capital market financing will gradually replace.
We therefore believe that financial leverage will increase
strongly, to 60%-80% in 2021-2023, creating significant dependance
on this source of financing and high fixed charges. We assume the
fixed charge coverage will remain at 2x-4x in 2021-2023.

"Novis, as a joint stock company, has about 20 shareholders. Board
members hold shares, but no shareholder holds more than 10%. We
believe the company's management team is sufficiently experienced
in the insurance sector and the corporate governance structure and
risk management capabilities are in line with industry standards.
We do not see governance issues apart from the regulatory measures
on products and solvency ratio calculations, which we will continue
to monitor closely.

"The stable outlook reflects our view that Novis will continue to
expand its franchise, maintain regulatory solvency capital well
above 100%, and maintain capital adequacy according to S&P Global
Ratings' capital model above the 'A' range over 2021-2023."

A positive rating action within 12 months would largely depend on
the insurer's ability to:

-- Continue generating profitable growth, gain scale, and develop
the franchise in line with the business plan in target markets;
and

-- Reduce sensitivities toward lapses and its dependencies to
reinsurers and capital market debtors.

A negative rating action in the next 6-12 months could follow if:

-- Regulatory measures on its product portfolio or sales
activities are affecting the company's competitive position;

-- Solvency under Solvency II drops to 100% or below;

-- Capital adequacy according to S&P Global Ratings' capital model
sustainably deteriorates below the 'A' range;

-- Novis fails to fund acquisition costs via capital markets or
reinsurance financing, which could affect its competitive position;
or

-- The company loses access to key distribution partners, in
particular in Italy and Iceland.




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

ACI AIRPORT: Moody's Assigns (P)Ba1 Rating to New $260MM Sec. Notes
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Moody's Investors Service assigned a first time provisional (P)Ba1
rating to the proposed $260 million Gtd Senior Secured Notes due
2034 to be issued by ACI Airport Sudamerica, S.A. ("ACI" or "the
Issuer"). The rating outlook is stable.

Proceeds from the issuance will be primarily used to finance the
purchase of the Issuer's existing notes due 2032 (2015 Notes and
2020 Notes), fund an interest payment account and repay in full the
local notes outstanding under the operating company Puerta del Sur
S.A. ("PDS"). Proceeds will be enough to fund the USD-denominated
interest payment account, make a one-time capital contribution to
PDS and to pay all the related transaction expenses. The purpose of
the issuance is to extend the life of the debt and support
additional capital expenditures required under an amendment to PDS'
concession contract.

RATINGS RATIONALE

The assigned (P)Ba1 rating mainly reflects the liquidity provisions
embedded in the proposed financial structure, balanced against the
challenges related to air traffic recovery amid the COVID-19
Pandemic. The proposed issuance entails an interest payment account
funded at closing to service debt in 2022 and partly in 2023 and a
Letter of Credit (LC) provided by a creditworthy financial
institution to cover six months of debt service. Through the
combination of the liquidity enhancements (interest payment account
and LC) ACI would not need to rely on its internal cash generation
for debt service until May 2024 . Moody's views that the proposed
liquidity features partly offset the challenges related to traffic
recovery and the renewal of the duty-free concession contract in
2023.

Moody's notes that while air traffic has started to recover after
the abrupt decline in 2020 (-73% versus 2019), there is still a
high degree of uncertainty given the evolving nature of the
pandemic and the restrictions imposed by the Government of Uruguay
(Baa2 stable). Due to stringent travel restrictions, the Carrasco
International Airport ("Carrasco") has presented one of the slowest
traffic recovery trends of the region. However, an important
consideration for the (P)Ba1 rating is that traffic restrictions
are expected to be fully lifted by the end of 2021 supporting a
gradual revenue recovery. Alternatively, these restrictions could
be considered force majeure under the expected amended concession
contract and as such PDS could eventually negotiate a deferral in
the schedule of capital expenditure requirements if needed.

The (P)Ba1 rating reflects Carrasco's favorable asset fundamentals
as the main international airport in Uruguay. Carrasco is the
leading private airport in Uruguay in terms of passenger traffic,
serving approximately 2 million passengers in 2019. The airport's
service area, Uruguay, is relatively large, with a population of
approximately 3.5 million people. Moody's views the service area's
economic base as evolving, reflecting Moody's expectation of
Uruguay's moderate potential growth and a relatively high income
per capita, counterbalanced by the small size of the economy. In
2020, the economy contracted by 6% in real terms, and Moody's
expects that the economy will expand by an average of 3% per year
in 2021 and 2022.

At the same time, the rating acknowledges that while Carrasco
captures almost all international air travel within Uruguay, the
airport is exposed to substantial competition from other modes of
transport. In terms of Carrasco's service offering, Moody's
considers that the very high share of Origin and Destination (O&D)
traffic, above 95%, grants resiliency to the airport's traffic
profile. Nevertheless, Moody's assessment also incorporates Moody's
expectation that Carrasco's future traffic performance will exhibit
significant volatility due to its exposure to traffic from
Argentina (Government of Argentina, Ca Stable) and Brazil
(Government of Brazil, Ba2 Stable), countries with a more volatile
and subdued economic growth. The assigned rating also balances that
the airport's primary carrier, LATAM Airlines Group S.A (LATAM),
accounts for approximately 30% of total traffic and that the
remaining passenger traffic is well diversified across other
airlines.

The (P)Ba1 rating incorporates that all airport key assets are
managed by PDS under a long-term concession. PDS is currently in
the process to amend its concession contract, which will entail an
extension of the concession term to 2053 and the incorporation of
six regional airports in Uruguay - in addition to Carrasco - to the
scope of the concession. The rating also reflects Uruguay's
favorable framework for aeronautical tariff setting, which entails
annual adjustments by a clear formula at the request of the
operator and subject to government approval, and a reasonable track
record of supportive regulatory decisions.

The assigned rating incorporates that Carrasco can easily
accommodate traffic growth and that it will not require meaningful
capital expenditures before the Notes mature in 2034. Under the
expected amendment to the concession, PDS will have to disburse
approximately $67 million in capital expenditures on the six
regional airports that will be incorporated into the concession.
While the planned capital program is quite significant in
comparison to Carrasco's historical levels, Moody's does not expect
that the new investments will contribute to a material increment of
cash flows, so eventual delays on the execution would not result in
a material reduction in expected revenues. In addition, the
investments' amount will be fixed under the concession amendment,
so there is no risk of cost overruns. Moreover, Moody's views that
Corporacion America Airports S.A., the sponsor under the
transaction, has a long track record of operating airports and
sufficient expertise to carry out the works arising from the
concession amendment.

Moody's (P)Ba1 rating acknowledges that the transaction will result
in prospective credit metrics adequate for the rating category. On
a consolidated basis, Moody's expects a Cash Interest Coverage of
2.3x, a Debt Service Coverage Ratio of 1.9x and Funds From
Operations to debt and Retained Cash Flow to Debt of 8.4% as an
average over the 2022-2024 period.

The rating acknowledges the structural protections and collateral
package contemplated in the transaction which provides a one-notch
uplift to the fundamental underlying credit quality. These
considerations include the guarantee from Cerealsur and from PDS
after November 2021; collateral package; the existence of a cash
flow waterfall; a 6-month USD-denominated debt service reserve
account funded with a LC from closing and with cash; limitations on
distributions, additional debt and business activities; amortizing
debt structure with a cash sweep mandatory redemption; retention
event and distribution event clauses; as well as additional terms.

Moody's has reviewed the preliminary draft legal documentation
provided to date related to the debt issuance. The assigned rating
assumes that there will be no material variation from the drafts
reviewed and that all agreements will be legally valid, binding and
enforceable.

Rating Outlook

The stable outlook reflects Moody's expectation of a gradual
recovery of cash flows as traffic numbers recover to approximately
75% of pre pandemic levels by mid-2023, balanced against the
liquidity embedded in the financial structure.

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

Given the still ongoing recovery of traffic levels, there is
limited potential for the rating to be upgraded over the next 12 to
18 months. Nevertheless, better-than-expected traffic growth after
the pandemic abates that results in a sustained improvement in
credit metrics could exert upward pressure. Specifically, a Cash
Interest Coverage above 3.5x and Funds From Operations to debt
above 14%, as measured by Moody's, could lead to positive rating
pressure.

A significant reduction of anticipated cash flows due to
lower-than-expected traffic levels, which causes credit metrics to
deteriorate, could exert downward pressure on the rating.
Quantitatively, a Cash Interest Coverage below 1.8x and Funds From
Operations to debt below 8%, as measured by Moody's, could lead to
a rating downgrade. At the same time, lower-than-expected
commercial revenues from the renewal of the duty free shop
concession in 2023 could trigger a downgrade. Moreover, an
anticipated reduction in available liquidity or a disruption in the
flow of dividends from the operating companies, or both, could lead
to a downgrade.

Profile

ACI Airport Sudamerica, S.A. ("ACI") is a holding company
unconditionally and irrevocably guaranteed by its subsidiary
Cerealsur S.A. ("Cerealsur"). Cerealsur owns 100% of Puerta del Sur
S.A. ("PDS"), whose purpose is the administration, exploitation and
operation, construction and maintenance of the Carrasco
International Airport in Uruguay ("Carrasco"). Carrasco is the
busiest private airport in Uruguay in terms of passenger traffic,
with about 2 million passengers in 2019, and the main international
airport in the country. ACI is ultimately owned and controlled by
Corporacion America Airports S.A. In 2019, ACI's consolidated
revenue was $95 million.

PDS is currently in the process to amend its concession contract,
which will entail an extension of the concession term to 2053 and
the incorporation of six regional airports in Uruguay in addition
to Carrasco to the scope of the concession. The amendment also
involves a commitment of $67 million in capital expenditures
(capex) to perform works on these six airports to be incorporated
to the concession.

The principal methodology used in this rating was Privately Managed
Airports and Related Issuers published in September 2017.


ELVIS UK MIDCO: Moody's Assigns First Time B1 Corp. Family Rating
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Moody's Investors Service has assigned a first-time B1 corporate
family rating and a B1-PD probability of default rating to Elvis UK
MidCo Limited ("RB Iberia" or "the company"), the parent company of
Restaurant Brands Iberia S.A., the master franchisee of the Burger
King brand in Spain and Portugal. Concurrently, Moody's has
assigned B1 ratings to the EUR538 million guaranteed senior secured
term loan B due 2028 and the EUR150 million guaranteed senior
secured revolving credit facility (RCF) due 2027, both to be
borrowed by the company's subsidiary Elvis UK HoldCo Limited. The
outlook on all ratings is stable.

Elvis UK MidCo Limited is a new holding company established as part
of the acquisition of a majority stake in RB Iberia by funds
advised by Cinven from the company's founding family.

"The B1 rating assigned to Restaurant Brands Iberia reflects its
strong business profile as the master franchisee of one of the
world's leading quick service restaurant (QSR) brands in the large
and growing Iberian market, with a consistent track record of
strong like-for-like sales growth and network expansion," says Igor
Kartavov, a Moody's lead analyst for RB Iberia.

"Although the company's leverage following its buyout by Cinven
funds will initially be high for the B1 rating, we expect strong
deleveraging in the next 12-18 months, driven by the continuing
recovery from the coronavirus pandemic and further network growth,"
adds Mr. Kartavov.

RATINGS RATIONALE

The B1 CFR assigned to RB Iberia reflects (1) the long
international track record and global awareness of the Burger King
brand, for which the company acts as the exclusive master
franchisee in the large market comprising Spain and Portugal; (2)
its high-quality real estate portfolio, consistent track record of
positive like-for-like sales growth outpacing the overall QSR
market, and ability to expand the restaurant network; (3) the
resilience of the company's financial performance to the
coronavirus pandemic and evidence of a quick recovery in sales; (4)
Moody's expectation that the company will generate sustainable
positive free cash flow starting from 2022 despite high investments
in new openings; and (5) the system of checks and balances set
forth in the company's master franchise agreement and shareholders'
agreement, including minority shareholder's veto right on debt
incurrence and significant debt-financed acquisitions.

The rating is, however, constrained by (1) the company's lack of
geographic and concept diversification, with the Burger King
network in Spain accounting for over 90% of the company's own
stores; (2) the company's fairly high opening leverage, with
Moody's-adjusted gross/debt EBITDA expected to be around 5.5x in
2021, pro forma for the new capital structure and before the impact
of IFRS16; (3) the uncertainty regarding the rollout of the Popeyes
network, which so far has very limited scale and brand recognition
in Spain, and will require significant investments in restaurant
openings and marketing; (4) increasingly mature Spanish QSR market,
which may limit future network expansion and like-for-like growth
rates; and (5) the event risk of acquiring major franchisees,
although mitigated by the shareholders' leverage policy.

Moody's estimates that RB Iberia's Moody's-adjusted gross/debt
EBITDA as of year-end 2021 will be around 5.5x, pro forma for the
new capital structure and before the impact of IFRS16, which would
be above the rating agency's expectation for a B1 CFR. The B1
rating assigned to RB Iberia factors in Moody's expectation that
the company will be able to reduce its leverage below 5.0x in the
next 12-18 months. Moody's believes that the company's earnings
growth and deleveraging will be primarily driven by the ongoing
recovery of its sales from the negative impact of the coronavirus
pandemic on the dine-in channel, the continuing expansion of the
Burger King network, supported by a pipeline of identified
whitespaces and signed contracts, and the rollout of the Popeyes
brand, which, however, is unlikely to contribute meaningfully to
consolidated earnings until at least 2023.

ENVIRONMENTAL, SOCIAL AND GOVERNANCE CONSIDERATIONS

RB Iberia's rating takes into account corporate governance
considerations. Following the closing of the transaction, the
company will be majority owned by funds advised by private equity
firm Cinven, which, as is often the case in highly levered, private
equity sponsored deals, has a high tolerance for leverage and risk,
while governance is comparatively less transparent. This is partly
mitigated by the fact that the company's founding family and brand
owner, Restaurant Brands International, will continue to own
significant, although non-controlling, stakes in the company
alongside the private equity sponsor.

Moody's positively notes that the company's master franchise
agreement and shareholders' agreement establish certain guidelines
on the company's financial policy. In particular, Restaurant Brands
International will have a veto right on significant acquisitions
that would result in the company's net leverage exceeding 4.5x on a
pre-IFRS16 basis and on debt incurrence resulting in net leverage
exceeding 4.0x. Moody's understands that Restaurant Brands
International, being both the brand owner and minority shareholder
of RB Iberia, intends to ensure that the company's net leverage
remains below 4.0x.

RB Iberia has a track record of growing via acquiring its
franchisees, including two large-scale acquisitions in 2018 and
2020, which were debt-financed. Although there is a number of
potential targets remaining for similar acquisitions, the
limitations on leverage contained in the shareholders' agreement
imply that any potential acquisition would have to be co-funded
with equity in such a way that the company's net leverage remains
below 4.5x.

Moody's regards the continuing coronavirus pandemic as a social
risk under its ESG framework, given the substantial implications
for public health and safety. However, the pandemic has had a
relatively moderate and temporary impact on RB Iberia, owing to the
company's well-developed home delivery and drive-through channels,
which have effectively replaced the dine-in channel while social
distancing measures were in place.

LIQUIDITY

Moody's expects that RB Iberia will have good liquidity following
the closing of the transaction. Although the expected post-closing
cash balance of EUR30 million is fairly small given the scale of
the company, RB Iberia's operations do not require significant
working cash. In addition, the company will have access to a EUR150
million RCF, expected to be undrawn at closing, with ample headroom
under the springing covenant of senior secured net leverage not
exceeding 9.7x, tested when the facility is more than 40% drawn.

In addition, despite high investments in new restaurant openings,
Moody's expects RB Iberia to generate positive Moody's-adjusted
free cash flow of over EUR20 million in 2022, and at least EUR35
million in 2023. Moody's also notes that RB Iberia operates with a
structurally negative net working capital, because it collects
payments from customers immediately while payments to suppliers are
generally extended for up to 30 days. Assuming no RCF utilisation,
the company will have no material debt maturities until 2028, when
its term loan is due.

STRUCTURAL CONSIDERATIONS

The B1 ratings assigned to the EUR538 million guaranteed senior
secured term loan B and the EUR150 million guaranteed senior
secured RCF, both to be borrowed by Elvis UK HoldCo Limited, are in
line with the CFR, reflecting the fact that these two instruments
will rank pari passu and will represent substantially all of the
company's financial debt at closing of the transaction. The term
loan and the RCF will benefit from pledges over the shares of the
borrower and guarantors as well as bank accounts and intragroup
receivables and will be guaranteed by the group's operating
subsidiaries representing at least 80% of the consolidated EBITDA.
Moody's considers the security package to be weak, in line with the
rating agency's approach for shares-only pledges.

The B1-PD PDR assigned to Elvis UK MidCo Limited reflects Moody's
assumption of a 50% family recovery rate, given the weak security
package and the limited set of financial covenants comprising only
a springing covenant on the RCF, tested only when its utilisation
is above 40%.

RATIONALE FOR STABLE OUTLOOK

While RB Iberia is initially weakly positioned in the B1 rating
category because of the high leverage, the stable outlook reflects
Moody's view that the company will be able to recover from the
impact of the coronavirus pandemic in 2022 and to continue
expanding its network, so that its Moody's-adjusted gross
debt/EBITDA declines below 5.0x (pre-IFRS16) in the next 12-18
months, and to generate positive free cash flow on a sustainable
basis. The stable outlook also factors in Moody's expectation that
the company will maintain a prudent approach to acquisitions and
will adhere to the leverage targets stated in its shareholders'
agreement.

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

Given RB Iberia's concentrated business and geographic focus, there
is limited upward pressure on the rating. However, over time,
ratings could be upgraded if the company (1) further increases its
scale and enhances its business profile, including via the rollout
of the Popeyes network; (2) reduces its Moody's-adjusted gross
debt/EBITDA below 3.5x (pre-IFRS16) on a sustainable basis; (3)
continues to generate solid positive free cash flow, with FCF/debt
ratio sustainably exceeding 10% on a pre-IFRS16 basis; and (4)
maintains at least adequate liquidity.

The ratings could be downgraded if (1) the company fails to reduce
its Moody's-adjusted gross/debt EBITDA below 5.0x (pre-IFRS16), as
a result of negative like-for-like sales evolution, erosion of
profit margins or significant debt-financed acquisitions; (2) the
company's free cash flow turns negative on a sustained basis; or
(3) its liquidity deteriorates.

LIST OF AFFECTED RATINGS

Assignments:

Issuer: Elvis UK MidCo Limited

Probability of Default Rating, Assigned B1-PD

LT Corporate Family Rating, Assigned B1

Issuer: Elvis UK HoldCo Limited

BACKED Senior Secured Bank Credit Facility, Assigned B1

Outlook Actions:

Issuer: Elvis UK HoldCo Limited

Outlook, Assigned Stable

Issuer: Elvis UK MidCo Limited

Outlook, Assigned Stable

PRINCIPAL METHODOLOGY

The principal methodology used in these ratings was Restaurants
published in August 2021.

COMPANY PROFILE

Headquartered in Madrid, Restaurant Brands Iberia is one of the
leading quick service restaurant companies in Spain. The company is
the master franchisee of the Burger King brand in Spain, Portugal,
Gibraltar and Andorra, as well as of the Popeyes and Tim Hortons
brands in Spain. As of July 2021, RB Iberia operated a network of
528 restaurants, including 489 Burger King restaurants in Spain and
17 in Portugal, 18 Popeyes restaurants and 4 coffee shops under the
Tim Hortons brand, complemented by 504 franchised restaurants,
mostly under the Burger King brand. In 2020, the company generated
revenue of EUR511 million and Moody's-adjusted EBITDA of EUR108
million. Following the completion of the transaction, the company
will be 71% owned by funds managed by Cinven, 18.4% by the founding
family and 10.6% by Restaurant Brands International via Burger King
Europe GmbH.



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

PEACH PROPERTY: S&P Raises LongTerm ICR to 'BB-', Outlook Stable
----------------------------------------------------------------
S&P Global Ratings raised its long-term issuer credit ratings on
Switzerland-Based Peach Property Group (PPG) to 'BB-' from 'B+',
and its issue ratings on PPG's senior unsecured bonds to 'BB' from
'BB-'.

The stable outlook indicates S&P's expectation of continued
favorable demand for residential real estate in Germany,
translating into stable cash flow generation, resilient occupancy
rates, and ongoing positive like-for-like rental income growth.

PPG's property portfolio has more than doubled in the last 12
months, enhancing its cash flow base and improving EBITDA margins.
After its acquisitions of 4,800 residential units in September
2020, PPG acquired a further 4,300 apartments in May 2021, bringing
its total portfolio to about 27,500 apartments or Swiss franc (CHF)
2.6 billion portfolio value as of June 30, 2021, versus 12,906
apartments or CHF1.2 billion as of June 30, 2020. Although, the
most recent transaction is not yet fully reflected in the company's
turnover, revenue increased 65% to CHF78 million for the 12 months
ended June 30, 2021. Also, in the first half of the year, PPG
reported solid like-for-like rental income growth of 4.4% and a
decline in the overall vacancy rate to 7.5% from 7.9% at year-end
2020 and 9.3% at year-end 2019. The recent transactions were in
line with the company's strategy to focus on secondary locations in
the resilient regulated German residential market, with similar
quality and market fundamentals of PPG's other assets. Including
newly acquired assets, the company's properties are located in
North Rhine-Westfalia (66% of the portfolio value as of June 30,
2021), Rhineland-Palatinate (12%), Lower Saxony (12%),
Baden-Wurttemberg (4%), and Hesse (2%), among others (4%). We
understand the largest portfolio-value exposure is to
Kaiserslautern (about 10%), followed by Dortmund (about 9%). With
more than 18 million inhabitants, North Rhine-Westfalia is the most
densely populated federal state in Germany, with several
metropolitan areas and a well-connected infrastructure system. PPG
benefits from a long average tenant stay (around 10 years) and
solid market fundamentals, where new supply is limited. S&P expects
the company to continue generating positive rental income growth
over the next years, with the EBITDA margin improving to above 50%
by year-end 2021 after 48.7% for the 12 months ended June 30,
2021.

S&P said, "Early conversion of the mandatory convertible bonds
allowed faster deleveraging than we anticipated. PPG's CHF180
million of mandatory convertible bonds (MCNs), issued in June 2021,
were due for conversion in December this year. We view the MCNs as
debt in our calculation but believe that the early conversion of
CHF140 million of the outstanding amount has benefited the
company's credit quality quicker than previously anticipated.
Although PPG does not publish quarterly financial statements, we
estimate that the S&P Global Ratings-adjusted ratio of debt to debt
plus equity reduced below our threshold of 65% for rating upside as
of Sept. 30, 2021, namely 62%-63% versus 68.3% as of June 30, 2021.
In addition, we now assume the company's EBITDA interest coverage
will slightly exceed 1.3x by year-end 2021, thanks to a strong
rental contribution from recent acquisitions with improved margins,
as well as lower interest costs following early conversion of the
MCNs. This would be a significant improvement from 0.8x in 2020,
which included an additional interest burden from the EUR300
million at 4.375% bond that PPG issued two months before the
closure of previous acquisitions at year-end 2020 and some one-off
operating expenses.

"We view as positive the company's revised financial policy target
of a maximum loan-to-value ratio of 50% over the medium term.PPG
has publicly announced that it aims to achieve a maximum loan to
value (LTV) of 50% over the medium term, translating into our
adjusted ratio of debt to debt plus equity of 57%-60%, assuming no
further issuance of MCNs, which we treat as debt. As of June 30,
2021, the company reported an LTV ratio of 54.5%, down from 57.5%
at year-end 2020. PPG has recently revised its financial policy to
50% from 55%, indicating further efforts on deleveraging. We expect
the company to maintain financial discipline and lower leverage
sustainably, including any potential new transactions.

"We apply a one-notch downward adjustment through our comparable
rating analysis.Compared with other rated residential property
peers with similar business risk (such as Grainger PLC), PPG's
asset portfolio remains small in scale and scope. We also believe
macroeconomic fundamentals in PPG's secondary locations are less
dynamic than in Germany's seven largest cities (Berlin, Hamburg,
Munich, Cologne, Frankfurt, Düsseldorf, and Stuttgart) with lower
average rent per square meter and somewhat higher vacancy rates. We
estimate that 15%-20% of the portfolio is in areas with
below-average economic conditions and higher unemployment rates
than the national average. Those areas are also characterized by
stagnating, or even slightly declining population growth, and a
higher proportion of tenants with low-to-mid-range monthly incomes
and high sensitivity to rent increases. We also consider the
company's relatively weak EBITDA interest coverage of only 1.4x
estimated by year-end 2021, and high debt to EBITDA of above 20x,
despite its higher-yielding portfolio of 5%. That said, we take
into account that the ratio is currently distorted by recent
transformative transactions.

"The stable outlook indicates our expectation of continued
favorable demand for residential real estate in Germany,
translating into stable cash flow generation, resilient occupancy
rates, and ongoing positive like-for-like rental income growth. We
forecast that our adjusted debt to debt plus equity ratio for PPG
will remain close to 60% over the next 12 months, with EBITDA
interest coverage improving to 1.3x to 1.5x."

Downside scenario

S&P might downgrade PPG if

-- It cannot maintain its lower leverage ratio, with debt to debt
plus equity increasing to 65% or higher, and EBITDA interest
coverage fails to improve to 1.3x or higher in the next few
months;

-- Debt to EBITDA is substantially higher than in S&P's base
case;

-- The company makes acquisitions with much less favorable
fundamentals than its current portfolio, such as locations with
lower demand and higher vacancy rates; or

-- Liquidity deteriorates, for example as a result of late
refinancing of upcoming debt maturities or materially increased
shareholder distributions.

Upside scenario

S&P could raise the rating if

-- PPG's S&P Global Ratings-adjusted debt to debt plus equity
reduces to well below 60%, while EBITDA interest coverage improves
closer to 2.4x, on a sustainable basis; or

-- The company further increased its portfolio size and geographic
footprint in markets that benefit from favorable demand-supply
trends and strong macroeconomic factors.




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

VF UKRAINE: Fitch Affirms 'B' Foreign Currency IDR, Outlook Pos.
----------------------------------------------------------------
Fitch Ratings has affirmed Private Joint Stock Company VF Ukraine's
Long-Term Foreign-Currency Issuer Default Rating (IDR) at 'B'. The
Outlook on the IDR is Positive.

The ratings of VF Ukraine are constrained by Ukraine's Country
Ceiling of 'B'. Its credit profile benefits from its solid market
position, ownership of the company's backbone infrastructure, high
profitability and a moderately competitive environment. This is
counterbalanced by high foreign-exchange (FX) risks and the lack of
product and geographical diversification.

The Positive Outlook corresponds to that of the sovereign rating,
assuming that the Country Ceiling will move in line with a
potential upgrade of Ukraine's rating.

KEY RATING DRIVERS

Leading Position, Healthy Competition: VF Ukraine is the second
largest in Ukraine's three mobile operator market, accounting for
around a 35% subscriber share. Fitch views the competitive
environment in Ukraine's mobile market as rational. The positions
of the market participants are well-defined, with the two largest
operators accounting for a combined 80% share of the total mobile
market. Prices do not differ significantly and the operators focus
on average revenue per user (ARPU) growth rather than market share
redistribution.

Extensive Investments Near Completion: VF Ukraine has invested
heavily in its networks with capex (excluding spectrum) averaging
30% of revenue in 2017-2021. Ukraine was behind other countries in
4G implementation as operators started rolling out 4G networks only
in 2018. Fitch expects VF Ukraine's cash capex to ease to around
20% of revenue after 2021, as major investments are near
completion. The company's 4G coverage reached 81% in 2020 versus
69% in 2019. It is planning to achieve 90% 4G population coverage
by 2022.

4G-Driven Revenue Growth: VF Ukraine continued to see double-digit
revenue growth in 2020 (13.5%) and 1H21 (13.2%), despite challenges
from the coronavirus pandemic. Growth was supported by migration of
subscribers to 4G and increasing data consumption. Fitch expects
4G-driven revenue growth to continue in the medium term, given 64%
of the company's subscribers were data users and only 38% were 4G
users at end-2020. Nevertheless, Fitch conservatively forecasts
growth to decelerate to mid-single digits post 2021 following
recent rapid increases.

Considerable FX Mismatch: VF Ukraine is exposed to significant FX
risks. Its revenue is mostly in Ukrainian hryvnia, while 70%-80% of
its capex, 20%-30% of its operating expenses and 100% of its debt
are denominated in US dollars. The company hedged only its 2021
bond coupon payment due to high hedging costs. It also uses natural
hedging, by keeping a large amount of its cash in US dollars and
euros (72% at end-2020). This FX mismatch results in tighter
leverage thresholds for any given rating than for its Russian and
European peers.

Sound Cash Flow Generation: VF Ukraine's strong operating cash flow
and pre-dividend free cash flow (FCF) generation is supported by
high profitability. Its EBITDA margin is one of the highest among
European and former Soviet Union telecom operators (47% in 2020 and
44% in 2019, excluding the impact of IFRS 16). Pre-dividend FCF
margin was around 20% in 2020, which Fitch estimates to ease to a
still strong 16%-17% in 2021-2022.

Diversification Opportunities: Fitch views positively the company's
plans to diversify into fixed line. This will create new growth
opportunities in the medium to long term. The fixed broadband
market in Ukraine is fragmented, with the top-five companies
accounting for less than 50% of the market. Among mobile operators
only Kyivstar (the subsidiary of VEON (BBB-/Stable) and the largest
mobile operator in Ukraine) was until recently present in the
fixed-line market.

As part of its strategy, VF Ukraine acquired a small provider of
internet and fixed telephone communication services, Vega, in
September 2021. Fitch does not incorporate new acquisitions in
Fitch's forecasts and will treat them as event risk.

Low Leverage: VF Ukraine's funds from operations (FFO) net leverage
was 1.2x in 2020, which is in line with the company's definition of
net debt (including leases) / EBITDA of 1.5x. Fitch expects FFO net
leverage to remain below 1.5x in 2021-2024, subject to dividend
payments and new acquisitions.

Dominant Shareholder: VF Ukraine is ultimately controlled by an
Azerbaijani national Nasib Hasanov, who also owns Neqsol Holding,
an Azerbaijani company with assets in the energy, telecoms and
construction sectors. VF Ukraine's dominant shareholder is in a
position to exercise significant influence, but Fitch has not seen
any evidence of it so far.

Weak Corporate Governance: Fitch sees some corporate-governance
weaknesses related to the effectiveness of the board and
transparency of the wider group. VF Ukraine's supervisory board
comprises representatives of the Neqsol group and currently does
not have independent directors. Neqsol Holding does not publish its
financial statements. However, weaknesses in corporate governance
are not a constraint on the ratings at their current level.

Country Ceiling Restricts Rating: The IDR of VF Ukraine is capped
by Ukraine's Country Ceiling of 'B'. Unlike some of Ukrainian-based
publicly rated entities (e.g. Ferrexpo plc. (BB-/Stable), Metinvest
B.V. (BB-/Stable)) whose IDRs are above the Country Ceiling, VF
Ukraine earns all its revenue in Ukraine and in local currency.

DERIVATION SUMMARY

VF Ukraine's peers group includes emerging markets telecom
operators JSC Kcell (BB+/Stable), JSC Silknet (B/Stable), PJSC
Mobile TeleSystems (BB+/Positive), Turkcell Iletisim Hizmetleri
A.S.'s (BB-/Stable) and Turk Telekomunikasyon A.S. (BB-/Stable).

VF Ukraine's operating profile compares well with that of Kcell and
Silknet by size, market position, competitive environment and
profitability. However, Kcell does not have significant FX risks
and corporate-governance weaknesses, while Silknet is better
diversified with a presence in the fixed-line/broadband segment.

The Russian and Turkish peers are significantly larger in scale and
benefit from product diversification. Similar to Turkcell and Turk
Telecomunikasyon, VF Ukraine's IDR is restricted by the relevant
Country Ceiling. FX risk also results in tighter leverage
thresholds for any given rating level for all three than for other
rated companies in the sector.

KEY ASSUMPTIONS

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

-- Revenue to grow about 10% in 2021 and in mid-single digits in
    2022-2024. No revenue is forecast from the conflict-stricken
    eastern part of the country from 2022;

-- Fitch-defined EBITDA margin at around 46% in 2021, declining
    to around 44% in 2022-2024, partially reflecting no income
    expected from the conflict-stricken eastern part of the
    country;

-- Capex at 21% of revenue in 2021, followed by 20% per year in
    2012-2024;

-- Dividends payments of UAH2.5 billion in 2021, gradually
    increasing to UAH4 billion in 2024, subject to compliance with
    covenants contained in VF Ukraine's notes documentation;

-- Acquisition of Vega for about UAH0.4 billion in 2021. No other
    material cash outflow on M&As in 2021-2024.

Key Recovery Rating Assumptions

-- The recovery analysis assumes that VF Ukraine would be
    considered a going concern (GC) in bankruptcy and that it
    would be reorganised rather than liquidated;

-- A 10% administrative claim;

-- GC EBITDA estimated at UAH5.5 billion, reflecting Fitch's view
    of a sustainable, post-reorganisation EBITDA level upon which
    Fitch bases the valuation of the company; and

-- An enterprise value (EV) multiple of 3.0x is used to calculate
    the post-reorganisation valuation;

-- Recovery prospects for the company's debt should be good,
    given the fairly low leverage, but the senior unsecured
    instrument rating is limited to 'RR4'/50% due to country
    considerations.

RATING SENSITIVITIES

VF Ukraine

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

-- Upgrade of the Ukrainian sovereign rating, together with FFO
    net leverage below 3.0x on a sustained basis, without
    significant deterioration in the competitive and regulatory
    environment.

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

-- Downgrade of the Ukrainian sovereign rating;

-- FFO net leverage trending above 4.0x on a sustained basis in
    the presence of significant FX risks;

-- Competitive weaknesses and market-share erosion, leading to
    significant deterioration in pre-dividend FCF generation.

Ukraine

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

-- Macro and External Finances: Increased external financing
    pressures, sharp decline in international reserves or
    increased macroeconomic instability, for example stemming from
    IMF programme disengagement due to deterioration in the
    consistency of the policy mix and/or reform reversals.

-- Public Finances: Persistent increase in general government
    debt/GDP, for example, due to fiscal loosening, weak GDP
    growth, or currency depreciation.

-- Structural: Political/geopolitical shocks that weaken
    macroeconomic stability, growth prospects and Ukraine's fiscal
    and external position.

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

-- External Finances: Reduction in external financial
    vulnerabilities, for example due to a sustained increase in
    international reserves, strengthened external balance sheet,
    greater financing flexibility, or greater confidence in the
    ability to maintain IMF programme engagement and market
    access.

-- Public Finances: Sustained fiscal consolidation that places
    general government debt/GDP on a firm downward path over the
    medium term.

-- Macro and Structural: Increased confidence that progress in
    reforms will lead to improvement in governance standards and
    higher growth prospects while preserving improvements in
    macroeconomic stability.

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: VF Ukraine had a comfortable liquidity
position with a cash balance of around UAH3.5 billion at end-2020.
This compares favourably with its maturity schedule with no debt
maturing until 2025.

ESG CONSIDERATIONS

VF Ukraine has an ESG Relevance score of '4' for Governance
Structure, reflecting the dominant majority shareholder's influence
over the company, in the absence of independent members on the
board and lack of transparency from its wider group. Although this
does not restrict the rating at the current level, it has a
negative impact on the credit profile, and is relevant to the
rating in conjunction with other factors.

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




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

ATLANTICA SUSTAINABLE: Egan-Jones Keeps B- Sr. Unsecured Ratings
----------------------------------------------------------------
Egan-Jones Ratings Company, on September 27, 2021, maintained its
'B-' foreign currency and local currency senior unsecured ratings
on debt issued by Atlantic Sustainable Infrastructure PLC. EJR also
maintained its 'B' rating on commercial paper issued by the
Company.

Headquartered in United Kingdom, Atlantica Sustainable
Infrastructure PLC provides renewable energy solutions.


ELVIS UK: S&P Assigns Preliminary 'B' LT ICR, Outlook Positive
--------------------------------------------------------------
S&P Global Ratings assigned its preliminary 'B' long-term issuer
credit rating to Elvis UK Holdco and its preliminary 'B'
issue-level rating and preliminary '3' recovery rating to the
group's proposed EUR688 million of first-lien debt.

Elvis UK Holdco Ltd., parent of Restaurant Brands Iberia (RBI),
plans to issue EUR538 million of senior secured notes and a EUR150
million senior revolving credit facility (RCF).

Coupled with about a EUR690 million equity injection mainly
comprising preference shares, the proceeds will allow new majority
shareholder, financial sponsor Cinven, to acquire a 71% stake in
RBI from its previous owners.

The preliminary rating on RBI is supported by our anticipation that
the group will contain leverage after the transaction. In September
2021, private equity fund Cinven reached an agreement to acquire
RBI from its previous owners. S&P said, "We expect the transaction
to close during the fourth quarter of 2021. Pro forma the
transaction, Cinven will own 71% of RBI, Burger King Europe (a
fully owned subsidiary of Burger King International) will own 10%,
and the previous owners will retain 19%. To support the
transaction, RBI will issue EUR538 million senior secured notes to
finance its acquisition. The group also plans to issue a EUR150
million RCF, which will be undrawn at the transaction's close. We
note that the documentation underlying the financial instruments is
restrictive toward elevated leverage, given the low permitted debt
basket in the offering memorandum with total net leverage to remain
under 5.8x and senior secured net leverage under 4.8x. After the
transaction, we believe RBI will exhibit S&P Global
Ratings-adjusted leverage slightly below 5.0x, from 5.9x in 2020,
which we consider high, but largely driven by additional credit
lines granted by banks during the pandemic. We estimate total
adjusted debt of about EUR750 million, including EUR210 million of
lease liabilities, a higher number than what the group reported
under International Financial Reporting Standard (IFRS) 16. The
increase results from our extension of the lease schedule for
comparability with other retailers. The initial lease-adjusted
ratios, based on IFRS disclosures, significantly understated the
group's leverage compared with the average rental period of retail
stores and restaurants across continental Europe and
operating-lease commitments of rated peers. We see the group's
unadjusted gross financial leverage reaching 5.1x."

RBI has consistently exhibited best-in-class operations for its
legacy brand Burger King, being able to grow at a high pace and
experiencing limited impact from the COVID-19 pandemic. Over the
past four years the group has more than doubled its network, to 497
restaurants at the end of 2020 from 223 in 2016. Consequently, top
line has expanded considerably to EUR477 million over the same
period from EUR225 million in 2016, which includes the impact of
COVID-19. The network's growth has been driven both by greenfield
openings (120) but also acquisition of franchisees (150). While
expanding the network, management has been able to keep
profitability high, reducing the ramping-up period of newly opened
restaurants and having them profitable within six months. S&P deems
this capacity as best in class in the quick service restaurant
(QSR) retailer world. In order to ensure high food quality, low
delivery costs and control over the entire network, RBI developed
its own delivery channel with its own bikers and couriers. About
80% of the group's restaurants offer delivery services which,
together with the store network footprint largely composed of
suburban restaurants with drive-thru services, has enabled RBI to
limit the drop in earnings during the pandemic, unlike other QSR
operators across Europe. Like-for-like top line only decreased by
12% and profitability remained at similar levels. Moreover,
although the group's online sales were already quite meaningful,
representing about 15% of sales in 2020, the impact on margin is
expected to be only slightly dilutive, thanks to a differentiated
pricing strategy on that segment, enabling it to preserve margins.

Development of the Popeyes brand could partially strengthen RBI's
business positioning, but presents some degree of execution risk
and, along with the Burger King network expansion, will weigh on
cash flow generation. RBI is small with only about EUR610
million-EUR630 million of sales forecast for 2021 (versus the
Spanish restaurant market estimated at EUR83 billion). The group
mostly operates in Spain with minimal footprint in Portugal. RBI
started diversifying its operations with the launch of the Popeyes
brand in late 2019. The brand offers similar product types to
Burger King but its sole focus is on fried chicken. S&P said, "We
believe the Popeyes brand will increasingly alleviate the
single-brand focus RBI was facing with Burger King. While
continuing to develop Burger King restaurants at a high pace with
expected network expansion of 110 stores by 2025, with about 100
openings by the same year, Popeyes will be an equivalent growth
driver and the main challenge of the company over the next five
years. In our view, it will help limit the exposure to the Burger
King brand. However, we believe not all of Popeyes' sales will be
incremental and could eat into the Burger King market share; Burger
King is Spain's largest QSR operator in terms of restaurant count
and Popeyes is targeting a comparable customer group. Additionally,
we have limited visibility over the successful roll-out of the
Popeyes brand, given the group opened only 10 Popeyes locations in
2020 and perhaps will suffer the same lack of market attention as
was the case with the launch of Tim Hortons in 2016. We have seen
management's capacity to conduct profitable investments with Burger
King restaurants, but we remain cautious with our expectations
toward Popeyes and see some degree of execution risk." Furthermore,
the group's high expansionary capital spending (capex), notably for
the roll-out of the relatively untested Popeyes concept, weighs
materially on the group's free operating cash flow (FOCF)
generation after leases, which has historically been negative and
is expected to be so again in 2021, only picking up to about EUR10
million-EUR15 million in 2022 as the increased earnings from
restaurant roll-out outpace the funds needed for the expansion.

The preliminary rating is further reinforced by strong market
fundamentals, despite the group operating in a highly competitive
market. According to Euromonitor, Spain's chain restaurant segment
remains relatively underpenetrated vis a vis other European
countries, at 9.6% in Spain compared with 33% in France and 45% in
the U.K. Additionally, Spain's overall food service market is one
of the biggest in Europe, representing a market of EUR83 billion
compared with France at EUR53 billion and the U.K. at EUR77
billion. These figures boost S&P's belief that RBI has strong
growth potential with both the Burger King brand and the Popeyes
brand. That said, the market remains highly fragmented and
competitive, and S&P anticipates that value (and therefore
consistent pricing strategy) will remain a strong driver of
consumer demand over the foreseeable future.

The preliminary rating is underpinned by quick deleveraging
expectations, further emphasized by the strict shareholder
agreement and loan documentation, and reinforced by higher EBITDAR
coverage than industry peers'. S&P said, "Despite the high above 5x
unadjusted gross leverage at closing, we expect the group to
quickly deleverage on the back of a sizable increase in EBITDA
generation thanks to the amelioration of the COVID-19 pandemic
coupled with strong network expansion. We project S&P Global
Ratings-adjusted EBITDA will reach EUR190 million-EUR210 million by
2023, leading to adjusted leverage decreasing toward 4x. These
expectations are supported by the framework in which RBI operates.
The shareholder agreement signed with Restaurant Brands
International constrains RBI to keep leverage under 4.0x in the
normal course of operations, elevated at 4.5x in event of
acquisitions. We note, however, that at the close of this
transaction, RBI's leverage will stand higher than 4.5x indicating
some degree of flexibility in the enforcement of the ratio.
Additionally, the term loan B documentation is restrictive in terms
of additional leverage, with a total net leverage ratio below 5.8x
and senior secured leverage ratio under 4.8x, together with some
caps on dividend distribution (permitted only if senior secured net
leverage remains under 4.0x). All these features contribute to our
assessment of the group's limited leverage intake potential, which
we believe will remain under 4.5x leverage starting in 2022. To
corroborate this assessment, RBI is exhibiting a high EBITDAR
coverage ratio, expected to reach 2.5x by 2023, on the back of
short-term lease contracts that grant increased flexibility."

S&P said, "The final rating will depend on our receipt and
satisfactory review of all final documentation and 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.

The positive outlook reflects the possibility of an upgrade over
the next 12-18 months if the group continues to successfully grow
its like-for-like revenue while preserving S&P Global
Ratings-adjusted operating margins at 23%-25%, in spite of the
sizable network expansion plan. This would lead to S&P Global
Ratings-adjusted leverage trending below 4.5x in 2022. An upgrade
would also be contingent on RBI reaching a sufficient critical
scale of operations to self-fund its capex and still post
materially positive FOCF after lease payments.

S&P could upgrade RBI if:

-- RBI were to follow its ambitious expansion plan while keeping
high EBITDA margin levels in line with S&P's expectations, coupled
with a tight capex and lease management that yields sizable,
sustainable FOCF after lease payments and S&P Global
Ratings-adjusted debt to EBITDA sustainably below 4.5x, in line
with the clauses of the master franchise agreement; and

-- EBITDAR coverage continues to trend above 2.2x, allowing for
more leeway in case of any demand downturn.

S&P could revise the outlook to stable if the group saw:

-- Lower EBITDA generation than expected, causing higher leverage
with S&P Global Ratings-adjusted debt to EBITDA rising above 5x;
or

-- No expectations of sizable positive FOCF after lease payments.


EVCL CHILL: Redundant Workers to Launch Legal Action
----------------------------------------------------
Oliver Astley at DerbyshireLive reports that dozens of employees
who lost their jobs when a huge Derbyshire-based haulage firm
collapsed are taking legal action against the company.

Alfreton-based EVCL Chill, formerly known as NFT Distribution, had
around 1,000 employees and supplied Asda and Sainsbury's before it
ran out of cash and was placed into administration in September,
making hundreds of people redundant overnight, DerbyshireLive
relates.

More than 60 former employees who lost their jobs following the
collapse of EVCL Chill, a subsidiary of EV Cargo, are unhappy about
the way the redundancy process was handled and are looking to take
legal action, DerbyshireLive discloses.

If successful, they claim they could be eligible for a payout of up
to GBP4,352 each, DerbyshireLive states.

Some 650 of the firm's 1,000 warehouse staff and drivers were
transferred to key customers but the remaining workers were made
redundant, Derbyshire Live understands.

Matthew Simpson, who had been a Unite union representative within
the company, said that there had been rumours of the collapse for
at least a week before they were formally notified as workload
started to reduce, DerbyshireLive notes.

They claim they had received no response or information from the
managers, according to DerbyshireLive.

Based in Derbyshire, and with bases across UK including Daventry,
Rochdale, Crick and Penrith, EVCL Chill announced that it was being
placed into the hands of administrators on Sept. 24, putting
hundreds out of work, DerbyshireLive recounts.

Insolvency practitioners from accountancy firm PwC are managing its
affairs and attempting to sell assets to pay off those owed money
by the company, DerbyshireLive states.  It said that driver
shortages were partly to blame for the collapse of the firm,
DerbyshireLive notes.


FLYBE: Joint Administrators Try to Claim Cash From Buyer
--------------------------------------------------------
William Telford at BusinessLive reports that it could take until
mid-2024 to settle the fallout from the collapse of Exeter-based
airline Flybe as joint administrators try to claim cash from a new
firm which bought the business for GBP1.

According to BusinessLive, an update from EY Parthenon, joint
administrators for the stricken regional airline, reveals up to
GBP650 million is being claimed by more than 900 unsecured
creditors, but there is no cash to pay them.

The joint administrators are, however, still raking in money from
debtors and can pay some secured creditors, BusinessLive discloses.
And documents filed at Companies House reveal there may be a
chance of receiving payment for landing slots, although not ones at
Heathrow, acquired by a new Flybe company when it bought the assets
of the old business for just GBP1, BusinessLive notes.

Flybe Ltd fell into administration in early 2020 and in March 2021
was renamed FBE Realisations 2021 Ltd., BusinessLive recounts.
Meanwhile, a company called Thyme Opco Ltd acquired the business
and some assets from the administrators and renamed itself Flybe
Ltd, in April 2021, commonly referred to as Flybe 2 by some
observers, BusinessLive relates.

A nominal consideration of GBP1 was paid, with some surviving
employees transferring to the new company, BusinessLive discloses.
However, the joint administrators' report said there is “still a
prospect of certain contingent deferred consideration” being
available to FBE Realisations, and therefore its creditors, and
because of this a court was asked to extend the administration
period until March 5, 2024, BusinessLive notes.

Meanwhile, the joint administrators have, in their report, said
that money continues to be collected from debtors but there will
not be enough to pay unsecured creditors, BusinessLive states.

It estimates these claims will be between GBP550 million and GBP650
million, but with claims still coming in it is “possible that
this figure will be materially higher once all the claims have been
received”, according to BusinessLive.

But EY has said it intends to make a legal application not to
distribute the money which has been set aside for unsecured
creditors because it would not be cost effective, BusinessLive
notes.  In other words, so little cash is in the pot the creditors
would receive hardly anything so it is not even worth distributing
it, BusinessLive relays.

According to BusinessLive, EY said there is only a maximum of
GBP600,000 in this pot meaning unsecured creditors would get less
than GBP1,000 each.  Some are owed tens of millions, according to
BusinessLive.


INTERNATIONAL PERSONAL: Fitch Alters Outlook on BB- IDR to Stable
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Fitch Ratings has revised the Outlook on International Personal
Finance plc's (IPF) Long-Term Issuer Default Rating (IDR) to Stable
from Negative and affirmed the IDR and senior unsecured debt rating
at 'BB-' and Short-Term IDR at 'B'.

KEY RATING DRIVERS

IDRs

The revision of the Outlook reflects the stabilisation of the
operating environment as well IPF's improved performance in 1H21.
IPF was able to stabilise its loan book after shrinkage in 2020.
The decrease in interest income was offset by very low impairment
costs reflecting improvement in the asset quality. Fitch expects
profit and loss structure to normalise in 2H21-2022 as interest
income recovers, following a rebound in loan book generation and
the cost of risk increasing back to historical levels.

The ongoing stabilisation of the operating environment for EMEA
consumer lenders remains vulnerable to potential increases in
mobility restrictions and a decrease in employment as governments
continue curbing support measures.

Despite disruption during the pandemic, Fitch expects IPF to
maintain attributes supporting its creditworthiness, including low
balance sheet leverage by conventional finance company standards,
and a structurally profitable business model, despite high
impairment charges, supported by a cash-generative short-term loan
book. The ratings remain constrained by IPF's high-risk lending
focus, evolving digital business, and vulnerability to regulatory
risks.

Despite a notable decrease in net interest income in 1H21, IPF
reported net profits of GBP23 million, helped by a large saving on
impairment costs (down GBP170 million compared with 1H20). However,
the company booked a sizable FX loss that turned comprehensive
income negative, decreasing the absolute size of equity in 1H21 by
GBP8 million. Return metrics are now positive but remain depressed
from the reduced size of the loan portfolio. Fitch expects interest
revenue to continue recovery in 2H21 as loan origination recovers.

IPF's leverage is a relative credit strength, with gross
debt/tangible equity at 2.4x at end-1H21, which has decreased due
to lower loan balances. Fitch expects a gradual increase in
leverage towards the 2018-1H20 level of around 3x, driven by
expansion of the loan book that will initially outpace capital
generation. If IPF's leverage increases due to aggressive dividend
payments, this would affect Fitch's assessment of capital
adequacy.

IPF's unrestricted non-operational cash balance at end-1H21 was
GBP56 million, and an undrawn revolving credit facility comprised
another GBP118 million. IPF's cash-generative and short-term loan
portfolio (with average maturity of 13 months) underpins the
liquidity position.

IPF has limited near-term debt maturities, with GBP43 million in
2H21-1H22 (equivalent of 4% of total assets) and GBP28 million in
2H22-1H23. However, the high concentration of IPF's funding remains
a weakness for its credit profile. Management aims to diversify
borrowings by sources and by maturities, which if realised would
improve Fitch's assessment of funding. The large euro-denominated
bond (GBP293 million equivalent) matures in 2025 but is callable in
4Q22.

SENIOR DEBT

IPF's senior unsecured notes' rating is in line with the group's
Long-Term IDR, reflecting Fitch's expectation for average recovery
prospects given that all of IPF's funding is unsecured.

A growing negative impact on profitability has been litigation
charges relating to early settlement rebates in Poland and customer
claims in Spain, which combined induced a GBP12 million
provisioning cost in 1H21 and GBP14 million in 2020. Fitch has
revised Fitch's ESG score for Customer Welfare to '4' from '3'
reflecting the impact of these risks on Fitch's assessment of IPF's
creditworthiness.

Fitch also expects gradual lifting of pandemic-related regulatory
restrictions but note significant regulatory risk inherent for
IPF's business model. These issues are captured in Fitch's ESG
scores of '4' for Social Impact and Customer Welfare. IPF has a
geographically diversified loan book that allows it to partly
mitigate regulatory as well as macroeconomic risks in individual
markets.

Fitch views these factors as having a moderate effect on the
rating, with a direct impact on the litigation losses pricing
strategy, product mix, and targeted customer base. It is relevant
to the ratings in conjunction with other factors.

RATING SENSITIVITIES

IDRS AND SENIOR DEBT

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

An upgrade of IPF's ratings would require a combination of:

-- A material improvement in its funding profile via
    diversification by sources and removing maturity spikes; and

-- A reduction of pandemic pressure on the company's performance,
    with continuing recovery of its financial profile, namely
    gaining scale and strengthening profitability;

-- IPF's senior unsecured debt rating is principally sensitive to
    an upgrade of the Long-Term IDR.

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

-- An increase in regulatory risks (related to rate caps and
    early settlement rebate) having a materially negative impact
    on IPF's profitability and equity base as well as funding
    market access.

-- IPF's ratings also remain sensitive to a material
    deterioration of profitability or asset quality as its product
    mix evolves, for example as the digital proportion of the loan
    book grows or as loan maturities are extended.

-- A marked deterioration of the asset quality reflected in
    weaker collections, higher impairment cost or an increase in
    unreserved problem receivables.

-- A weakening of solvency with leverage measured as gross debt
    to tangible equity exceeding 5.5x or depletion of headroom
    against the gearing ratio (gross debt to total equity)
    covenanted at 3.75x.

-- IPF's senior unsecured debt rating is principally sensitive to
    a downgrade of the Long-Term IDR.

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.

ESG CONSIDERATIONS

IPF has an ESG Relevance Score of '4' for Exposure to Social
Impacts stemming from the business model focused on high-cost
consumer lending, and hence exposure to shifts of consumer or
social preferences, and to increasing regulatory scrutiny,
including tightening of interest rate caps., which has a negative
impact on the credit profile, and is relevant to the rating[s] in
conjunction with other factors.

IPF has an ESG Relevance Score of '4' for Customer Welfare - Fair
Messaging, Privacy & Data Security driven by the increasing risk of
the losses from litigations including early settlement rebates
customer claims., which has a negative impact on the credit
profile, and is relevant to the rating[s] in conjunction with other
factors.

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


LIBERTY GLOBAL: Egan-Jones Hikes Senior Unsecured Ratings to B+
---------------------------------------------------------------
Egan-Jones Ratings Company, on September 24, 2021, upgraded the
foreign currency and local currency senior unsecured ratings on
debt issued by Liberty Global plc to B+ from B.

Headquartered in London, United Kingdom, Liberty Global plc owns
interests in broadband, distribution, and content companies
operating outside the continental United States, principally in
Europe.


PROVIDENT FINANCIAL: Fitch Gives 'B+(EXP)' Rating to Tier 2 Notes
------------------------------------------------------------------
Fitch Ratings has assigned Provident Financial plc's (Provident,
BB/Negative) upcoming issue of sterling Tier 2 notes an expected
long-term rating of 'B+(EXP)'.

The final rating is contingent upon the receipt of final documents
conforming to information already received.

Provident intends to issue the notes under its GBP2 billion medium
term notes programme. As both Provident and its bank subsidiary
Vanquis Bank (unrated) are subject to prudential capital
requirements, Fitch has assigned expected ratings to the notes
under its bank rating criteria (Exposure Draft: Bank Rating
Criteria, August 2021), in line with the notching approach detailed
in Fitch's Non-Bank Financial Institutions Criteria.

KEY RATING DRIVERS

The Tier 2 notes' expected rating is two notches below Provident's
Long-Term Issuer Default Rating (IDR), reflecting poor recovery
prospects in the event of a failure of Provident, in line with
Fitch's base-case notching for Tier 2 debt. Fitch has not applied
additional notching as the bonds do not contain features that give
rise to incremental non-performance risk.

In line with standard Tier 2 notes issued by UK banks and non-banks
such as Provident subject to bank-like prudential requirements, the
relevant resolution authority (the Bank of England) can resolve
Provident (and mandatorily write down or convert the notes into
equity) should Provident meet the conditions for resolution. In
addition, through its statutory powers the UK resolution authority
can override the bonds' contractual terms if it considers it
necessary to restore the viability of the group's core subsidiary,
Vanquis Bank.

Provident is prudentially regulated and is issuing the bonds on its
own balance (rather than on Vanquis Bank).

RATING SENSITIVITIES

The rating of the Tier 2 notes is primarily sensitive to movements
in Provident's Long-Term IDR.

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

The issue rating could be downgraded if Provident's IDR is
downgraded, namely in a scenario of:

-- Further adverse developments from the pandemic or regulatory
    developments in the UK high-cost credit sector, including
    materially higher-than-anticipated costs relating to the
    ongoing scheme of arrangement, aimed at winding down
    Provident's home-collected credit business.

-- Prolonged measures capping interest rates, constraining new
    lending or debt servicing and therefore eroding earnings
    capacity.

-- Significant deterioration of solvency as manifested in reduced
    regulatory capital headroom with capital ratio approaching
    regulatory capital requirement.

-- A notable weakening of the liquidity profile.

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

The issue rating could be upgraded if Provident's IDR is upgraded:

-- The Outlook on Provident's Long-Term IDR could be revised to
    Stable if pandemic-related disruptions abate and regulatory
    risks moderate, supporting a more stable business model,
    particularly if in conjunction with improved earnings and
    stable leverage.

-- Upside for the ratings is limited in the short term due to
    moderate scale (compared with higher-rated peers) and Fitch's
    unfavourable view on near-term prospects for the UK non
    standard credit markets.

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.

ESG CONSIDERATIONS

Provident has an ESG Relevance Score of '4' for Exposure to Social
Impacts and Customer Welfare - Fair Messaging, Privacy & Data
Security. This is driven by its exposure to shifts of consumer or
social preferences or to regulatory measures. This has a negative
impact on the credit profile and is relevant to the rating in
conjunction with other factors.

On other ESG credit relevance scores the highest level is a '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.


SHACKLETON WINTLE: To Be Wound Down Following Administration
------------------------------------------------------------
Business Sale reports that Cheltenham-based plumbing, electrical
and heating firm Shackleton, Wintle and Lane Limited (SW&L) is to
be wound down after falling into administration as a result of the
impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to Business Sale, in the company's most recent accounts,
it reported close to GBP4 million in fixed and current assets, with
net assets valued at GBP65,597.

The company had been on an upward trajectory over recent years,
acquiring WJL Electrical Services in 2016 and appointing managing
director Simon Marklew, previously of Wolseley UK, in 2019 as it
targeted future growth, Business Sale states.

However, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdowns hit the
company's performance, Business Sale notes.  In its accounts for
the year ending July 31 2020, it reported revenue of GBP9.27
million, but fell to a post-tax loss of GBP411,979, Business Sale
discloses.

While demand has recovered this year, factors including rising
prices and shortages in material and labour meant the firm's sales
continued to fall and losses mounted, Business Sale relates.  It
ultimately fell into administration, with Mazars appointed to
handle the process, Business Sale recounts.

"It is sad to see a company like Shackleton, Wintle and Lane
Limited fail as a direct result of the prolonged impact of the
COVID pandemic, having previously traded successfully for nearly 40
years," Business Sale quotes joint administrator
Mark Boughey as saying.

"The directors had to make the difficult decision to cease trading
and enter administration to prevent the position for creditors
worsening and we are now working closely with the company to
oversee the winding down of the business's affairs for all of its
financial stakeholders".


WM MORRISON: Egan-Jones Keeps BB+ Senior Unsecured Ratings
----------------------------------------------------------
Egan-Jones Ratings Company, on September 27, 2021, maintained its
'BB+' foreign currency and local currency senior unsecured ratings
on debt issued by WM Morrison Supermarkets P L C.

Headquartered in Bradford, United Kingdom, Wm Morrison Supermarkets
P L C retails groceries through a chain of supermarkets and an
online home delivery service in England.



                           *********


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-
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Marites O. Claro, Rousel Elaine T. Fernandez, Joy A. Agravante,
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Editors.

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