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

                          E U R O P E

          Thursday, February 3, 2022, Vol. 23, No. 19

                           Headlines



A R M E N I A

AMERIABANK: S&P Affirms 'B+/B' ICR, Outlook Positive


C Y P R U S

RCB BANK: S&P Affirms 'BB-' Issuer Credit Rating, Outlook Stable


I R E L A N D

ADAGIO V: Fitch Raises Class F Notes Rating to 'B'
ARMADA EURO III: Fitch Raises Class F Notes Rating to 'B'
BLACKROCK EUROPEAN IV: Moody's Affirms B2 Rating on Class F Notes
EURO-GALAXY III: Fitch Affirms B- Rating on Class F-RRR Notes
GRIFFITH PARK: Fitch Raises Class E Notes to 'B'

JUBILEE CLO: Fitch Affirms B- Rating on 3 Tranches
NEWHAVEN II: Moody's Affirms B1 Rating on EUR13.2MM Cl. F-R Notes
ST. PAUL'S V: Moody's Affirms B2 Rating on EUR10MM Class F-R Notes


I T A L Y

DECO 2019 - VIVALDI: DBRS Confirms B(high) Rating on Class D Notes
FABBRICA ITALIANA: Fitch Puts FirstTime B(EXP) IDR, Outlook Stable
FABBRICA ITALIANA: S&P Assigns Preliminary 'B' ICR, Outlook Stable
PIETRA NERA: DBRS Confirms B(high) Rating on Class E Notes
TERNA-RETE ELETTRICA: Moody's Assigns Ba1 Rating to Hybrid Notes



R U S S I A

CHELINDBANK PJSC: Fitch Affirms 'BB' LT IDR, Outlook Stable
LOCKO-BANK: Fitch Affirms 'BB-' LT IDRs, Outlook Stable
RAVNAQ BANK: S&P Affirms 'B-' ICR, Outlook Negative
STATE TRANSPORT: Moody's Affirms 'Ba1' CFR, Outlook Remains Stable
TURKISTON BANK: S&P Affirms 'CCC+/C' ICRs, Alters Outlook to Stable



S P A I N

PROPULSION (BC) FINCO: Moody's Assigns First Time 'B2' CFR
TENDAM BRANDS: S&P Upgrades ICR to 'B+', Outlook Stable


U K R A I N E

BANK ALLIANCE: S&P Affirms 'B-/B' ICR, Outlook Stable


U N I T E D   K I N G D O M

CINEWORLD: May Strike Deal with Cineplex on Takeover Suit Damages
CORPORATE & PROFESSIONAL: Goes Into Administration
EBOR CONCRETES: Bought Out of Administration by JP Concrete
MIDAS GROUP: Collapse May Impact Cornwall Council Projects
MIDAS GROUP: Most Staff Seek for New Jobs After Administration

TRITON UK: Moody's Affirms 'B3' CFR & Rates New 1st Lien Debt 'B3'
TRITON UK: S&P Alters Outlook to Positive, Affirms 'B-' ICR

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A R M E N I A
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AMERIABANK: S&P Affirms 'B+/B' ICR, Outlook Positive
----------------------------------------------------
S&P Global Ratings affirmed its 'B+/B' long- and short-term issuer
credit ratings on Ameriabank following a revision to its criteria
for rating banks and nonbank financial institutions and determining
a Banking Industry Country Risk Assessment (BICRA). The outlook
remains positive.

S&P said, "Our assessments of economic risk and industry risk in
Armenia remain unchanged at '8' and '8', respectively. These scores
determine the BICRA and the 'bb-' anchor, or starting point, for
our ratings on financial institutions operating predominantly in
Armenia. We see the trend for the economic and industry in Armenia
as stable."

The ratings reflect Ameriabank's leading market positions in
Armenia. Ameriabank's strong domestic brand, professional
management team, advanced digitalization strategy, wealthy and
supportive controlling shareholder, and adequate corporate
governance, supported by minority shareholders--European Bank for
Reconstruction and Development and Asia Development Bank support
its adequate business position in the small Armenian banking
sector.

S&P said, "We expect that Ameriabank's capitalization, as measured
by our RAC ratio, could improve beyond 7% in 2022. An improvement
in our risk-adjusted capital (RAC) ratio for Ameriabank could be
possible if the bank moderates growth of new lending and receives a
capital injection from a strategic investor. We believe that the
bank's conservative and well-developed risk management practices
and sound business strategy will enable it to weather an increase
in credit losses and asset-quality deterioration due to COVID-19.
We also expect Ameriabank will continue demonstrating stronger
asset quality metrics than the domestic system average. We expect
Ameriabank will maintain its well-diversified funding profile
compared with domestic and international peers'. The deposit base
of resident and nonresident depositors should also remain stable.

"We consider Ameriabank to be highly systemically important as the
largest domestic bank. Nevertheless, we think that the government's
tendency to support systemically important banks in Armenia is
uncertain, and we therefore give no uplift to the bank's
stand-alone credit profile (SACP).

"The rating is constrained by the 'B+' long-term foreign currency
rating on Armenia. This is why the 'B+' long-term rating on
Ameriabank is one notch lower than the bank's 'bb-' SACP. We do not
rate Armenian banks above the sovereign because the banks'
exposures are predominantly in Armenia, with strong links to the
domestic economy from a business, funding, and lending point of
view.

"The positive outlook reflects our expectation that the improved
operating and macroeconomic environment in the Armenian banking
system will be favorable for Ameriabank's business and financial
profile over the next 12 months and could support further growth of
its new business and strong financial performance.

"A positive rating action could follow over the next 12 months if
we raise our foreign currency sovereign rating on Armenia while at
the same time Ameriabank demonstrates stable operating
performance.

"We could revise the outlook on Ameriabank to stable if we revise
the outlook on sovereign rating of Armenia to stable."

ESG credit indicators: E-2, S-2, G-2




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RCB BANK: S&P Affirms 'BB-' Issuer Credit Rating, Outlook Stable
----------------------------------------------------------------
S&P Global Ratings has affirmed its issuer credit rating (ICR) and
issue credit ratings on five Greek banks and two Cypriot banks, as
well as its resolution counterparty ratings (RCR) on those of the
entities that have one. The affirmations follow a revision to S&P's
criteria for rating banks and nonbank financial institutions and
for determining a Banking Industry Country Risk Assessment (BICRA).
The rating actions include:

-- Bank of Cyprus Public Co. Ltd. (ICR: B+/Positive/B; RCR:
'BB/B') and Bank of Cyprus Holdings PLC (ICR: B-/Positive/B);

-- RCB Bank Ltd. (ICR: BB-/Stable/B);

-- National Bank of Greece S.A. (ICR: B+/Stable/B; RCR: BB-/B);

-- Eurobank S.A. (ICR: B+/Stable/B; RCR: BB-/B);

-- Alpha Bank S.A. (ICR: B+/Stable/B; RCR: BB-/B) and Alpha
Services and Holdings S.A. (ICR: B-/Stable/B);

-- Piraeus Bank S.A. (ICR: B/Stable/B; RCR: B+/B) and Piraeus
Financial Holdings S.A. (ICR: B-/Stable/B); and

-- Aegean Baltic Bank S.A. (ICR: B/Stable/B).

S&P said, "Our outlooks on the Greek banks and RCB Bank remain
stable, while the outlooks on Bank of Cyprus Public Co. Ltd. and
Bank of Cyprus Holdings PLC remain positive.

"Our assessments of economic risk and industry risk in Greece and
Cyprus are also unchanged, both at '8'. These scores determine the
BICRA and the anchor, or starting point, for our ratings on
financial institutions that operate primarily in these countries.
We still see stable trends for economic and industry risk.

"Under our revised criteria, the group stand-alone credit profiles
(SACPs) for the abovementioned banks, and our assessment of their
likelihood of receiving extraordinary external support, remain
unchanged. Consequently, we have affirmed all our ratings on these
banks, including our ratings on their holding companies."

Bank of Cyprus Public Co. LTD (Lead Bank) and Bank of Cyprus
Holdings PLC (Holding Company)

S&P said, "We affirmed our ratings on Bank of Cyprus Public Co.
Ltd. (BoC) and its nonoperating holding company (NOHC). The ratings
reflect its dominant franchise in Cyprus, its well-implemented
clean-up strategy, and comfortable liquidity buffers. Our ratings
are balanced by still-feeble profitability and efficiency
prospects, and the bank's need to complete the workout of its
legacy nonperforming exposures (NPEs)."

Outlook

Upside scenario: The positive outlooks indicate that S&P could
raise the long-term issuer credit ratings on these banks over the
next 12 months if BoC sustains the improvement in its risk profile.
This could happen if the knock-on effects of the pandemic remain
manageable, and the overall NPE ratio remains broadly in line with
the bank's international peers'. An upgrade would also depend on
BOC's ability to improve its underlying profitability prospects.

Downside scenario: S&P could revise the outlooks to stable if
credit quality deterioration at BoC was forecast to be much higher
than it currently anticipates. This would jeopardize BoC's ability
to complete its balance-sheet clean-up from the previous
recession.

  Ratings Score Snapshot

  Issuer credit rating: B+/Positive/B
  Bank holding company rating: B-/Positive/B
  Resolution counterparty rating: BB/--/B
  Stand-alone credit profile: b+

  Anchor: bb-
  Business Position: Adequate (0)
  Capital and Earnings: Moderate (0)
  Risk Position: Moderate (-1)
  Funding and Liquidity: Adequate and adequate (0)
  Comparable Rating Analysis: 0
  Support: 0

  ALAC Support: 0
  GRE Support: 0
  Group Support: 0
  Sovereign Support: 0
  Additional Factors: 0

ESG credit indicators: E-2, S-2, G-3

RCB Bank Ltd.

S&P said, "We affirmed our 'BB-/B' ratings on RCB Bank Ltd. The
affirmation reflects the bank's strong capitalization metrics and
stable asset-quality indicators. Moreover, we anticipate that
potential support from the bank's largest institutional
shareholder, Russia-based VTB Bank, will enable it to withstand
stress in case of pressures on its portfolio's performance."

Outlook

The stable outlook indicates that S&P expects the bank's
creditworthiness will remain broadly unchanged in the next 12-18
months.

Upside scenario: A positive rating action is unlikely in the next
12-18 months, and would depend on sustained and meaningful
improvement in the bank's economic environment. It would also
require that the bank's capitalization remains strong.

Downside scenario: Over the same time horizon, S&P could downgrade
RCB Bank if it believes that capitalization has weakened, for
example, as a result of more dynamic own-risk business growth or
increased appetite for dividends.

  Ratings Score Snapshot

  Issuer credit rating: BB-/Stable/B
  Stand-alone credit profile: bb-

  Anchor: bb-
  Business position: Moderate (-1)
  Capital and earnings: Strong(+1)
  Risk position: Adequate (0)
  Funding and liquidity: Adequate and Adequate (0)
  Comparable ratings analysis: 0
  Support: 0

  Additional loss-absorbing capacity (ALAC) support: 0
  Government-related entity (GRE) support: 0
  Group support: 0
  Sovereign support: 0
  Additional factors: 0

  ESG credit indicators: E-2, S-2, G-3

National Bank of Greece S.A. (NBG)

S&P said, "In affirming our ratings on NBG, we balance its solid
franchise within the concentrated Greek banking system against its
low level of risk-adjusted capital, and the low quality of its
risk-adjusted capital, owing to a high amount of deferred tax
credits. Ratings are constrained by its large stock of legacy NPEs,
compared with peers elsewhere in Europe. We acknowledge that
management has made progress toward the targets set in the
corporate transformation plan. Nevertheless, restoration of
domestic profitability will take time as the private sector
recovers from the episodes of the crises and demand for new loans
remain weak."

Outlook

S&P said, "Our stable outlook on NBG over the next 12 months
balances its low quality of capital against its strong business
franchise, and improved liquidity. During this period, we expect
the economic rebound in Greece, supported by expected utilization
of structural EU funds, to bolster the bank's operational
performance and the restoration of its asset quality as part of its
ongoing strategic transformation. In this context, we expect NBG's
RAC ratio to remain above 4%. NBG already cleaned up much of its
legacy loan book and is well positioned to expand its lending
against a strong economic rebound. We expect cost of risk to start
normalizing during 2022, since NBG has lower volumes of NPE
disposals in the pipeline than peers. As earnings gradually
improve, we expect NBG's return on equity to improve to around
8%-9% during 2022."

Upside scenario: S&P said, "We could consider a positive action in
the next 12 months if the bank maintains its recent positive
momentum on earnings and asset quality. An upgrade could also occur
if we see a material improvement in its quality of capital and its
RAC ratio, although this is not our base-case scenario. During the
coming year, we will closely monitor how the bank reduces its risk
exposure and brings its earnings, NPE ratio, and cost of risk more
in line with those of higher-rated peers."

Downside scenario: S&P said, "We could lower the rating over the
next 12 months if NBG's RAC ratio drops below 3% on a sustained
basis or its asset-quality metrics deteriorate. This could happen
if macroeconomic conditions in Greece do not improve as we
anticipate, or if internal capital generation remains insufficient
and causes the RAC ratio to deteriorate."

  Ratings Score Snapshot

  Issuer credit rating: B+/Stable/B
  Stand-alone credit profile: b+

  Anchor: bb-
  Business Position: Adequate (0)
  Capital and Earnings: Constrained (-1)
  Risk Position: Adequate (0)
  Funding and Liquidity: Adequate and adequate (0)
  Comparable Rating Analysis: 0
  Support: 0

  ALAC Support: 0
  GRE Support: 0
  Group Support: 0
  Sovereign Support: 0
  Additional Factors: 0

  ESG credit indicators: E-2, S-2, G-2
  
Eurobank S.A.

S&P said, "In affirming our ratings on Eurobank, we balance its
solid franchise within the concentrated Greek banking system
against its low level of risk-adjusted capital, and the low quality
of its risk-adjusted capital, owing to a high amount of deferred
tax credits. Ratings are constrained by the large stock of legacy
NPEs that remain on its books, compared with peers elsewhere in
Europe. We acknowledge that management has made progress toward the
targets set in the corporate transformation plan. Nevertheless,
restoration of domestic profitability will take time as the private
sector recovers from the crisis and demand for new loans remains
weak."

Outlook

S&P said, "Our stable outlook on Eurobank over the next 12 months
balances its low quality of capital against its strong business
franchise in Greece and improved liquidity. During this period, we
expect the economic rebound in Greece, supported by expected
utilization of structural EU funds, to bolster the bank's ongoing
transformation and the restoration of its operational performance
and asset quality. We expect Eurobank's RAC ratio to improve to
4.0% by the end of 2023. Eurobank, like NBG, has already disposed
of a large part of its legacy problem loans, which should support
its lending growth against a strong economic rebound. In our view,
the benefits of significant cost-cutting efforts in recent years
will be partly offset until year-end 2022 by additional
provisioning needs for planned NPE sales, and slight margin
contraction. Because it plans to dispose of more NPEs, we expect
Eurobank's NPE ratio to improve further, but remain above the
European average."

Upside scenario: S&P said, "We could raise the rating in the next
12 months should the bank maintain its recent positive momentum on
earnings and asset quality. An upgrade could occur if we see a
material improvement in its quality of capital and its RAC ratio,
although this is not our base-case scenario. During the coming
year, we will closely monitor how the bank reduces its risk
exposure and brings its earnings, NPE ratio, and cost of risk more
in line with those of higher-rated peers."

Downside scenario: S&P could lower the rating is the RAC ratio
drops below 3% on a sustained basis or its asset-quality metrics
deteriorate further. This could happen if macroeconomic conditions
in Greece do not improve as we anticipate.

  Ratings Score Snapshot

  Issuer credit rating: B+/Stable/B
  Stand-alone credit profile: b+

  Anchor: bb-
  Business Position: Adequate (0)
  Capital and Earnings: Constrained (-1)
  Risk Position: Adequate (0)
  Funding and Liquidity: Adequate and adequate (0)
  Comparable Rating Analysis: 0
  Support: 0

  ALAC Support: 0
  GRE Support: 0
  Group Support: 0
  Sovereign Support: 0
  Additional Factors: 0

  ESG credit indicators: E-2, S-2, G-2

Alpha Services And Holdings S.A. (Holding Company) And Alpha Bank
S.A. (Lead Bank)

S&P said, "We affirmed our 'B+/B' long- and short-term ICRs on
Alpha Bank S.A. and our 'B-/B' long- and short-term ICRs on Alpha
Services and Holdings S.A. The ratings continue to balance Alpha's
solid franchise within the concentrated Greek banking system
against its low level of risk-adjusted capital, and the low quality
of its risk-adjusted capital, owing to a high amount of deferred
tax credits. Ratings are constrained by the large stock of legacy
NPEs that remain on the books, compared with peers elsewhere in
Europe. We acknowledge that management has made progress toward the
targets set in the bank's strategy to reduce its risk exposure.
Nevertheless, restoration of domestic profitability will take time
as the private sector recovers from the crisis and demand for new
loans remain weak."

Outlook

S&P's stable outlook on Alpha Bank S.A. and Alpha Services and
Holdings S.A. over the next 12 months balances the bank's low
quality of capital and weak earnings against its improved liquidity
and the benefits from its ongoing strategic transformation, which
targets a cleaner balance sheet.

Upside scenario: S&P said, "We could consider a positive action on
Alpha Bank S.A. in the next 12 months should the bank maintain its
recent positive momentum on earnings and asset quality. An upgrade
could occur if we see a material improvement in its quality of
capital and its RAC ratio, although this is not our base-case
scenario. During the coming year, we will closely monitor how the
bank reduces its risk exposures and brings its earnings, NPE ratio,
and cost of risk more in line with those of higher-rated peers."

A positive rating action on Alpha Services and Holdings would
follow a positive rating action on Alpha Bank. However, an upgrade
of the subordinated notes at the NOHC level would require an upward
revision of the group SACP by at least two notches and appears
remote at this stage.

Downside scenario: S&P could lower the rating on Alpha Bank over
the next 12 months if macroeconomic conditions in Greece do not
improve as it anticipates, leading to resumed stress on asset
quality, high NPEs, and a worsening of the RAC ratio to below 3%.

S&P said, "We could lower the rating on Alpha Services and Holdings
if macroeconomic conditions in Greece substantially worsen, causing
asset quality to come under strain again and NPEs to rise to levels
like those in the past downturn. Additionally, we could lower the
rating on Alpha Services and Holdings if we saw a lower likelihood
of Alpha Bank meeting its obligations toward the NOHC."

  Ratings Score Snapshot

  Issuer credit rating: B+/Stable/B
  Bank holding company rating: B-/Stable/B
  Stand-alone credit profile: b+

  Anchor: bb-
  Business Position: Adequate (0)
  Capital and Earnings: Constrained (-1)
  Risk Position: Adequate (0)
  Funding and Liquidity: Adequate and adequate (0)
  Comparable Rating Analysis: 0
  Support: 0

  ALAC Support: 0
  GRE Support: 0
  Group Support: 0
  Sovereign Support: 0
  Additional Factors: 0

  ESG credit indicators: E-2, S-2, G-2

Piraeus Financial Holdings S.A. (Holding Company) and Piraeus Bank
S.A. (Lead Bank)

S&P said, "We affirmed our 'B/B' long- and short-term ICRs on
Piraeus Bank S.A. and our 'B-/B' long- and short-term ICRs on
Piraeus Financial Holdings S.A. The ratings continue to balance
Piraeus' solid franchise within the concentrated Greek banking
system against its low level of risk-adjusted capital, owing to a
high amount of deferred tax credits, and deteriorated asset
quality.

"We believe recent actions to enhance capital and the bank's solid
retail and corporate banking franchise in Greece will support its
ambitious 2021-2024 business plan, which aims to achieve an NPE
ratio below 10% in the first half of 2022 and a return on tangible
equity (ROTE) above 10% by year-end 2024." Piraeus had lowered its
NPE ratio to 16% by the end of the third quarter of 2021, from 45%
at end-2020, thanks to several large securitizations and sales. Its
target of achieving an NPE ratio below 10% in the first half of
2022 is now in sight, but the bank still has a long way to go to
boost its returns. The 10% ROTE by year-end 2024 target looks very
ambitious.

In addition, Piraeus remains highly vulnerable to external shocks
because of its still-weak capitalization and poor quality of
capital. The bank's cleanup strategy will consume most of its
recent capital gains, leaving limited buffers to absorb shocks and
any spillover from the pandemic.

Outlook

S&P's stable outlook on Piraeus Bank S.A. and Piraeus Financial
Holdings S.A. balances the bank's low quality of capital, weak
earnings capacity, and large capital hit from ongoing clean-up of
legacy NPEs against its improved liquidity and the benefits from
its strategic transformation, which targets a cleaner balance
sheet.

Upside scenario: S&P said, "We could raise the rating on Piraeus
Bank in the next 12 months if the bank maintains its recent
positive momentum on earnings and asset quality. An upgrade could
occur if we saw a material improvement in its quality of capital
and its RAC ratio, although this is not our base-case scenario.
During the coming year, we will closely monitor how the bank
reduces its risk exposure and brings its earnings, NPE ratio, and
cost of risk more in line with those of higher-rated peers.

"A positive rating action on Piraeus Financial Holdings is highly
unlikely because of the NOHC's structural subordination to Piraeus
Bank. If the anchor is 'bb-', we usually rate NOHCs two notches
below the group SACP. Therefore, an upgrade to the NOHC would
require us to revise the group SACP upward by at least two notches.
An upgrade of the subordinated notes at the NOHC level also appears
remote."

Downside scenario: S&P said, "We could downgrade Piraeus Bank over
the next 12 months if economic conditions in Greece do not improve
as we anticipate, leading to resumed stress on asset quality, with
no positive trend in NPEs. We could also lower the ratings if
Piraeus' capital enhancement actions are more than offset by credit
losses linked to the strategy to reduce risk so that the bank's RAC
ratio is below the 3% threshold and it still has significant legacy
NPEs to tackle.

"We could downgrade Piraeus Financials Holdings S.A. if economic
conditions in Greece substantially worsen, leading to intensified
stress on asset quality and NPEs rising to levels similar to those
in the past downturn, or if Piraeus' funding profile unexpectedly
weakens. Also, we could lower the ratings on Piraeus Financial
Holdings if we saw a lower likelihood of Piraeus Bank meeting its
obligations toward the NOHC."

  Ratings Score Snapshot

  Issuer credit rating: B/Stable/B
  Bank holding company rating: B-/Stable/B
  Stand-alone credit profile: b

  Anchor: bb-
  Business Position: Adequate (0)
  Capital and Earnings: Constrained (-1)
  Risk Position: Moderate (-1)
  Funding and Liquidity: Adequate and adequate (0)
  Comparable Rating Analysis: 0
  Support: 0

  ALAC Support: 0
  GRE Support: 0
  Group Support: 0
  Sovereign Support: 0
  Additional Factors: 0

  ESG credit indicators: E-2, S-2, G-2

Aegean Baltic Bank S.A.

S&P affirmed its 'B/B' long- and short-term ICRs on Aegean Baltic
Bank (ABB), while the outlook remained stable. The ratings balance
the high systemic risks in Greece, ABB's monoline business model,
and its small asset size in domestic and global terms, against its
strong capitalization in absolute and qualitative terms, as well as
its positive track record of operational performance.

ABB's business profile is highly concentrated in the shipping
segment in Greece. The bank diversification strategy was to
accelerate its portfolio growth and lend to new segments such as
commercial real estate segment and renewable energies, but it
remains structurally more concentrated than peers. S&P said, "We
expect the bank's RAC ratio will remain sound, although decreasing
to about 10.5% by year-end 2022, supported by still-positive income
generation. That said, we believe that ABB's high single-name and
business concentration in shipping financing makes it highly
vulnerable in the current economic environment. In our view, ABB's
funding and liquidity profiles are on par with those of domestic
and foreign peers. Its access to central bank facilities and the
funds it raises via its private banking segment offset the
weaknesses associated with a lack of a retail deposit base."

Outlook

S&P said, "The stable outlook on ABB balances ABB's high
concentration in the highly volatile shipping industry against its
sound capital position and good financial track record over the
next 12 months. We anticipate that ABB will preserve its solvency,
with its RAC ratio remaining above 10% through 2021-2022, and
maintain adequate funding and liquidity and high collateralization
in its loan book."

Upside scenario: S&P sees limited likelihood of a positive rating
action, owing to capital profile erosion due to rapid growth and
the uncertain duration of the pandemic.

Downside scenario: S&P could lower the ratings if it concludes
that:

-- ABB's asset quality has significantly deteriorated compared
with historical levels.

-- The bank will be unable to preserve its sound capitalization.
Specifically, this could happen if the RAC ratio falls below 10% on
a sustained basis, mostly due to rising credit losses or aggressive
growth. In turn, this could stem from a scenario in which shipping
industry trade volumes and business activity are more severely
affected, putting material pressure on shippers' cash flow capacity
and overall financial profiles.

-- The bank's funding or liquidity profiles deteriorate because of
fast growth or high asset-liability mismatches.

  Ratings Score Snapshot

  Issuer credit rating: B/Stable/B
  Stand-alone credit profile: b
  Anchor: bb-
  Business Position: Constrained (-2)
  Capital and Earnings: Strong (1)
  Risk Position: Moderate (-1)
  Funding and Liquidity: Adequate and adequate (0)
  Comparable Rating Analysis: 0
  Support: 0

  ALAC Support: 0
  GRE Support: 0
  Group Support: 0
  Sovereign Support: 0
  Additional Factors: 0

  ESG credit indicators: E-2, S-2, G-2


  Ratings List

  AEGEAN BALTIC BANK S.A.            

  RATINGS AFFIRMED

  AEGEAN BALTIC BANK S.A.

   Issuer Credit Rating          B/Stable/B

  ALPHA SERVICES AND HOLDINGS SOCIETE ANONYME       

  RATINGS AFFIRMED

  ALPHA BANK SA

   Issuer Credit Rating         B+/Stable/B
   Resolution Counterparty Rating  BB-/--/B

  ALPHA SERVICES AND HOLDINGS SOCIETE ANONYME

   Issuer Credit Rating         B-/Stable/B

  BANK OF CYPRUS PUBLIC CO. LTD.           

  RATINGS AFFIRMED

  BANK OF CYPRUS PUBLIC CO. LTD.

   Issuer Credit Rating         B+/Positive/B
   Resolution Counterparty Rating     BB/--/B

  BANK OF CYPRUS HOLDINGS PLC

   Issuer Credit Rating         B-/Positive/B

  EUROBANK ERGASIAS S.A             

  RATINGS AFFIRMED

  EUROBANK S.A

   Issuer Credit Rating         B+/Stable/B
   Resolution Counterparty Rating  BB-/--/B

  NATIONAL BANK OF GREECE S.A.           

  RATINGS AFFIRMED
  
  NATIONAL BANK OF GREECE S.A.

   Issuer Credit Rating         B+/Stable/B
   Resolution Counterparty Rating  BB-/--/B

  PIRAEUS FINANCIAL HOLDINGS S.A.          

  RATINGS AFFIRMED

  PIRAEUS BANK S.A.
   
   Issuer Credit Rating          B/Stable/B
   Resolution Counterparty Rating   B+/--/B

  PIRAEUS FINANCIAL HOLDINGS S.A.

   Issuer Credit Rating         B-/Stable/B

  RCB BANK LTD.               

  RATINGS AFFIRMED

  RCB BANK LTD.

   Issuer Credit Rating         BB-/Stable/B




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ADAGIO V: Fitch Raises Class F Notes Rating to 'B'
--------------------------------------------------
Fitch Ratings has upgraded Adagio V CLO DAC's class D to F notes
and affirmed the rest. All ratings (except class A notes) have been
removed from Under Criteria Observation (UCO) and all notes have a
Stable Outlook.

     DEBT               RATING            PRIOR
     ----               ------            -----
Adagio V CLO DAC

A-R XS2312388247    LT AAAsf  Affirmed    AAAsf
B-1R XS2312388833   LT AAsf   Affirmed    AAsf
B-2R XS2312389484   LT AAsf   Affirmed    AAsf
C-R XS2312390144    LT Asf    Affirmed    Asf
D XS1879605928      LT BBBsf  Upgrade     BBB-sf
E XS1879607627      LT BBsf   Upgrade     BB-sf
F XS1879606579      LT Bsf    Upgrade     B-sf

TRANSACTION SUMMARY

Adagio V CLO DAC is a cash flow CLO comprising mostly senior
secured obligations. The transaction is actively managed by AXA
Investment Managers and will exit its reinvestment period in
January 2023.

KEY RATING DRIVERS

CLO Criteria Update: The rating actions mainly reflect the impact
of the recently updated Fitch CLOs and Corporate CDOs Rating
Criteria and the shorter risk horizon incorporated in Fitch's
updated stressed portfolio analysis. The analysis considered cash
flow modelling results for the current and stressed portfolios
based on the 20 December 2021 trustee report.

The rating actions are based on Fitch's updated stressed portfolio
analysis, which applied the agency's collateral quality matrix
specified in the transaction documentation. The transaction has two
matrices, based on a 5% fixed-rate obligation limit and top 10
obligor concentration limits of 18% and 26.5%. Fitch analysed the
matrix using the 18% concentration limit, as the deal currently has
a 14.42% concentration.

The weighted average life (WAL) used for the transaction's stressed
portfolio and matrices analysis is floored at six years post a
12-month reduction from the WAL covenant to account for structural
and reinvestment conditions after the reinvestment period,
including the satisfaction of the coverage and Fitch 'CCC' limit
tests, together with a progressively decreasing WAL covenant. These
conditions would, in the agency's opinion, reduce the effective
risk horizon of the portfolio during stress period.

The Stable Outlooks on all notes reflect Fitch's expectation of
sufficient credit protection to withstand potential deterioration
in the credit quality of the portfolio in stress scenarios that are
commensurate with the ratings. Further, the transaction is still in
its reinvestment period and thus no deleveraging is expected.

Model-Implied Rating Deviation: The ratings of the class B to F
notes are one notch below their model implied ratings (MIR). The
deviation reflects the remaining reinvestment period till January
2023 during which the portfolio can change significantly due to
reinvestment or negative portfolio migration.

Stable Asset Performance: The transaction's metrics indicate stable
asset performance. According to the trustee report, the transaction
is approximately 0.9% below par and is passing all coverage,
collateral-quality and portfolio-profile tests.

'B'/'B-' Portfolio: Fitch assesses the average credit quality of
the transaction's underlying obligors at 'B'/'B-'. The weighted
average rating factor (WARF) as calculated by the trustee was
33.64, which is below the maximum covenant of 34. The WARF, as
calculated by Fitch under the updated criteria, was 25.15.

High Recovery Expectations: Senior secured obligations comprise
97.04% of the portfolio as calculated by the trustee. Fitch views
the recovery prospects for these assets as more favourable than for
second-lien, unsecured and mezzanine assets. The Fitch weighted
average recovery rate reported by the trustee was 61%, against a
minimum covenant at 60.95%.

Diversified Portfolio: The portfolio is well-diversified across
obligors, countries and industries. The top- 10 obligor
concentration is 14.42%, and no obligor represents more than 1.9%
of the portfolio balance, as reported by the trustee.

RATING SENSITIVITIES

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

-- An increase of the rating default rate (RDR) at all rating
    levels by 25% of the mean RDR and a decrease of the rating
    recovery rate (RRR) by 25% at all rating levels in the
    stressed portfolio will result in downgrades of up to three
    notches, depending on the notes.

-- Downgrades may occur if the build-up of the notes' credit
    enhancement (CE) does not compensate for a larger loss
    expectation than initially assumed, due to unexpectedly high
    levels of defaults and portfolio deterioration.

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

-- A reduction of the RDR at all rating levels by 25% of the mean
    RDR and an increase in the RRR by 25% at all rating levels in
    the stressed portfolio would result in upgrades of up to four
    notches, depending on the not-es.

-- Except for the tranche already at the highest 'AAAsf' rating,
    upgrades may occur in the case of better- than expected
    portfolio credit quality and deal performance that leads to
    higher CE and excess spread available to cover losses in the
    remaining portfolio.

BEST/WORST CASE RATING SCENARIO

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

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

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

DATA ADEQUACY

Fitch has checked the consistency and plausibility of the
information it has received about the performance of the asset pool
and the transaction. Fitch has not reviewed the results of any
third-party assessment of the asset portfolio information or
conducted a review of origination files as part of its ongoing
monitoring.

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

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

ARMADA EURO III: Fitch Raises Class F Notes Rating to 'B'
---------------------------------------------------------
Fitch Ratings has upgraded Armada Euro CLO III DAC's class D to F
notes and affirmed the others. The class B through F notes have
been removed from Under Criteria Observation (UCO).

      DEBT                RATING           PRIOR
      ----                ------           -----
Armada Euro CLO III DAC

A-1-R XS2320736080   LT AAAsf  Affirmed    AAAsf
A-2-R XS2320736759   LT AAAsf  Affirmed    AAAsf
B-R XS2320737302     LT AAsf   Affirmed    AAsf
C-R XS2320738029     LT Asf    Affirmed    Asf
D-R XS2320738706     LT BBBsf  Upgrade     BBB-sf
E XS1913265044       LT BBsf   Upgrade     BB-sf
F XS1913265390       LT Bsf    Upgrade     B-sf

TRANSACTION SUMMARY

Armada Euro CLO III is a cash flow CLO comprised of mostly senior
secured obligations. The transaction is actively managed by Brigade
Capital Europe Management LLP and will exit its reinvestment period
in January 2023.

KEY RATING DRIVERS

CLO Criteria Update & Cash-flow Modelling: The rating actions
mainly reflect the impact of Fitch's recently updated CLOs and
Corporate CDOs Rating Criteria and the shorter risk horizon
incorporated in Fitch's updated stressed portfolio analysis. The
analysis considered cash-flow modelling results for the current and
stressed portfolios based on the 5 January 2022 trustee report.

The rating actions are based on Fitch's updated stressed portfolio
analysis, which applied the agency's collateral quality matrix
specified in the transaction documentation. The transaction has
four matrices but Fitch analysed both fixed-rate matrices that
corresponds to a top 10 obligor concentration at 17%, since the top
10 obligor concentration of the portfolio has been close to or
below 17%. In analysing the matrices, Fitch applied a 1.5% haircut
to the weighted average recovery rate (WARR) to reflect the
inflated WARR, due to the old recovery rate definition, which is
not in line with the latest criteria.

The weighted average life (WAL) used for the transaction stress
portfolio and matrices analysis is floored at six years after a
12-month reduction from the WAL covenant to account for structural
and reinvestment conditions after the reinvestment period,
including the satisfaction of the overcollateralisation tests and
Fitch 'CCC' limit, together with a linearly decreasing WAL
covenant. In Fitch's opinion, these conditions would reduce the
effective risk horizon of the portfolio during a stress period.

The Stable Outlooks reflect Fitch's expectation that the notes have
sufficient levels of credit protection to withstand potential
deterioration in the credit quality of the portfolio in stress
scenarios commensurate with the rating. Furthermore, the
transaction is still in its reinvestment period and so Fitch does
not expect any deleveraging.

Model-implied Rating Deviation: The class B to F notes' ratings are
one notch below the model-implied rating (MIR). The deviation
reflects the remaining reinvestment period until January 2023,
during which the portfolio could change significantly due to
reinvestment or negative portfolio migration.

Stable Asset Performance: The transaction's metrics indicate stable
asset performance, passing all coverage tests, collateral quality
tests, and portfolio profile tests. Exposure to assets with a
Fitch-derived rating of 'CCC+' and below is 3.1% excluding
non-rated assets as calculated by Fitch.

'B'/'B-' Portfolio: Fitch assesses the average credit quality of
the transaction's underlying obligors in the 'B'/'B-' category. The
weighted average rating factor (WARF) as calculated by the trustee
was 32.36, which is below the maximum covenant of 35.0. The WARF as
calculated by Fitch under the updated criteria was 24.0.

High Recovery Expectations: Senior secured obligations comprise
about 97.7% of the portfolio as calculated by the trustee. Fitch
views the recovery prospects for these assets as more favourable
than for second-lien, unsecured and mezzanine assets. The Fitch
WARR reported by the trustee was 70.5%, against the covenant at
67.1%.

Diversified Portfolio: The portfolio is well-diversified across
obligors, countries and industries. The top 10 obligor
concentration is at about 16.1%, while the largest obligor
represents about 2.1% of the portfolio balance, as reported by the
trustee.

RATING SENSITIVITIES

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

-- An increase of the rating default rate (RDR) at all rating
    levels by 25% of the mean RDR and a decrease of the rating
    recovery rate (RRR) by 25% at all rating levels in the
    stressed portfolio will result in downgrades of up to three
     notches, depending on the notes;

-- Downgrades may occur if the build-up of the notes' credit
    enhancement (CE) does not compensate for a larger loss
    expectation than initially assumed due to unexpectedly high
    levels of defaults and portfolio deterioration.

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

-- A reduction of the RDR at all rating levels by 25% of the mean
    RDR and an increase in the RRR by 25% at all rating levels in
    the stressed portfolio would result in upgrades of up to three
    notches, depending on the notes;

-- Except for the tranche already at the highest 'AAAsf' rating,
    upgrades may occur in the case of better than expected
    portfolio credit quality and deal performance that leads to
    higher CE and excess spread available to cover losses in the
    remaining portfolio.

BEST/WORST CASE RATING SCENARIO

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

DATA ADEQUACY

Armada Euro CLO III DAC

Fitch has checked the consistency and plausibility of the
information it has received about the performance of the asset pool
and the transaction. Fitch has not reviewed the results of any
third party assessment of the asset portfolio information or
conducted a review of origination files as part of its ongoing
monitoring.

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

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

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

BLACKROCK EUROPEAN IV: Moody's Affirms B2 Rating on Class F Notes
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Moody's Investors Service has upgraded the ratings on the following
notes issued by BlackRock European CLO IV Designated Activity
Company:

EUR38,500,000 Class B-1 Senior Secured Floating Rate Notes due
2030, Upgraded to Aa1 (sf); previously on Nov 22, 2017 Definitive
Rating Assigned Aa2 (sf)

EUR20,000,000 Class B-2 Senior Secured Fixed Rate Notes due 2030,
Upgraded to Aa1 (sf); previously on Nov 22, 2017 Definitive Rating
Assigned Aa2 (sf)

EUR27,000,000 Class C Senior Secured Deferrable Floating Rate
Notes due 2030, Upgraded to A1 (sf); previously on Nov 22, 2017
Definitive Rating Assigned A2 (sf)

Moody's has also affirmed the ratings on the following notes:

EUR270,000,000 Class A Senior Secured Floating Rate Notes due
2030, Affirmed Aaa (sf); previously on Nov 22, 2017 Definitive
Rating Assigned Aaa (sf)

EUR22,500,000 Class D Senior Secured Deferrable Floating Rate
Notes due 2030, Affirmed Baa2 (sf); previously on Nov 22, 2017
Definitive Rating Assigned Baa2 (sf)

EUR25,400,000 Class E Senior Secured Deferrable Floating Rate
Notes due 2030, Affirmed Ba2 (sf); previously on Nov 22, 2017
Definitive Rating Assigned Ba2 (sf)

EUR13,900,000 Class F Senior Secured Deferrable Floating Rate
Notes due 2030, Affirmed B2 (sf); previously on Nov 22, 2017
Definitive Rating Assigned B2 (sf)

BlackRock European CLO IV Designated Activity Company issued in
November 2017, is a collateralised loan obligation (CLO) backed by
a portfolio of mostly high-yield senior secured European loans. The
portfolio is managed by BlackRock Investment Management (UK)
Limited. The transaction's reinvestment period ended in January
2022.

RATINGS RATIONALE

The rating upgrades on the Class B-1, B-2 and C Notes are primarily
a result of the benefit of the transaction having reached the end
of the reinvestment period in January 2022.

The affirmations on the ratings on the Class A, D, E and F Notes
are primarily a result of the expected losses on the notes
remaining consistent with their current rating levels, after taking
into account the CLO's latest portfolio, its relevant structural
features and its actual over-collateralisation ratios.

In light of reinvestment restrictions during the amortisation
period, and therefore the limited ability to effect significant
changes to the current collateral pool, Moody's analysed the deal
assuming a higher likelihood that the collateral pool
characteristics would maintain an adequate buffer relative to
certain covenant requirements. In particular, Moody's assumed that
the deal will benefit from a shorter WAL than it had assumed at
closing in 2017.

The key model inputs Moody's uses in its analysis, such as par,
weighted average rating factor, diversity score and the weighted
average recovery rate, are based on its published methodology and
could differ from the trustee's reported numbers.

In its base case, Moody's used the following assumptions:

Performing par: EUR450,451,773

Defaulted Securities: EUR368,308

Diversity Score: 62

Weighted Average Rating Factor (WARF): 2886

Weighted Average Life (WAL): 4.51 years

Weighted Average Spread (WAS): 3.71%

Weighted Average Coupon (WAC): 3.06%

Weighted Average Recovery Rate (WARR): 43.95%

Par haircut in OC tests and interest diversion test: None

The default probability derives from the credit quality of the
collateral pool and Moody's expectation of the remaining life of
the collateral pool. The estimated average recovery rate on future
defaults is based primarily on the seniority of the assets in the
collateral pool. In each case, historical and market performance
and a collateral manager's latitude to trade collateral are also
relevant factors. Moody's incorporates these default and recovery
characteristics of the collateral pool into its cash flow model
analysis, subjecting them to stresses as a function of the target
rating of each CLO liability it is analysing.

Methodology Underlying the Rating Action:

The principal methodology used in these ratings was "Moody's Global
Approach to Rating Collateralized Loan Obligations" published in
December 2021.

Counterparty Exposure:

The rating action took into consideration the notes' exposure to
relevant counterparties, such as account bank and swap, using the
methodology "Moody's Approach to Assessing Counterparty Risks in
Structured Finance" published in May 2021. Moody's concluded the
ratings of the notes are not constrained by these risks.

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


This transaction is subject to a high level of macroeconomic
uncertainty, which could negatively affect the ratings on the note,
in light of uncertainty about credit conditions in the general
economy. In particular, the length and severity of the economic and
credit shock precipitated by the global coronavirus pandemic will
have a significant impact on the performance of the securities. CLO
notes' performance may also be impacted either positively or
negatively by: (1) the manager's investment strategy and behaviour,
and (2) divergence in the legal interpretation of CDO documentation
by different transactional parties because of embedded ambiguities.


Additional uncertainty about performance is due to the following:

Portfolio amortisation: The main source of uncertainty in this
transaction is the pace of amortisation of the underlying
portfolio, which can vary significantly depending on market
conditions and have a significant impact on the notes' ratings.
Amortisation could accelerate as a consequence of high loan
prepayment levels or collateral sales by the collateral manager or
be delayed by an increase in loan amend-and-extend restructurings.
Fast amortisation would usually benefit the ratings of the notes
beginning with the notes having the highest prepayment priority.

EURO-GALAXY III: Fitch Affirms B- Rating on Class F-RRR Notes
-------------------------------------------------------------
Fitch Ratings has upgraded Euro-Galaxy III CLO DAC's class D-RRR
and E-RRR notes and affirmed the class A-RRR, B-1-RRR, B-2-RRR,
C-RRR, and F-RRR notes. The class B-1-RRR through F-RRR notes have
been removed from Under Criteria Observation (UCO). The Rating
Outlook remains Stable.

      DEBT                  RATING           PRIOR
      ----                  ------           -----
Euro-Galaxy III CLO DAC

A-RRR XS2305240173     LT AAAsf  Affirmed    AAAsf
B-1-RRR XS2305240256   LT AAsf   Affirmed    AAsf
B-2-RRR XS2305240330   LT AAsf   Affirmed    AAsf
C-RRR XS2305240413     LT Asf    Affirmed    Asf
D-RRR XS2305240504     LT BBBsf  Upgrade     BBB-sf
E-RRR XS2305240686     LT BBsf   Upgrade     BB-sf
F-RRR XS2305240769     LT B-sf   Affirmed    B-sf

TRANSACTION SUMMARY

Euro-Galaxy III CLO DAC is a cash flow collateralized loan
obligation (CLO) comprised of mostly senior secured obligations.
The transaction is actively managed by PineBridge Investments
Europe Limited and will exit its reinvestment period in April
2023.

KEY RATING DRIVERS

CLO Criteria Update: The rating actions mainly reflect the impact
of the recently updated Fitch CLOs and Corporate CDOs Rating
Criteria and the shorter risk horizon incorporated in Fitch's
updated stressed portfolio analysis. The analysis considered cash
flow modelling results for the stressed portfolios based on the
Dec. 6, 2021 trustee report.

Fitch's updated analysis applied the agency's collateral quality
matrix specified in the transaction documentation. The transaction
included concentration limits of 20% top 10 obligors and 7.5% fixed
rate assets. The stressed portfolio analysis was also based on a
six-year weighted average life (WAL), four months less than the
current WAL covenant to account for structural and reinvestment
conditions after the reinvestment period, including the
satisfaction of over-collateralisation tests and Fitch 'CCC'
limitation.

The Stable Outlooks on all classes reflect Fitch's expectation that
the classes have sufficient levels of credit protection to
withstand potential deterioration in the credit quality of the
portfolio in stress scenarios commensurate with such class's
rating.

Deviation from Model-Implied Ratings: The rating actions for the
class A-RRR and F-RRR notes are in line with the model implied
ratings (MIR) produced from Fitch's updated stressed portfolio
analysis, while the rating actions for all other classes of notes
are one notch below the respective MIRs. The deviations reflect the
remaining long reinvestment period until April 2023 during which
the portfolio can change significantly due to reinvestment or
negative portfolio migration.

Stable Asset Performance: The transaction metrics indicate stable
asset performance. The transaction is passing all coverage tests,
collateral quality tests, and portfolio profile tests. Exposure to
assets with a Fitch-derived rating (FDR) of 'CCC+' and below is
3.9% excluding non-rated assets, as calculated by Fitch.

'B'/'B-' Portfolio: Fitch assesses the average credit quality of
the transaction's underlying obligors in the 'B'/'B-' category. The
WARF, as calculated by the trustee, was 33.8, which is below the
maximum covenant of 36.0. The WARF, as calculated by Fitch under
the updated criteria, was 25.0.

High Recovery Expectations: Senior secured obligations comprise
99.3% of the portfolio as calculated by the trustee. Fitch views
the recovery prospects for these assets as more favorable than for
second-lien, unsecured and mezzanine assets. The Fitch WARR
reported by the trustee was 64.7%, against the covenant at 60.3%.

Diversified Portfolio: The portfolio is well-diversified across
obligors, countries and industries. The top 10 obligor
concentration is 14.3%, and no obligor represents more than 2.0% of
the portfolio balance, as reported by the trustee.

RATING SENSITIVITIES

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

-- An increase of the rating default rate (RDR) at all rating
    levels by 25% of the mean RDR and a decrease of the rating
    recovery rate (RRR) by 25% at all rating levels in the
    stressed portfolio will result in downgrades of up to four
    notches, depending on the notes;

-- Downgrades may occur if the build-up of the notes' credit
    enhancement (CE) does not compensate for a larger loss
    expectation than initially assumed due to unexpectedly high
    levels of defaults and portfolio deterioration.

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

-- A reduction of the RDR at all rating levels by 25% of the mean
    RDR and an increase in the RRR by 25% at all rating levels in
    the stressed portfolio would result in an upgrade of up to
    five notches, depending on the notes;

-- Except for the tranches already at the highest 'AAAsf' rating,
    upgrades may occur in the case of better than expected
    portfolio credit quality and deal performance that leads to
    higher CE and excess spread available to cover losses in the
    remaining portfolio.

BEST/WORST CASE RATING SCENARIO

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

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

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

DATA ADEQUACY

Euro-Galaxy III CLO DAC

Fitch has checked the consistency and plausibility of the
information it has received about the performance of the asset pool
and the transaction. Fitch has not reviewed the results of any
third party assessment of the asset portfolio information or
conducted a review of origination files as part of its ongoing
monitoring.

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

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

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

GRIFFITH PARK: Fitch Raises Class E Notes to 'B'
------------------------------------------------
Fitch Ratings has upgraded Griffith Park CLO DAC's class C-R, D,
and E notes and affirmed the class A-1A-R to B-R notes. The class
A-2A-R through E notes have been removed from Under Criteria
Observation (UCO).

          DEBT                   RATING           PRIOR
          ----                   ------           -----
Griffith Park CLO DAC

Class A-1A-R XS2309452410   LT AAAsf  Affirmed    AAAsf
Class A-1B-R XS2309453061   LT AAAsf  Affirmed    AAAsf
Class A-2A-R XS2309453731   LT AAsf   Affirmed    AAsf
Class A-2B-R XS2309454200   LT AAsf   Affirmed    AAsf
Class B-R XS2309455199      LT Asf    Affirmed    Asf
Class C-R XS2309455603      LT BBBsf  Upgrade     BBB-sf
Class D XS1903440532        LT BBsf   Upgrade     BB-sf
Class E XS1903440458        LT Bsf    Upgrade     B-sf

TRANSACTION SUMMARY

This transaction is a cash flow collateralised loan obligation CLO
actively managed by the manager, Blackstone Ireland Limited. The
reinvestment period is scheduled to end in May 2023.

KEY RATING DRIVERS

CLO Criteria Update: The rating actions mainly reflect the impact
of the recently updated Fitch CLOs and Corporate CDOs Rating
Criteria and the shorter risk horizon incorporated in Fitch's
updated stressed portfolio analysis. The analysis considered cash
flow modelling results for the current and stressed portfolios
based on the 10 December 2021 trustee report.

The rating actions are based on Fitch's updated stressed portfolio
analysis, which applied the agency's collateral quality matrix
specified in the transaction documentation. The transaction has two
matrices based on 10% and 0% maximum fixed-rate concentration
limits. Fitch analysed the matrix by applying a haircut of 1.5% to
the weighted average recovery rate (WARR), which was inflated by
the old recovery rate definition.

The weighted average life (WAL) used for the transaction's stressed
portfolio and matrices analysis is floored at six years after a
2.5-month reduction from the WAL covenant. This is to account for
structural and reinvestment conditions after the reinvestment
period, including the satisfaction of the coverage and Fitch 'CCC'
limit tests, together with a progressively decreasing WAL covenant.
In the agency's opinion, these conditions reduce the effective risk
horizon of the portfolio during stress periods.

The Stable Outlooks on the notes reflect Fitch's expectation of
sufficient credit protection to withstand potential deterioration
in the credit quality of the portfolio in stress scenarios that are
commensurate with the notes' ratings. Furthermore, the transaction
is still in its reinvestment period, so no deleveraging is
expected.

Model-Implied Rating Deviation: The ratings of the class A-2 to E
notes are one notch below their model implied ratings (MIR). The
deviation reflects the remaining reinvestment period until May 2023
during which the portfolio can change significantly due to
reinvestment or negative portfolio migration.

Stable Asset Performance: The transaction's metrics indicate stable
asset performance. According to the trustee report, the transaction
is above par and is passing all coverage, collateral-quality and
portfolio- profile tests.

'B'/'B-' Portfolio: Fitch assesses the average credit quality of
the transaction's underlying obligors at 'B'/'B-'. The weighted
average rating factor (WARF) as calculated by the trustee was
33.95, which is below the maximum covenant of 36. The WARF as
calculated by Fitch under the updated criteria was 24.97.

High Recovery Expectations: Senior secured obligations comprise
98.95% of the portfolio as calculated by the trustee. Fitch views
the recovery prospects for these assets as more favourable than for
second-lien, unsecured and mezzanine assets. The Fitch WARR
reported by the trustee was 65.1%, against a minimum covenant at
62.8%.

Diversified Portfolio: The portfolio is well-diversified across
obligors, countries and industries. The top 10 obligor
concentration is 12.55%, and no obligor represents more than 1.47%
of the portfolio balance, as reported by the trustee.

RATING SENSITIVITIES

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

-- An increase of the rating default rate (RDR) at all rating
    levels by 25% of the mean RDR and a decrease of the rating
    recovery rate (RRR) by 25% at all rating levels in the
    stressed portfolio will result in downgrades of up to five
    notches, depending on the notes.

-- Downgrades may occur if the build-up of the notes' credit
    enhancement (CE) does not compensate for a larger loss
    expectation than initially assumed, due to unexpectedly high
    levels of defaults and portfolio deterioration.

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

-- A reduction of the RDR at all rating levels by 25% of the mean
    RDR and an increase in the RRR by 25% at all rating levels in
    the stressed portfolio would result in upgrades of up to one
    category, depending on the notes.

-- Except for the tranche already at the highest 'AAAsf' rating,
    upgrades may occur in the case of better- than-expected
    portfolio credit quality and deal performance that leads to
    higher CE and excess spread available to cover losses in the
    remaining portfolio.

BEST/WORST CASE RATING SCENARIO

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

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

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

DATA ADEQUACY

Fitch has checked the consistency and plausibility of the
information it has received about the performance of the asset pool
and the transaction. Fitch has not reviewed the results of any
third-party assessment of the asset portfolio information or
conducted a review of origination files as part of its ongoing
monitoring.

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

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

JUBILEE CLO: Fitch Affirms B- Rating on 3 Tranches
--------------------------------------------------
Fitch Ratings has affirmed all Jubilee CLO 2013-X DAC, Jubilee CLO
2018-XX DAC and Jubilee CLO 2019-XXIII DAC notes. All tranches
excluding the 'AAAsf' rated notes have been removed from Under
Criteria Observation (UCO).

    DEBT                     RATING           PRIOR
    ----                     ------           -----
Jubilee CLO 2018-XX DAC

A XS1826049097         LT AAAsf   Affirmed    AAAsf
B-1 XS1826050426       LT AAsf    Affirmed    AAsf
B-2 XS1826049683       LT AAsf    Affirmed    AAsf
B-3 XS1834758861       LT AAsf    Affirmed    AAsf
C-1 XS1826051077       LT Asf     Affirmed    Asf
C-2 XS1834758192       LT Asf     Affirmed    Asf
D XS1826051663         LT BBBsf   Affirmed    BBBsf
E XS1826052471         LT BBsf    Affirmed    BBsf
F XS1826052638         LT B-sf    Affirmed    B-sf

Jubilee CLO 2013-X DAC

A-1-R-R XS2332241384   LT AAAsf   Affirmed    AAAsf
A-2-R-R XS2332242788   LT AAAsf   Affirmed    AAAsf
B-R-R XS2332242192     LT AAsf    Affirmed    AAsf
C-R-R XS2332243323     LT Asf     Affirmed    Asf
D-R-R XS2332244057     LT BBB-sf  Affirmed    BBB-sf
E-R-R XS2332244560     LT BB-sf   Affirmed    BB-sf
F-R-R XS2332244727     LT B-sf    Affirmed    B-sf

Jubilee CLO 2019-XXIII DAC

A XS2075328943         LT AAAsf   Affirmed    AAAsf
B XS2075329677         LT AAsf    Affirmed    AAsf
C XS2075330097         LT Asf     Affirmed    Asf
D XS2075330683         LT BBB-sf  Affirmed    BBB-sf
E XS2075331228         LT BB-sf   Affirmed    BB-sf
F XS2075331731         LT B-sf    Affirmed    B-sf

TRANSACTION SUMMARY

Jubilee CLO 2013-X DAC, Jubilee CLO 2018-XX DAC and Jubilee CLO
2019-XXIII DAC are cash flow CLO comprising mostly senior secured
obligations. All three transactions are currently in their
reinvestment periods, and are actively being managed by Alcentra
Ltd.

KEY RATING DRIVERS

Fitch Test Matrix Update: The manager is in the process of updating
the Fitch test matrix and the definition of 'Fitch Rating Factor'
and 'Fitch Recovery Rate' in line with Fitch's updated CLOs and
Corporate CDOs Rating Criteria published on 17 September 2021. The
updated criteria, together with the stable performance of the
transaction, has had a positive impact on the ratings. As a result
of the matrix amendment the collateral-quality test for the
weighted average recovery rate (WARR) will be lowered to be in line
with the break-even WARR at which the current ratings would still
pass.

Fitch has performed a stressed portfolio analysis on the updated
Fitch test matrix and the model-implied ratings are in line with
the current ratings, leading to an affirmation of the notes. The
stressed portfolio analysis was based on a weighted average life
(WAL) haircut of 12 months less than the WAL covenant floored at
six years to account for structural and reinvestment conditions
after the reinvestment period, including the over-collateralisation
and Fitch 'CCC' limitation tests. When combined with loan
pre-payment expectations, this ultimately reduces the maximum
possible risk horizon of the portfolio.

The Positive Outlooks on the class B-1 through F notes of Jubilee
CLO 2018-XX DAC reflect expected deleveraging once the transaction
exits its reinvestment period within the next one year. The Stable
Outlooks on all other notes reflect Fitch's expectation of
sufficient credit protection to withstand potential deterioration
in the credit quality of the portfolio in stress scenarios that are
commensurate with the ratings.

Stable Asset Performance: The transactions' metrics indicate stable
asset performance. The transactions are passing all coverage,
collateral-quality and portfolio-profile tests except the S&P
'CCC', which Jubilee CLO 2013-X DAC fails with a value of 7.7%
versus the maximum covenant of 7.5%. Exposure to assets with a
Fitch-derived rating (FDR) of 'CCC+' and below is 6.51%, 4.87% and
3.49% as calculated by Fitch excluding non-rated assets, Jubilee
CLO 2013-X DAC, Jubilee CLO 2018-XX DAC and Jubilee CLO 2019-XXIII
DAC, respectively.

'B'/'B-' Portfolio: Fitch assesses the average credit quality of
the transactions' underlying obligors at 'B'/'B-'. The portfolio
weighted average rating factor (WARF) as calculated by Fitch are
25.35, 25.66 and 25.55 for Jubilee CLO 2013-X DAC, Jubilee CLO
2018-XX DAC and Jubilee CLO 2019-XXIII DAC, respectively.

High Recovery Expectations: Senior secured obligations comprise
97.8%, 99.5% and 99.1% of the portfolios as calculated by the
trustee for for CLO 2013-X DAC, Jubilee CLO 2018-XX DAC and Jubilee
CLO 2019-XXIII DAC, respectively. Fitch views the recovery
prospects for these assets as more favourable than for second-lien,
unsecured and mezzanine assets. The Fitch WARR reported by the
trustee was 62.12%,65.6% and 65.3% for Jubilee CLO 2013-X DAC,
Jubilee CLO 2018-XX DAC and Jubilee CLO 2019-XXIII DAC,
respectively.

Diversified Portfolio: The portfolios are well-diversified across
obligors, countries and industries. The top 10 obligor
concentrations are 16.42%, 14.43% and 14.71%, and no obligor
represents more than 2.03%, 1.65% and 1.75% of the portfolio
balances for Jubilee CLO 2013-X DAC, Jubilee CLO 2018-XX DAC and
Jubilee CLO 2019-XXIII DAC, respectively.

RATING SENSITIVITIES

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

-- An increase of the default rate (RDR) at all rating levels by
    25% of the mean RDR and a decrease of the recovery rate (RRR)
    by 25% at all rating levels in the stressed portfolio would
    result in downgrades of up to four notches, depending on the
    notes.

-- Downgrades may occur if the build-up of the notes' credit
    enhancement (CE) following amortisation does not compensate
    for a larger loss expectation than initially assumed, due to
    unexpectedly high levels of defaults and portfolio
    deterioration.


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

-- A reduction of the RDR at all rating levels by 25% of the mean
    RDR and an increase in the RRR by 25% at all rating levels in
    the stressed portfolio would result in upgrades of up to five
    notches, depending on the notes.

-- Except for the tranches already at the highest 'AAAsf' rating,
    upgrades may occur in case of better-than- expected portfolio
    credit quality and deal performance, and continued
    amortisation that leads to higher CE and excess spread
    available to cover losses in the remaining portfolio.

BEST/WORST CASE RATING SCENARIO

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

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

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

DATA ADEQUACY

Fitch has checked the consistency and plausibility of the
information it has received about the performance of the asset
pools and the transactions. Fitch has not reviewed the results of
any third- party assessment of the asset portfolio information or
conducted a review of origination files as part of its ongoing
monitoring.

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

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

NEWHAVEN II: Moody's Affirms B1 Rating on EUR13.2MM Cl. F-R Notes
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Moody's Investors Service has upgraded the ratings on the following
notes issued by Newhaven II CLO, Designated Activity Company:

EUR41,470,000 Class B-1-R Senior Secured Floating Rate Notes due
2032, Upgraded to Aa1 (sf); previously on Feb 19, 2018 Assigned Aa2
(sf)

EUR10,530,000 Class B-2-R Senior Secured Fixed Rate Notes due
2032, Upgraded to Aa1 (sf); previously on Feb 19, 2018 Assigned Aa2
(sf)

EUR21,000,000 Class C-R Senior Secured Deferrable Floating Rate
Notes due 2032, Upgraded to Aa3 (sf); previously on Feb 19, 2018
Assigned A2 (sf)

EUR22,200,000 Class D-R Senior Secured Deferrable Floating Rate
Notes due 2032, Upgraded to Baa1 (sf); previously on Feb 19, 2018
Assigned Baa2 (sf)

Moody's has also affirmed the ratings on the following notes:

EUR198,750,000 Class A-1-R Senior Secured Floating Rate Notes due
2032, Affirmed Aaa (sf); previously on Feb 19, 2018 Assigned Aaa
(sf)

EUR36,850,000 Class A-2-R Senior Secured Fixed Rate Notes due
2032, Affirmed Aaa (sf); previously on Feb 19, 2018 Assigned Aaa
(sf)

EUR29,200,000 Class E-R Senior Secured Deferrable Floating Rate
Notes due 2032, Affirmed Ba2 (sf); previously on Feb 19, 2018
Assigned Ba2 (sf)

EUR13,200,000 Class F-R Senior Secured Deferrable Floating Rate
Notes due 2032, Affirmed B1 (sf); previously on Feb 19, 2018
Assigned B1 (sf)

Newhaven II CLO, Designated Activity Company, issued in January
2016 and reset in February 2018, is a collateralised loan
obligation (CLO) backed by a portfolio of mostly high-yield senior
secured European loans. The portfolio is managed by Bain Capital
Credit, Ltd. The transaction's reinvestment period will end in
February 2022.

RATINGS RATIONALE

The upgrades on the ratings on the Class B-1-R, Class B-2-R, Class
C-R and Class D-R Notes are primarily a result of the benefit of
the shorter period of time remaining before the end of the
reinvestment period in February 2022; the affirmations to the
ratings on the Class A-1-R, Class A-2-R, Class E-R and Class F-R
Notes are due to the benefit of the shorter period of time
remaining before the end of the reinvestment period in February
2022.

In light of reinvestment restrictions during the amortisation
period, and therefore the limited ability to effect significant
changes to the current collateral pool, Moody's analysed the deal
assuming a higher likelihood that the collateral pool
characteristics would maintain an adequate buffer relative to
certain covenant requirements. In particular, Moody's assumed that
the deal will benefit from a shorter amortisation profile than it
had assumed at the last rating action in February 2018.

The key model inputs Moody's uses in its analysis, such as par,
weighted average rating factor, diversity score and the weighted
average recovery rate, are based on its published methodology and
could differ from the trustee's reported numbers.

In its base case, Moody's used the following assumptions:

Performing par and principal proceeds balance: EUR393.1m

Defaulted Securities: EUR1.31m

Diversity Score: 62

Weighted Average Rating Factor (WARF): 2866

Weighted Average Life (WAL): 4.71 years

Weighted Average Spread (WAS) (before accounting for Euribor
floors): 3.73%

Weighted Average Coupon (WAC): 4.32%

Weighted Average Recovery Rate (WARR): 4.41%

Par haircut in OC tests and interest diversion test: none

The default probability derives from the credit quality of the
collateral pool and Moody's expectation of the remaining life of
the collateral pool. The estimated average recovery rate on future
defaults is based primarily on the seniority of the assets in the
collateral pool. In each case, historical and market performance
and a collateral manager's latitude to trade collateral are also
relevant factors. Moody's incorporates these default and recovery
characteristics of the collateral pool into its cash flow model
analysis, subjecting them to stresses as a function of the target
rating of each CLO liability it is analysing.

Methodology Underlying the Rating Action:

The principal methodology used in these ratings was "Moody's Global
Approach to Rating Collateralized Loan Obligations" published in
December 2021.

Counterparty Exposure:

The rating action took into consideration the notes' exposure to
relevant counterparties, such as Elavon Financial Services DAC,
using the methodology "Moody's Approach to Assessing Counterparty
Risks in Structured Finance" published in May 2021. Moody's
concluded the ratings of the notes are not constrained by these
risks.

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


This transaction is subject to a high level of macroeconomic
uncertainty, which could negatively affect the ratings on the note,
in light of uncertainty about credit conditions in the general
economy. In particular, the length and severity of the economic and
credit shock precipitated by the global coronavirus pandemic will
have a significant impact on the performance of the securities. CLO
notes' performance may also be impacted either positively or
negatively by (1) the manager's investment strategy and behaviour
and (2) divergence in the legal interpretation of CDO documentation
by different transactional parties because of embedded ambiguities.


Additional uncertainty about performance is due to the following:

Weighted average life: The notes' ratings are sensitive to the
weighted average life assumption of the portfolio, which could
lengthen as a result of the manager's decision to reinvest in new
issue loans or other loans with longer maturities, or participate
in amend-to-extend offerings. Moody's tested for a possible
extension of the actual weighted average life in its analysis. The
effect on the ratings of extending the portfolio's weighted average
life can be positive or negative depending on the notes' seniority.


Recovery of defaulted assets: Market value fluctuations in
trustee-reported defaulted assets and those Moody's assumes have
defaulted can result in volatility in the deal's
over-collateralisation levels. Further, the timing of recoveries
and the manager's decision whether to work out or sell defaulted
assets can also result in additional uncertainty. Moody's analysed
defaulted recoveries assuming the lower of the market price or the
recovery rate to account for potential volatility in market prices.
Recoveries higher than Moody's expectations would have a positive
impact on the notes' ratings.

ST. PAUL'S V: Moody's Affirms B2 Rating on EUR10MM Class F-R Notes
------------------------------------------------------------------
Moody's Investors Service has upgraded the ratings on the following
notes issued by St. Paul's CLO V DAC:

EUR36,000,000 Class B-1R Senior Secured Floating Rate Notes due
2030, Upgraded to Aa1 (sf); previously on May 13, 2021 Affirmed Aa2
(sf)

EUR16,000,000 Class B-2R Senior Secured Floating Rate Notes due
2030, Upgraded to Aa1 (sf); previously on May 13, 2021 Affirmed Aa2
(sf)

EUR12,500,000 Class C-1R Senior Secured Deferrable Floating Rate
Notes due 2030, Upgraded to A1 (sf); previously on May 13, 2021
Affirmed A2 (sf)

EUR7,500,000 Class C-2R Senior Secured Deferrable Floating Rate
Notes due 2030, Upgraded to A1 (sf); previously on May 13, 2021
Affirmed A2 (sf)

Moody's has also affirmed the ratings on the following notes:

EUR201,000,000 (current outstanding EUR200.83m) Class A-R Senior
Secured Floating Rate Notes due 2030, Affirmed Aaa (sf); previously
on May 13, 2021 Definitive Rating Assigned Aaa (sf)

EUR19,500,000 Class D-R Senior Secured Deferrable Floating Rate
Notes due 2030, Affirmed Baa2 (sf); previously on May 13, 2021
Affirmed Baa2 (sf)

EUR23,500,000 Class E-R Senior Secured Deferrable Floating Rate
Notes due 2030, Affirmed Ba2 (sf); previously on May 13, 2021
Affirmed Ba2 (sf)

EUR10,000,000 Class F-R Senior Secured Deferrable Floating Rate
Notes due 2030, Affirmed B2 (sf); previously on May 13, 2021
Affirmed B2 (sf)

St. Paul's CLO V DAC, issued in September 2014, refinanced for the
first time in August 2017 and lately refinanced again in May 2021,
is a collateralised loan obligation (CLO) backed by a portfolio of
mostly high-yield senior secured European loans. The portfolio is
managed by Intermediate Capital Managers Limited. The transaction's
reinvestment period ended in August 2021.

RATINGS RATIONALE

The rating upgrades on the Class B-1R, Class B-2R, Class C-1R and
Class C-2R Notes are primarily a result of the transaction reaching
the end of the reinvestment period in August 2021.

The affirmations on the ratings on the Class A-R, Class D-R, Class
E-R and Class F-R Notes are primarily a result of the expected
losses on the notes remaining consistent with their current ratings
after taking into account the CLO's latest portfolio, its relevant
structural features and its actual over-collateralization (OC)
levels.

In light of reinvestment restrictions during the amortisation
period, and therefore the limited ability to effect significant
changes to the current collateral pool, Moody's analysed the deal
assuming a higher likelihood that the collateral pool
characteristics would maintain an adequate buffer relative to
certain covenant requirements. In particular, Moody's assumed that
the deal will benefit from a shorter amortisation profile and
higher spread levels than it had assumed at the last rating action
in May 2021.

The key model inputs Moody's uses in its analysis, such as par,
weighted average rating factor, diversity score and the weighted
average recovery rate, are based on its published methodology and
could differ from the trustee's reported numbers.

In its base case, Moody's used the following assumptions:

Performing par and principal proceeds balance: EUR350.25 million

Diversity Score: 55

Weighted Average Rating Factor (WARF): 2984

Weighted Average Life (WAL): 4.75 years

Weighted Average Spread (WAS) (before accounting for Euribor
floors): 3.87%

Weighted Average Coupon (WAC): 4.92%

Weighted Average Recovery Rate (WARR): 44.14%

Par haircut in OC tests and interest diversion test: None

The default probability derives from the credit quality of the
collateral pool and Moody's expectation of the remaining life of
the collateral pool. The estimated average recovery rate on future
defaults is based primarily on the seniority of the assets in the
collateral pool. In each case, historical and market performance
and a collateral manager's latitude to trade collateral are also
relevant factors. Moody's incorporates these default and recovery
characteristics of the collateral pool into its cash flow model
analysis, subjecting them to stresses as a function of the target
rating of each CLO liability it is analysing.

Methodology Underlying the Rating Action:

The principal methodology used in these ratings was "Moody's Global
Approach to Rating Collateralized Loan Obligations" published in
December 2021.

Counterparty Exposure:

The rating action took into consideration the notes' exposure to
relevant counterparties, such as account bank, using the
methodology "Moody's Approach to Assessing Counterparty Risks in
Structured Finance" published in May 2021. Moody's concluded the
ratings of the notes are not constrained by these risks.

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


This transaction is subject to a high level of macroeconomic
uncertainty, which could negatively affect the ratings on the note,
in light of uncertainty about credit conditions in the general
economy. In particular, the length and severity of the economic and
credit shock precipitated by the global coronavirus pandemic will
have a significant impact on the performance of the securities. CLO
notes' performance may also be impacted either positively or
negatively by (1) the manager's investment strategy and behaviour
and (2) divergence in the legal interpretation of CDO documentation
by different transactional parties because of embedded ambiguities.


Additional uncertainty about performance is due to the following:

Portfolio amortisation: The main source of uncertainty in this
transaction is the pace of amortisation of the underlying
portfolio, which can vary significantly depending on market
conditions and have a significant impact on the notes' ratings.
Amortisation could accelerate as a consequence of high loan
prepayment levels or collateral sales by the collateral manager or
be delayed by an increase in loan amend-and-extend restructurings.
Fast amortisation would usually benefit the ratings of the notes
beginning with the notes having the highest prepayment priority.



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

DECO 2019 - VIVALDI: DBRS Confirms B(high) Rating on Class D Notes
------------------------------------------------------------------
DBRS Ratings GmbH confirmed its ratings on the Commercial
Mortgage-Backed Floating Rate Notes due August 2031 issued by Deco
2019 - Vivaldi S.r.l. as follows:

-- Class A notes at A (high) (sf)
-- Class B notes at BBB (sf)
-- Class C notes at BB (high) (sf)
-- Class D notes at B (high) (sf)

The trends on all ratings are Negative.

The rating confirmations reflect positive reletting dynamics and
improvement in the transaction's performance following gradual
relaxation of the containment measures related to the Coronavirus
Disease (COVID-19) pandemic. Nevertheless, the Negative trends
continue to reflect ongoing uncertainty in the retail sector.

The transaction is a securitization of approximately 95% interest
in two Italian refinancing facilities (e.g., the Franciacorta loan
and the Palmanova loan), each backed by a retail outlet village
managed by Multi Outlet Management Italy S.r.l. The borrowers are
ultimately owned by funds of the Blackstone Group L.P. (Blackstone;
the Sponsor) and are managed by Kryalos SGR S.p.A. The loans are
interest only prior to a permitted change of control; therefore,
their loan balances remained unchanged since closing at EUR
167,245,000 (EUR 158,880,000 securitized) for the Franciacorta loan
and at EUR 66,690,000 (EUR 63,350,000 securitized) for the
Palmanova loan.

The collateral securing the loans comprises two retail outlet
villages in northern Italy. These villages, together with another
three properties securitized in the DBRS Morningstar-rated Pietra
Nera Uno S.r.l. transaction, are marketed under the 'Land of
Fashion' platform, which Blackstone established to collectively
manage these five properties. CBRE (the appraiser) valued the
Franciacorta property at EUR 257.3 million and the Palmanova
property EUR 102.6 million at origination. CBRE undertook a new
valuation in October 2020, revaluing the two assets at EUR 228.0
million and EUR 89.1 million, respectively. Thus resulting in a
decline in value of 11.4% for the Franciacorta asset and 13.2% for
the Palmanova asset. This led to the loan-to-value increasing to
73.3% and 74.8% for the Franciacorta and Palmanova loans,
respectively, which are still below the cash trap level of 75.0%.

The disruption related to the coronavirus pandemic continued to
challenge the transaction's performance with some volatility
observed in vacancy rates and net rental income. However, DBRS
Morningstar notes positive reletting dynamics over the two last
quarters as well as an improvement in the net rent levels. As of
November 2021, vacancy stood at 14.0% and 14.9% for the
Franciacorta and the Palmanova loans, respectively, with the
servicer confirming that several additional leases were signed in
December 2021. Net income almost doubled since the last review,
increasing to EUR 11.6 million in November 2021 from EUR 5.7
million a year earlier for the Franciacorta loan and to EUR 5.4
million in November 2021 from EUR 2.8 million over the same period
for the Palmanova loan. Despite these positive dynamics, both
loans' debt yields (DY) still remain below their respective cash
trap levels of 7.6% and 9.6%, respectively. As of the latest
interest payment date, the DY stood at 6.9% and 8.0% for the
Franciacorta and the Palmanova loans, respectively.

As a result, DBRS Morningstar did not revise its underwriting
assumptions and confirmed the ratings on all classes with Negative
trends, reflecting the continued uncertainty in the retail market.
For the Franciacorta loan, DBRS Morningstar's Net Cash Flow (NCF)
and Value remain at EUR 11.5 million and EUR 175.0 million,
respectively. This represents a 23.2% haircut to the latest asset
valuation. For the Palmanova loan, DBRS Morningstar's NCF remains
at EUR 5.5 million and DBRS Morningstar Value continues to stand at
EUR 78.5 million, representing a 12.0% haircut to the latest asset
valuation. For DBRS Morningstar's underwriting assumptions at
issuance, please refer to the transaction's rating report.

The transaction is supported by a EUR 10.5 million liquidity
facility, which equals 4.7% of the total outstanding balance of the
covered bonds. The liquidity facility is provided by Deutsche Bank
AG, London Branch and can be used to cover interest shortfalls on
the Class A and B notes.

The initial loan maturity of the loans was in August 2021, with one
of three one-year extension option exercised. The fully extended
maturity of the loans is in August 2024 and the final legal
maturity of the notes is in August 2031, seven years after the
fully extended loan maturity date. DBRS Morningstar believes that
this provides sufficient time, given the security structure and
jurisdiction of the underlying loan, to enforce on the loan
collateral and repay bondholders.

The Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) and the resulting isolation
measures have caused an immediate economic contraction, leading in
some cases to increases in unemployment rates and income reductions
for many tenants and borrowers. DBRS Morningstar anticipates that
vacancy rate increases and cash flow reductions may continue to
arise for many CMBS borrowers. In addition, commercial real estate
values could be negatively affected, at least in the short term,
affecting refinancing prospects for maturing loans and expected
recoveries for defaulted loans. The ratings are based on additional
analysis to expected performance as a result of the global efforts
to contain the spread of the coronavirus.

Notes: All figures are in euros unless otherwise noted.



FABBRICA ITALIANA: Fitch Puts FirstTime B(EXP) IDR, Outlook Stable
------------------------------------------------------------------
Fitch Ratings has assigned F.I.S. Fabbrica Italiana Sintetici
S.p.A. (FIS) an expected first-time Long-Term Issuer Default Rating
(IDR) of 'B(EXP)'. The Outlook is Stable. Fitch has also assigned
FIS's upcoming EUR350 million notes issue an expected senior
secured instrument rating of 'B+(EXP)' with a Recovery Rating of
'RR3'.

The ratings are contingent on FIS completing its proposed debt
refinancing under essentially identical terms reviewed by Fitch.

The ratings balance FIS's well-established position in the
non-cyclical and structurally growing European CDMO (contract
development and manufacturing organisation) market, its solid
manufacturing asset base and know-how with a modest scale, product
and customer concentration risks as well as weak free cash flow
(FCF) generation during the company's strategic capex growth. The
rating is supported by modest financial leverage and Fitch's
expectation of a prudent financial policy that favours low leverage
against shareholder remuneration.

The Stable Outlook reflects Fitch's expectations of continued
organic growth and mild profit margin expansion being offset by
high capex requirements over 2022-2023. Completion of its strategic
investment cycle, leading to accelerated growth improving scale,
diversification and profitability could result in a positive rating
action provided that management adheres to a modest leverage
profile.

KEY RATING DRIVERS

Modest Scale, High Product Concentration: The rating reflects FIS's
small scale and high product and customer concentration. The top
five and top 10 drug molecules are expected to account for around
40% and 55% of sales, respectively. The largest molecule
(blockbuster anti-diabetic - inhibitor of dipeptidyl peptidase-4
(DPP-4)) accounted for around 25% of sales in 2020 and is expected
to gradually decline to 10% by 2025, but Fitch expects this to be
offset by growth of two molecules launched in 2021, towards 20% of
sales by 2025.

Strong Revenue Visibility: The rating is supported by FIS's
well-established position in a non-cyclical and growing market and
by strong revenue visibility. As a CDMO of APIs (active
pharmaceutical ingredients) for small molecules, FIS benefits from
long-term contracts with profitable clients that have high
switching costs and focus more on reliability of supply than on
costs. Setting up a contract manufacturer requires significant
capex, as well as technological know-how, regulatory approvals and
time to build reputation. These factors, combined with the long
life-cycle of pharma products (typically over years), translate
into high revenue visibility.

Supportive Market Fundamentals: FIS's credit profile benefits from
supportive fundamentals of the broader pharmaceuticals market, with
non-cyclical volume growth driven by growing and ageing populations
and increasing access to medical care. The API market is projected
to grow at high single digits in percentage terms.

FIS is well-placed to capitalise on the continuing trend for
outsourcing by pharmaceutical companies of non-core and
technologically complex processes and to leverage its proprietary
knowledge, product pipeline and well-established client
relationships. In addition, FIS may benefit from increased local
production of pharmaceutical APIs, which in recent decades have
been increasingly sourced to China and India.

Capex Constrains FCF: A key rating weakness is Fitch's expectation
of negative FCF over 2021-2023, before FCF becomes neutral. This is
driven by expected high capex, especially in 2022 and 2023, and
particularly in its Lonigo plant. API manufacturing requires high
capex in maintenance, optimisation and expansion, which is
underscored by the significant value of FIS's three fully-owned
manufacturing sites in Italy. Inability to adequately support the
production asset base could undermine its organic growth prospects,
which are instrumental to achieving sustained positive FCF and
deleveraging.

Potential for Margin Expansion: Fitch forecasts a modest expansion
in EBITDA margins to 17% in 2024 from 15.5% in 2017-2021. FIS has
ambitions to expand margins beyond 20% by 2025, on the back of
procurement synergies and operating leverage from new business.
Achieving such margins would result in positive FCF generation on a
sustained basis and upward pressure on the rating. Revenue is
subject to some volatility driven by the commercial success of
target drugs, the gain of new customers and potential loss of key
contracts, as it occurred in 2017.

Low Leverage: The rating is supported by modest leverage, following
FIS's leveraged buyout, with funds from operations (FFO) net
leverage around 4.5x and net debt/EBITDA around 3.7x. Fitch
includes in its calculation of gross debt used factoring facilities
and treats FIS's subordinated EUR53 million convertible bond as
equity, based on Fitch's expectation of no recurring cash interest
payment on the instrument.

Conservative Financial Policy: Fitch assumes that FIS will follow a
conservative financial policy, which remains at the discretion of
its owners, the Ferrari family. This drives Fitch's assumption that
leverage will remain modest at or below current levels. Fitch
assumes that FIS will pay EUR2 million dividends per year and that
it will focus on organic growth though expansion capex over
acquisitions. The rating has leverage headroom for accretive
bolt-on acquisitions funded by internally generated cash flow, with
a neutral-to-positive rating impact. Large-scale debt-funded M&A
are not included in the rating case and would be an event risk.

DERIVATION SUMMARY

Fitch rates FIS using its global Generic Rating Navigator. Under
this framework, the business profile of FIS is supported by
resilient end-market demand, continued outsourcing trends,
considerable entry barriers, with high switching cost for clients,
and by strong revenue visibility. The rating is constrained by its
overall moderate scale in a fragmented and competitive CDMO market
with some commoditisation in the simple molecules segment.

Fitch regards capital- and asset-intensive businesses such as
Recipharm (Roar Bidco AB, B/Positive), PharmaZell (European Medco
Development, B/Stable) and Ceva Sante (Financiere Top Mendel,
B/Stable) and privately rated CDMOs as the closest peers to FIS as
they all rely on ongoing investments to grow at or above market and
to maintain or improve operating margins.

FIS is smaller than most of its publicly and privately-rated CDMO
peers, with lower EBITDA and FCF generation. FIS's EBITDA margin of
16%-17% is somewhat lower than Recipharm's 18% and well below
PharmaZell's 29% and Ceva's 25%. While Fitch expects FIS to
generate negative-to-neutral FCF over the rating horizon, Recipharm
and PharmaZell are projected to generate positive FCF with
mid-to-high single-digit margins. In addition, FIS is smaller in
sales than Recipharm and Ceva, but twice as big as PharmaZell.
However, FIS's lower profitability, weaker cash flow generation and
smaller size is balanced by lower leverage with an estimated total
debt/EBITDA of 4.6x in 2021 versus 6.6x at Recipharm and 5.4x at
PharmaZell, hence warranting the same rating.

Recipharm's and Ceva Sante's business scale and diversification
support higher debt capacity compared with the more specialised
PharmaZell's, with 2022 leverage that is around 0.5x-1.0x lower for
the same rating.

In Fitch's wider rated pharmaceutical portfolio, generic drug
manufacturing companies Stada (Nidda BondCo GmbH, B/Stable) and
Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Limited (BB-/Stable) are much larger
and have stronger profitability.

Asset-light niche pharmaceutical companies that own patents but
outsource manufacturing to CDMOs such as Cheplapharm (CHEPLAPHARM
Arzneimittel GmbH, B+/RWP), Atnahs (Pharmanovia Bidco Limited,
B+/Negative), Advanz (Cidron Aida Bidco Limited, B/Stable) and
Theramex (IWH UK Midco Limited, B/Stable) are similar in size to
FIS but have superior profitability and positive FCF generation,
allowing them to have higher leverage.

KEY ASSUMPTIONS

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

-- Organic sales to grow 8.5% in 2021, followed by an average 4%
    over 2022-2025;

-- EBITDA margin gradually improving to 17.2% in 2025 from 15.2%
    in 2021;

-- Working-capital outflow of EUR20 million in 2021, followed by
    annual outflows of EUR5 million over 2022-2025;

-- Capex at EUR50 million in 2021, EUR80 million in 2022 and
    EUR70 million in 2023 to fund facility extensions. Capex at
    10% of sales in 2024 and 2025;

-- No cash interest paid on convertible bond over the rating
    horizon to 2025;

-- EUR40 million dividend payment in 2022 to refinance holdco
    debt, followed by EUR2 million in 2023 and EUR2 million-EUR10
    million in 2024 and 2025;

-- No acquisitions.

KEY RECOVERY RATING ASSUMPTIONS

FIS's recovery analysis is based on a going-concern (GC) approach,
reflecting Fitch's view that despite the valuable asset base of the
company, a GC sale of the business in financial distress would
yield a higher realisable value for creditors than a balance-sheet
liquidation. In Fitch's view, financial distress could arise
primarily from material revenue and margin contraction, following
volume losses or price pressure related to contract losses and
exposure to generic competition.

For the GC enterprise value (EV) calculation, Fitch estimates a
post-restructuring EBITDA of about EUR60 million. This reflects
Fitch's expectation of organic portfolio earnings post-distress,
possible corrective measures and a 5x distressed EV/EBITDA. The
latter in Fitch's view would appropriately reflect FIS's minimum
valuation multiple before considering value added through portfolio
and brand management.

After deducting 10% for administrative claims, Fitch's principal
waterfall analysis generated a ranked recovery in the 'RR3' band,
resulting in an expected senior secured debt rating of 'B+(EXP)'
for the planned EUR350 million senior secured notes. In Fitch's
debt waterfall Fitch treats EUR10 million in short-term borrowings
and a EUR50 million secured revolving credit facility (RCF), which
Fitch assumes to be fully drawn prior to distress, both as
super-senior. Outstanding factoring is excluded from the waterfall
analysis as Fitch assumes the facility would remain available at
times of distress, given the high quality of the receivables. All
these result in a waterfall-generated recovery computation output
percentage of 60% based on current metrics and assumptions.

In Fitch's recovery assumptions and leverage calculations, Fitch
treats FIS's EUR53 million convertible instrument as equity, based
on contractual subordination and an option to defer interest
payments. Fitch's treatment of this instrument as equity assumes
that no interest will be paid in Fitch's four-year rating case to
2025 and Fitch would view the introduction of regular interest
payments on this instrument as a trigger for reviewing its equity
treatment.

RATING SENSITIVITIES

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

-- Successful completion of the strategic investment cycle,
    leading to accelerated growth improving scale and
    diversification;

-- EBITDA margin trending towards 20% on a sustained basis;

-- FCF margins (after capex) improving to low-to mid-single
    digits on a sustained basis;

-- Evidence of a conservative financial policy leading to FFO
    gross leverage below 5.5x and total debt/operating EBITDA
    below 4.5x on as sustained basis.

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

-- Declining revenue due to product, or production issues or as a
    result of customer losses leading to EBITDA margin declining
    below 15% on a sustained basis;

-- Volatile FCF;

-- FFO gross leverage above 7.0x and total debt/operating EBITDA
    above 6.5x on a sustained basis;

-- FFO interest cover below 2.5x.

BEST/WORST CASE RATING SCENARIO

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

LIQUIDITY AND DEBT STRUCTURE

Adequate Liquidity: Fitch views FIS's liquidity as adequate
(pro-forma for the transaction) supported by EUR30 million of cash
remaining on balance sheet and full availability under a new EUR50
million RCF. Fitch expects FIS to generate negative FCF over most
of the rating horizon, primarily driven by investments in the
business. Absent expansionary capex, FIS would generate positive
FCF margins in the low to mid-single digits.

Its debt structure is concentrated but the current refinancing will
extend the maturities of FIS's notes by five to seven years, which
will mature six months after the new RCF.

ISSUER PROFILE

FIS is an Italian pharma CDMO specialised in APIs and intermediates
of small molecules. As a CDMO it provides third-party B2B
manufacturing outsourcing services for pharmaceutical companies.

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.

FABBRICA ITALIANA: S&P Assigns Preliminary 'B' ICR, Outlook Stable
------------------------------------------------------------------
S&P Global Ratings assigned its preliminary 'B' long-term issuer
credit rating to family-owned Italian active pharmaceutical
ingredient (API) manufacturer Fabbrica Italiana Sintetici (FIS) and
'B' issue rating to the company's proposed EUR350 million notes.
S&P does not rate the proposed EUR50 million super senior secured
revolving credit facility (RCF), which will support FIS' liquidity
position.

The stable outlook reflects S&P's view that the company should
manage patent loss expiration risk of its main products and execute
its investment plan, aiming to improve capacity and efficiency
while maintaining S&P Global Ratings-adjusted debt to EBITDA below
5.0x over 2022-2023.

FIS enjoys an established position in the competitive CDMO market,
where it produces small molecule APIs and intermediates. It leads
the Italian market and ranks among the largest CDMOs in Europe for
APIs and intermediaries, with sales of EUR523 million and EUR73.8
million EBITDA in the LTM ended Sept. 30, 2021. FIS primarily
serves originator pharmaceutical companies (holder of original drug
patents), which accounted for 70% of the company's sales at Sept.
30, 2021, and represents the Custom division and provides
relatively good volume visibility. The generic market accounts for
26% of sales while veterinary and R&D services represent 4%. FIS
manufacturing activities are concentrated in Italy, where it
operates three manufacturing facilities. However, S&P evaluates
positively the well-diversified geographic footprint in terms of
sales, which are primarily in highly regulated markets such as the
U.S. (16%) and Europe (67%). The top three countries in Europe are
Switzerland (about 25% of total sales, according to its estimates),
Italy (about 10%) and Germany (about 8%). The rest of the world
generated about 17% of sales, mainly in Japan. The global CDMO
market is highly fragmented and subject to fierce competition from
small companies and ongoing consolidation trends. However, the
market exhibits positive growth prospects of an approximately 8.4%
compounded annual growth rate over 2021-2026, according to Expert
Market Research. This is supported by the aging population, the
rise of chronic diseases, and increasing outsourcing of noncore
activities, such as development and manufacturing of active
ingredients, from large pharmaceutical companies.

Customer concentration risk is mitigated by FIS' established
relationship with customers supported by its broad product
offering. The company serves a relatively large customer base,
covering 14 of the top 20 global pharmaceutical companies. However,
there is some customer concentration with the top three customers,
which account for about 43% of total sales at Sept. 30, 2021. The
risk is mitigated by FIS' reputation around product quality, with a
track record of no serious product recalls, allowing for
partnerships with these customers lasting 20-30 years. The company
has strengthened its relationship with core customers through
increased diversity of its product offering. This is thanks to FIS'
multipurpose manufacturing lines, enabling the company to have
flexible production capabilities. In the 12 months ended September
2021, almost 31% of sales were in the anti-diabetics area, 8.5%
antibacterial, 8% immunosuppressants, and 5% oncology. Other
therapeutic areas account for the remaining 48.5% and include areas
such as ophthalmological, mucolytics and rare disease, which each
account for less than 3%.

FIS' R&D capabilities help strengthening its relationship with
customers, but increasing drug complexity brings execution risks.
S&P said, "We understand the pharmaceutical industry is
increasingly outsourcing R&D activities to CDMOs to address the
increasing complexity of drugs, cost pressures, and regulatory
scrutiny, as well as faster speed to market. FIS is a strategic
partner for nine of its customers, allowing the company to develop
business opportunities in advance compared with other CDMOs.
However, the increased drug complexity exposes FIS to greater
execution risk due to the financial resources required to develop
products and relatively high rate of projects not arriving at the
commercialization phase. In our view, developing new molecules is
crucial for the company to manage the portion of its portfolio of
patent-protected drugs, which is set to expire in the next 12-24
months."

FIS faces patent exclusivity loss risk as about 32% of sales is
generated from product with patents expiring over 2022-2024. The
largest API's sales contributor, accounted for 22% of sales at the
end of 2021, according to our estimates. It is used for treatment
of type 2 diabetes and is the main active ingredient in drugs whose
patent expires in June 2024. S&P said, "We expect this to result in
a contraction of FIS' sales from 2024 due to volume decline and
price competition because at least another generic pharma company
has obtained FDA approval to commercialize the products' generic
versions. However, we positively evaluate that the company is
taking necessary measures to contain top-line contraction through
potential extension of agreement and securing higher volumes. This
is because originators typically outsource a greater portion of API
production once the patent expires. FIS implements common
strategies to mitigate the effect of the patent loss and we expect
the same actions will be implemented to offset volumes decline from
its second-largest API, which is also used for type 2 diabetes
(about 9.5% of sales) and whose patent is expected to expire in
2022." In addition, the company's proactive management of patent
expiration supported the launch of three molecules over 2021-2022,
including a major one used for diabetic treatment, which will be
commercialized in 2022 and represent the main driver of top-line
growth this year.

FIS' relatively flexible cost structure supports a fairly stable
profitability which remains below the market average according to
our estimate. S&P said, "Over 2018-2020, the company posted an
adjusted EBITDA margin of 15.0%-15.5%, and we expect it will have
remained in this range in 2021, which we deem below the market
average. This is because the dilutive effect from the plant
acquisition in Lonigo, Italy, in 2017, whose profitability is lower
than FIS' average. Still, we observed relatively stable profits in
recent years thanks to FIS' variable cost structure, primarily
including raw materials, accounting for roughly 58% of total costs
at end-September 2021, which includes precious metals such as
rhodium, which is used to produce catalysts. Personnel costs
accounts for 25% of total operating costs and almost half is
classified as a semi-variable cost, according to management." FIS
faced increasing pressures on profits in 2021 due to rising raw
material costs (mainly rhodium and palladium) and supply chain
challenges due to the reliance of key raw materials from China and
India, which is common for the industry. Moreover, energy prices
increased materially (close to 2.5% of FIS' revenue as of September
2021), which will likely continue into 2022. However, the company
has kept adjusted EBITDA margin of 15.0%-15.5% in 2021 at similar
level as 2020 according to our estimates. This is thanks to sales
price adjustments, with key customers primarily in the custom
division allowing the company to pass on to them 75% of the total
input costs increase. This illustrates FIS' ability to maintain
stable profitability also in 2022.

FIS' strategic investment plan aims to expand capacity and improve
profitability but will result in negative free operating cash flow
(FOCF) over 2022-2023. The company has an ambitious capital
expenditure (capex) program aiming to improve operating efficiency
to expand production capacity to accommodate higher volumes and
develop new molecules. FIS intends to improve the level of
profitability of its Lonigo plant through energy-efficiency
measures, a build of a new incinerator to enhance waste management
and internalize production of some high value raw materials
currently sourced from China. S&P said, "In 2022-2023, we expect
FIS will invest EUR140 million-EUR150 million in capex, of which
roughly 50% will be associated with the strategic investment plan.
We estimate FOCF to remain negative, at EUR30 million-EUR35 million
in 2022 and EUR10 million in 2023, before turning positive and
above EUR15 million from 2024 onwards."

S&P said, "Our financial risk profile assessment is supported by
our estimate that S&P Global Ratings-adjusted debt to EBITDA will
remain below 5.0x over 2022-2023. FIS intends to issue the EUR350
million sustainable linked senior secured notes to streamline its
capital structure. Post-transaction, FIS' financial debt will
comprise the proposed bond and roughly EUR10 million in existing
bank facilities. As part of the transaction, FIS will pay a EUR40
million extraordinary dividend to its parent company NTG, the
investment vehicle of the Ferrari family (the founder and owner of
FIS). Our adjusted gross debt calculation of FIS excludes the EUR53
million convertible shareholder bond we treat as equity-like. This
instrument is subordinated, is unsecured, does not benefit from any
guarantees, and matures at least six months after the bond
maturity. Cash interests are payable voluntarily and will amount at
about EUR1 million per year. Further adjustments to our debt mainly
include a roughly EUR5 million pension liability and EUR6 million
deferred purchase price for the acquisition of a business unit
dedicated to generic products for the U.S. market. At the end of
2021, we expect outstanding factoring and reverse factoring will
have amounted to EUR70 million-EUR80 million, which we anticipate
will decrease slightly. We do not consolidate any debt at the
parent level given the absence of financial liabilities
post-transaction.

"We expect shareholder family to maintain a supportive financial
policy. At the end of 2020, FIS accounted for roughly the entire
consolidated EBITDA of NTG. We deem the other subsidiaries owned by
NTG immaterial. NTG will use part of the proceeds from the
extraordinary dividend to extinguish its financial indebtedness.
Post-transaction, NTG's debt will only include EUR70 million
shareholder bonds (including a shareholder convertible bond). These
instruments have long-term maturities beyond that of the FIS bond.
We expect limited cash leakage from FIS in line with supporting
financial policy from its shareholder. This will result in an
approximately EUR2 million dividend per year, which will primarily
service interest on shareholder bonds.

"The rating stands one notch below the 'b+' anchor. This reflects
our view that leverage is expected in the high end of the 4x-5x
range in 2022 and that the company will post negative FOCF over the
next 24 months.

"The stable outlook on FIS reflects our view that the company will
early manage expected sales declines in 2024 from loss of
exclusivity of its main molecule, thanks to the commercial launch
of new molecules in 2022, and other new projects with key customers
supporting ongoing top line growth and slight expansion of margins
in the 15.5%-16.0% range over 2022-2023. This should result in
adjusted debt to EBITDA remaining below 5.0x over the same period
despite expected negative FOCF due to expansionary capex.

"We could take a negative rating action if FIS experienced a
pronounced deterioration of operating performance due to a material
reduction of volumes from a loss of key agreements with key
customers or should the company face higher-than-expected
challenges from input cost increases and supply chain constraints.
In our view, this would likely translate into erosion of
profitability leading to further pressure on FOCF and leverage
increasing permanently above 5.0x. This could also happen if we
were to observe aggressive financial policy from its shareholder.

"An upside scenario is unlikely for now due to our expectation that
FOCF will remain negative on strategic investments. Ratings upside
would hinge on FIS' restored capacity to generate positive FOCF
thanks to the implementation of operating efficiency measures
resulting in an S&P Global Ratings-adjusted recurring EBITDA margin
expansion in the 16%-20% range. Under this scenario, we would
expect a consistent financial policy supporting sustained leverage
of 4.0x-5.0x."

ESG credit indicators: E-2 S-2 G-2

ESG factors have an overall neutral influence on our credit rating
analysis of FIS. As a CDMO operator FIS is subject to increasingly
stringent environmental requirements including air emissions, water
and waste management in its manufacturing operations. S&P said, "In
addition, in our view FIS is well positioned to adhere with
increasing environmental, social and governance standards required
by its large pharmaceutical customers which could further
strengthen FIS' relationship with its core customers. FIS'
commitment on sustainability translated into clear targets
regarding emission reduction, waste management and water efficiency
included in the sustainable linked bond framework which the company
will capture through its strategic plan expansion. In general, we
view family-controlled entities as having the risk of shareholder
interests being prioritized over other stakeholders. However, we
have not seen evidence of any negative influence from the owners,
which have a long-term view on the investment and maintain a
relatively prudent shareholder distribution policy."

-- The preliminary issue rating on the new proposed senior secured
EUR350 million sustainability linked bond is 'B', in line with the
issuer credit rating. The preliminary recovery rating of '3'
reflects S&P's expectation of meaningful recovery (50%-70%; rounded
estimate 60%) in the event of default.

-- The recovery rating is constrained by prior-ranking liabilities
and supported by the relatively limited quantum of debt.

-- The documentation includes a minimum guarantor coverage test
(80% of EBITDA), with a security packaging primarily including a
pledge over shares and material bank accounts.

-- S&P's hypothetical default scenario assumes a loss of key
customers in FIS' core markets, or significant supply chain
disruption or material increase in input costs that the company is
not able to compensate through price increases.

-- S&P values FIS as a going concern given the essential nature of
CMO, diverse customer base and quality of asset based in Italy.

-- Year of default: 2025

-- Jurisdiction: Italy

-- Emergence EBITDA: Approximately EUR52 million

    --Capex: 4.5% of sales.

    --Cyclicality adjustment: 0%, in line with the specific
industry subsegment.

    --Operational adjustment is 20%.

-- EBITDA multiple: 6x

-- Gross recovery value: EUR310 million

-- Net recovery value for waterfall after 5% administrative
expenses: EUR295 million

-- Estimated priority debt: Approximately EUR75 million

-- Estimated first-lien senior secured debt claims: EUR355
million-EUR360 million

    --Recovery range: 50-70% (rounded estimate 60%)

    --Recovery rating: 3

All debt amounts include six months of prepetition interest.


PIETRA NERA: DBRS Confirms B(high) Rating on Class E Notes
----------------------------------------------------------
DBRS Ratings GmbH confirmed its ratings on the Commercial
Mortgage-Backed Floating Rate Notes due May 2030 issued by Pietra
Nera Uno S.R.L. as follows:

-- Class A Notes at A (sf)
-- Class B Notes at BBB (sf)
-- Class C Notes at BB (high) (sf)
-- Class D Notes at BB (sf)
-- Class E Notes at B (high) (sf)

All trends are Negative.

The rating confirmations reflect the solid performance of the
underlying pool over the last 12 months, with improving year-end
properties' results thanks to a gradual relaxation of in-place
restrictive measures related to the Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19)
pandemic. Nevertheless, the Negative trend reflects the continued
uncertainty about whether this performance will be sustained, given
that the retail sector is one of the most vulnerable to the
pandemic.

The transaction is an agency securitization of three senior
commercial real estate loans (i.e., the Fashion District loan, the
Palermo loan, and the Valdichiana loan) and two pari passu-ranking
capital expenditure (capex) facilities for a total amount of EUR
403,810,000, which represents a weighted-average (WA) loan-to-value
ratio (LTV) of 74.7% at issuance. The loans were advanced by
BRE/Europe 7NQ S.a.r.l. to four Italian borrowers, ultimately owned
by the Blackstone Group LP (Blackstone; the Sponsor), and are
backed by four retail properties across Italy. Deutsche Bank AG,
London Branch (the Arranger and Liquidity Reserve Facility
Provider) acted as sole arranger of the transaction.

The Fashion District loan is secured by two retail outlet
villages—Mantova Outlet Village and Puglia Outlet
Village—located in northern and southern Italy, respectively, and
managed by Multi Outlet Management Italy S.R.L., Blackstone's
pan-European retail platform managing a total of five retail
villages marketed under the 'Land of Fashion' brand. The platform
also includes the Valdichiana Outlet Village, which backs the
Valdichiana loan, while the Palermo loan is secured by a major
shopping center in Sicily—the Forum Palermo—which is the
largest asset in the transaction.

As a result of scheduled amortization, as of November 2021, the
total loans' outstanding balance reduced to EUR 394,964,325 and all
loans were extended to 15 May 2022, with another one-year extension
option available. The WA debt yield for the whole portfolio
increased by 4.6 percentage points (pp) over the last 12 months,
according to the most recently published investor report. All three
loans' debt yields recorded increases of between 3.0 and 6.0 pp,
though two loans remain below their cash trap trigger levels. In
particular, the EUR 173.0 million Palermo loan left cash trap in
August 2021, showing a debt yield annual increase to 10.2% from
5.2%. The EUR 125.7 million Fashion District loan's debt yield rose
to 7.7% from 4.1% while the EUR 96.3 million Valdichiana loan's
debt yield climbed to 9.0% from 3.7%.

The increase in debt yields is mainly due to increases in net
operating income which, in many cases, exceeded budget, according
to the latest investor reports. This was largely attributed to the
positive impact of 2020's deferred rent having been collected
during 2021 and reduced capex and service charges throughout the
closure periods.

CBRE Loan Services Ltd. (CBRE) revalued the four properties in
December 2020 at EUR 505.5 million, representing an overall drop of
9.2% from the previous valuation. On an individual-loan basis, the
values of the two Fashion District properties—Mantova Outlet
Village and Puglia Outlet Village—fell to EUR 165.8 million from
a combined valuation of EUR 185.6 million, thus resulting in a
10.7% decline. Forum Palermo saw its value decline by 6.3% to EUR
201.9 million from the previous valuation of EUR 215.4 million. The
decline in value of the Valdichiana Outlet Village was more
pronounced, as the latest valuation report estimated the asset's
worth at EUR 137.8 million, which is a 11.6% decline from the
previous valuation of EUR 155.8 million. As a result, the aggregate
portfolio's LTV increased to 77.9% compared with 72.5% last year
and 74.7% at issuance, with the highest individual-loan LTV
currently standing at 83.8% for Forum Palermo.

Each of the loans bears interest at a floating rate equal to
three-month Euribor (subject to a floor of zero) plus a margin
resulting from the WA of the aggregate interest amounts payable to
the notes. There are no default covenants on the loans before a
change of control.

The transaction benefits from a liquidity reserve facility of EUR
14.7 million (EUR 15.0 at origination), which equals 15.6% of the
total outstanding balance of the covered notes and is provided by
Deutsche Bank AG, London Branch. The liquidity reserve facility can
be used to cover interest shortfalls on the Class A and Class B
Notes.

DBRS Morningstar maintained its underwriting assumptions since the
last annual review. In particular, DBRS Morningstar maintained its
net cash flow (NCF) assumptions at EUR 9.6 million, EUR 11.3
million, and EUR 7.5 million for the Fashion District loan, the
Palermo loan, and the Valdichiana loan, respectively. DBRS
Morningstar also maintained its property value assumptions at EUR
123.8 million for the Fashion District loan, EUR 150.6 million for
the Palermo loan, and EUR 107.2 million for the Valdichiana loan,
respectively, representing haircuts of 25.3%, 25.4%, and 22.2% to
the most updated valuations, respectively. For DBRS Morningstar's
underwriting assumptions at issuance, please refer to the
transaction's rating report.

The Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) and the resulting isolation
measures have caused an immediate economic contraction, leading in
some cases to increases in unemployment rates and income reductions
for many tenants and borrowers. DBRS Morningstar anticipates that
vacancy rate increases and cash flow reductions may continue to
arise for many CMBS borrowers. In addition, commercial real estate
values could be negatively affected, at least in the short term,
affecting refinancing prospects for maturing loans and expected
recoveries for defaulted loans. The ratings are based on additional
analysis to expected performance as a result of the global efforts
to contain the spread of the coronavirus.

Notes: All figures are in euros unless otherwise noted.


TERNA-RETE ELETTRICA: Moody's Assigns Ba1 Rating to Hybrid Notes
----------------------------------------------------------------
Moody's Investors Service has ssigned a Ba1 long-term rating to the
subordinated Capital Security (the "Hybrid") to be issued by Terna
- Rete Elettrica Nazionale S.p.A. (Terna). The outlook is stable.
The size and completion of the Hybrid are subject to market
conditions.

RATINGS RATIONALE

The Ba1 rating assigned to the Hybrid is two notches lower than
Terna's senior unsecured rating of Baa2, reflecting the features of
the instrument. It is undated, deeply subordinated and Terna can
opt to defer coupons on a cumulative basis.

In Moody's view the Hybrid has equity-like features which allow it
to receive basket 'C' treatment (i.e. 50% equity and 50% debt) for
financial leverage purposes.

As the Hybrid's rating is positioned relative to another rating of
Terna, a change in either (1) Moody's relative notching practice or
(2) the senior unsecured rating of Terna could affect the Hybrid's
rating.

Terna's Baa2 long-term issuer and senior unsecured ratings are
underpinned by (1) the company's monopoly position as owner and
operator of the Italian transmission grid and its crucial role in
delivering the country's energy transition strategy; (2) its focus
on low-risk domestic electricity transmission activities executed
under an established and supportive regulatory framework; (3) the
low volume risk; and (4) a sound liquidity profile.

The Baa2 ratings also consider (1) the domestic nature of the
company's earnings, which leaves it exposed to macroeconomic,
regulatory and political risks in Italy (Baa3 stable); (2) the high
proportion of cash flows paid out as dividends, which weigh on
Terna's retained cash flows (RCF); and (3) the company's sizeable
capital programme which Moody's expects will drive some increase in
leverage by 2025.

RATIONALE FOR STABLE OUTLOOK

The stable outlook is in line with the outlook on the Government of
Italy's rating, reflecting Terna's links with the sovereign, which
constrain the company's long-term senior unsecured ratings at Baa2.
The stable outlook also reflects Moody's expectation that Terna
will maintain its sound financial and liquidity profiles.

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

Any potential upgrade of Terna's rating would be contingent upon an
upgrade of the Italian sovereign rating, along with the company
maintaining its current underlying credit profile, including sound
liquidity.

Terna's rating could be downgraded (1) if the company was not able
to maintain a financial profile consistent with the guidance for
the current rating, such that funds from operations (FFO)/net debt
appeared likely to fall persistently below the high-single digits
in percentage terms or RCF/net debt fell below 5%; (2) following a
downgrade of the Government of Italy's rating; or (3) if the
implementation of a riskier strategy of international growth were
to hurt Terna's current low business risk profile. Unexpected
adverse regulatory developments increasing the company's business
risk profile, evidence of political interference or adverse fiscal
measures, could also exert downward pressure on the rating.

PRINCIPAL METHODOLOGY

The principal methodology used in this rating was Regulated
Electric and Gas Networks published in March 2017.

COMPANY PROFILE

Terna - Rete Elettrica Nazionale S.p.A. (Terna) owns and operates
almost the whole of the high-voltage and very-high-voltage
electricity transmission grid in Italy (around 75,000 kilometres of
electric lines). For 2020, the company reported revenue of around
EUR2.5 billion and EBITDA of EUR1.8 billion.



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

CHELINDBANK PJSC: Fitch Affirms 'BB' LT IDR, Outlook Stable
-----------------------------------------------------------
Fitch Ratings has affirmed PJSC Chelindbank's (Chelind) Long-Term
Issuer Default Rating (IDR) at 'BB'. The Outlook is Stable.

Fitch has withdrawn Chelind's Support Rating of '5' and Support
Rating Floor of 'No Floor' as they are no longer relevant to the
agency's coverage following the publication of its updated Bank
Rating Criteria on 12 November 2021. In line with the updated
criteria, Fitch has assigned Chelind a Government Support Rating
(GSR) of 'no support' (ns).

KEY RATING DRIVERS

The IDR of Chelind is driven by its intrinsic credit strength, as
expressed by its 'bb' Viability Rating (VR). The VR reflects the
bank's prudent risk appetite, healthy asset-quality metrics despite
the Covid-19 pandemic, stable performance through the credit cycle,
and solid capital and liquidity buffers. It also factors in the
bank's limited franchise in the concentrated Russian banking
sector, although its market shares are more pronounced in the
Chelyabinsk region, where the bank is domiciled.

Impaired loans (Stage 3 under IFRS) decreased to 6.8% of gross
loans at end-3Q21 from 8.7% at end-2020, helped by recoveries and
portfolio growth of 15% in 9M21 (non-annualised). Stage 2 loans
made up 4% of total loans at end-3Q21. Impaired loans were
conservatively covered at 98% by specific loan loss allowances
(LLAs) and at 156% by total LLAs, while Stage 2 loans were
adequately provisioned at 35%. The bank's non-loan exposures (38%
of total assets end-3Q21) were mostly represented by cash,
placements with the Central Bank of Russia (CBR) and bonds of high
credit quality (rated BB and above), which Fitch views as low
risk.

Profitability remains healthy. Operating profit strengthened to
2.6% of average regulatory risk-weighted assets (RWAs) in 9M21
(annualised; 2020: 2.2%), underpinned by loan provision reversals
(9M21: 0.4% of average loans; 2020: 1.1%) and improved cost of
funding (9M21: 3.7%; 2020: 4.4%), resulting in a resilient 6.5% net
interest margin (2020: 6.4%). Annualised pre-impairment operating
profit remained good at 4.8% of average loans in 9M21, providing
Chelind with a reasonable ability to absorb loan impairment
charges, which have historically been low (below 1.5% of average
loans since 2015). Return on average equity (ROAE) was 12% in 9M21
(2020: 9%).

The ratio of Fitch Core Capital to RWAs was a high 18.4% at
end-3Q21. This was down from 20% at end-2020 as loan growth
exceeded ROAE. The regulatory consolidated Tier 1 and total capital
ratios were 14.8% and 17.6% at end-3Q21, respectively (down from
15.7% and 19.4% at end-2020), but still provided conservative
headroom above the regulatory minimum requirements of 8.5% and
10.5%, including buffers. Fitch expects capital ratios to stabilise
as loan growth is likely to moderate, while the bank's healthy
profitability and conservative dividend payments should support
capital metrics.

The bank is mainly deposit-funded (91% of liabilities at end-3Q21)
with an emphasis on granular retail deposits. Chelind's customer
funding is stable, supported by a healthy franchise in the bank's
home region. The liquidity buffer is healthy with highly liquid
assets (cash and equivalents, interbank placements and unpledged
liquid bonds) covering 43% of customer accounts at end-3Q21.

Chelind's GSR of 'ns' reflects Fitch's view that support from the
Russian authorities cannot be relied on, due to the bank's limited
systemic importance.

RATING SENSITIVITIES

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

-- Fitch could downgrade Chelind's ratings on material
    deterioration of asset-quality metrics (impaired loans ratio
    above 10% on a sustained basis) combined with weaker
    profitability and erosion of the total regulatory capital
    ratio to below 15%.

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

-- Upside to the ratings is currently limited and would require a
    material strengthening of the bank's franchise, while
    maintaining reasonable performance and healthy capitalisation.

VR ADJUSTMENTS

The operating environment score of 'bbb-' has been assigned above
the 'bb' category implied score, due the following adjustment
reason: 'macroeconomic stability' (positive).

The business profile score of 'bb-' has been assigned above the 'b'
category implied score, due the following adjustment reason:
'business model' (positive).

The earnings and profitability score of 'bb' has been assigned
below the 'bbb' category implied score, due to the following
adjustment reason: 'revenue diversification' (negative).

The capitalisation and leverage score of 'bb+' has been assigned
below the 'bbb' category implied score, due to the following
adjustment reason: 'size of capital base' (negative).

The funding and liquidity score of 'bb' has been assigned below the
'bbb' category implied score, due to the following adjustment
reason: 'deposit structure' (negative).

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.

LOCKO-BANK: Fitch Affirms 'BB-' LT IDRs, Outlook Stable
-------------------------------------------------------
Fitch Ratings has affirmed Locko-Bank JSC's (Locko) Long-Term
Issuer Default Ratings (IDRs) at 'BB-'. The Outlooks are Stable.

Fitch has withdrawn Locko's Support Rating of '5' and Support
Rating Floor of 'No Floor' as they are no longer relevant to the
agency's coverage following the publication of its updated Bank
Rating Criteria on 12 November 2021. In line with the updated
criteria, Fitch has assigned Locko a Government Support Rating
(GSR) of 'no support' (ns).

KEY RATING DRIVERS

The IDRs of Locko are driven by its intrinsic credit strength, as
expressed by its 'bb-' Viability Rating (VR). The VR reflects a
record of stable performance through the credit cycle, with healthy
capital and liquidity buffers and only moderate asset-quality
deterioration from the Covid-19 pandemic. The rating also factors
in the bank's limited franchise in the concentrated Russian banking
sector (although more notable in car loans), significant exposure
to retail lending and a changing business mix, due to the bank's
rapid expansion in car lending.

Impaired loans (Stage 3 under IFRS) moderated to 5.1% of gross
loans at end-3Q21, after peaking at 11% at end-3Q20. This was
mainly driven by write-offs and sales of problem loans (7% of
average gross loans in the last 12 months) and accelerated loan
growth (16% in 9M21, not annualised). The impaired loans
origination ratio (defined as an increase in impaired loans over
the period plus write-offs divided by average performing loans) was
a moderate 3.3% in 9M21 (annualised; 2020: 3.3%, 2019: 2.7%).
Impaired loans were well covered at 80% by specific loan loss
allowances (LLAs) and at 119% by total LLAs. Stage 2 loans were a
limited 1.5% of gross loans at end-3Q21.

Profitability was resilient with operating profit at 2.9% of Basel
1 risk-weighted assets (RWAs) in 9M21 (2017-2020: 3.2% on average).
Pre-impairment profit was strong at 8% of average loans in 9M21.
Net interest margin of 4.5% was undermined by a large lower-yield
bonds portfolio (50% of total assets at end-3Q21), but this was
compensated by strong net fee income at 4% of average loans from
the bank's guarantee business. Cost of risk was 3.2% in 9M21 (2020:
3.3%; 2019: 3.5%), resulting in a reasonable return on average
equity of 11% in 9M21 (annualised).

Locko's credit profile benefits from its healthy capital cushion,
as reflected in a Fitch Core Capital (FCC)/ Basel 1 RWAs ratio of
23% at end-3Q21. The regulatory consolidated Tier 1 ratio was a
lower 14.7%, due to higher risk-weights under local GAAP and
temporary accounting of unaudited profits in Tier 2 capital. The
regulatory total capital ratio was 16.5% at end-3Q21. Both ratios
were well above the regulatory minimums of 8.5% and 10.5%,
including buffers, respectively. Capital ratios were supported in
9M21 by a lower market risk charge, due to a contracted trading
portfolio, and remained strong amid resumed loan growth and a
dividend pay-out of RUB0.8 billion (30% of 2020 net income).

Net loans (36% of total assets at end-3Q21) are funded by customer
deposits (56% of liabilities), while the bank's ample securities
book is largely funded by direct repo operations with the central
counterparty (43% of liabilities). Fitch views liquidity risks from
these repo operations as limited because they are backed by
Russia's sovereign bonds with floating coupons. The bank's
liquidity buffer (cash, interbank placements and unpledged bonds)
covered 40% of customer accounts at end-3Q21.

Locko's GSR of 'ns' reflects Fitch's view that support from the
Russian authorities cannot be relied on, due to the bank's limited
systemic importance.

RATING SENSITIVITIES

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

-- Locko's ratings could be downgraded on a material weakening of
    asset quality resulting in a negative or close to negative
    performance for several consecutive reporting periods. Weaker
    capitalisation, due to losses, rapid growth of RWAs or higher
    dividend pay-outs, could also result in a downgrade.

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

-- An upgrade would require a strengthening of the bank's
    business and risk profiles, including a more stable business
    model and slower lending growth while maintaining reasonable
    asset quality, profitability and capitalisation metrics.

VR ADJUSTMENTS

The operating environment score of 'bbb-' has been assigned above
the 'bb' category implied score, due the following adjustment
reason: 'macroeconomic stability' (positive).

The business profile score of 'b+' has been assigned below the 'bb'
category implied score, due the following adjustment reason:
'business model' (negative).

The earnings and profitability score of 'bb' has been assigned
below the 'bbb' category implied score, due to the following
adjustment reason: 'revenue diversification' (negative).

The capitalisation and leverage score of 'bb' has been assigned
below the 'a' category implied score, due to the following
adjustment reasons: 'size of capital base' (negative) and 'risk
profile and business model' (negative).

The funding and liquidity score of 'bb' has been assigned below the
'bbb' category implied score, due to the following adjustment
reason: 'deposit structure' (negative).

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.

RAVNAQ BANK: S&P Affirms 'B-' ICR, Outlook Negative
---------------------------------------------------
S&P Global Ratings affirmed its long-term issuer and issue credit
ratings on 11 Uzbek banks and their rated bonds following a
revision to its criteria for rating banks and nonbank financial
institutions and for determining a Banking Industry Country Risk
Assessment (BICRA).

The affirmations include those on:

-- National Bank Of Uzbekistan (BB-/Stable/B)
-- KDB Bank Uzbekistan JSC (BB-/Stable/B)
-- Ipoteka Bank JSCM (BB-/Stable/B)
-- Uzpromstroybank (BB-/Stable/B)
-- Hamkorbank JSCB (B+/Positive/B)
-- Orient Finans Bank (B+/Stable/B)
-- Xalq Bank (B+/Stable/B)
-- Turon Bank (B/Stable/B)
-- Davr-Bank (B/Stable/B)
-- Kapitalbank (B-/Positive/B)
-- Ravnaq Bank (B-/Negative/B)

S&P said, "Our assessments of economic risk and industry risk in
Uzbekistan are at '7' and '9', respectively. These scores determine
the BICRA and anchor, or starting point, for our ratings on
financial institutions that operate primarily in that country. The
trends we see for both economic and industry risks are stable.

"Our base-case scenario remains that the Uzbekistan economy and
financial system remains resilient to effects of the pandemic.

"We expect GDP growth of about 6.5% in 2021 and 5.5% in 2022, with
inflation remaining at 10.5%-10% over 2022-2023. We note some
moderation in credit growth in 2021 to about 17% compared with
higher levels in 2020, given the more stringent regulatory
requirements and the more stable exchange rate for the national
currency.

"Credit costs were at 2.0% in 2021 and we expect them to remain at
this elevated level in 2022. This has improved from 2.6% in 2020,
but is still higher than the 1.6% average for 2016-2019. We expect
that nonperforming loans (NPLs) to remain at 4%-6% in 2022 versus
the regulatory-reported 5.2% at the end of 2021. The stock of NPLs
appears lower than for some regional peers, but we believe an
additional 7%-8% of loans could be restructured.

"We assess industry risks for banks operating in the country as
high. This mainly reflects the government's high intervention in
the state-owned enterprises' decision-making processes, the
regulator's selective approach to supervision, and a complex
competitive landscape dominated by these enterprises. The funding
profiles of Uzbek banks are largely stable, supported by funding
from the state, growth in corporate and retail deposits, and more
recently, by an increase in external funding.

"The recent rapid spread of the omicron variant highlights the
inherent uncertainties of the pandemic as well as the importance
and benefits of vaccines. While the risk of new, more severe
variants displacing omicron and evading existing immunity cannot be
ruled out, our current base case assumes that existing vaccines can
continue to provide significant protection against severe illness.
Furthermore, many governments, businesses, and households around
the world are tailoring policies to limit the adverse economic
impact of recurring COVID-19 waves. Consequently, we do not expect
a repeat of the sharp global economic contraction of second-quarter
2020. Meanwhile, we continue to assess how well each issuer adapts
to new waves in its geography or industry."

National Bank For Foreign Economic Activity of the Republic Of
Uzbekistan (NBU)
Primary analyst: Dmitriy Nazarov

S&P said, "We affirmed our 'BB-/B' long- and short-term issuer
credit ratings, with a stable outlook, on NBU. Our ratings reflect
the bank's dominant market share and leading position in Uzbekistan
(BB-/Stable/B) in servicing the largest government-related entities
(GREs), local and regional authorities, private companies, and
individuals. NBU's improved earnings capacity is supported by the
expanding share of commercial loans in its lending mix and
increasing net interest margin. We expect the bank's capital buffer
will remain solid, with a risk-adjusted capital (RAC) ratio
remaining in the 8.2%-8.4% range at year-end (YE) 2023 versus 9.5%
at YE2020, and will remain an important factor supporting the
bank's creditworthiness in the next one-to-two years. We expect NBU
will face greater problem assets in the next 12 months and maintain
higher provisioning, with stage 3 loans increasing to 4.0%-4.3% of
its loan portfolio by YE2021. Nevertheless, we think that
relatively low exposure to retail and small and midsize enterprise
(SME) clients and the material share of loans guaranteed by the
government reduce credit risk for the bank. In our view, NBU's
funding profile and liquidity position is comparable with those of
other large state-owned banks in the country. The bank's liquidity
buffer is not excessive, but sufficient considering its
historically stable funding base. As of YE2021, its broad liquid
assets covered around 37% of total customer deposits and
represented around 14.5% of total assets. We understand that the
government will retain control of NBU in the next three-to-five
years, taking into account the bank's special and highly strategic
status for the government and the local economy. While we consider
NBU of high systemic importance and a GRE with a very high
likelihood of support from the Uzbek government, we do not
incorporate any notches of support in our ratings because the
bank's stand-alone credit profile (SACP) of 'bb' is one notch
higher than the sovereign rating. Our assessment of the bank's SACP
incorporates the government's ongoing support in terms of funding,
capital, and guarantees."

Outlook

The stable outlook on NBU mirrors that on the sovereign and
reflects S&P's view that adequate capital buffers and strong links
with the government will help the bank preserve its
creditworthiness and overcome post-pandemic risks.

Upside scenario: S&P could lower the rating on NBU in the next 12
months if it was to lower our sovereign credit ratings on
Uzbekistan.

Downside scenario: A positive rating action over the next 12 months
would hinge on a similar rating action on the sovereign.

  Ratings score snapshot

  Issuer credit rating: BB-/Stable/B
  Stand-alone credit profile: bb

  Anchor: b+
  Business position: Strong (+1)
  Capital and earnings: Adequate (+1)
  Risk position: Adequate (0)
  Funding and Liquidity: Adequate and Adequate (0)
  Comparable ratings analysis: 0
  Support: 0

  Additional loss-absorbing capacity (ALAC) support: 0
  GRE support: 0
  Group support: 0
  Sovereign support: 0
  Additional factors: -1

  ESG credit indicators: E-2 S-2 G-4

KDB Bank Uzbekistan JSC
Primary analyst: Andrey Strebezh

S&P said, "We affirmed our 'BB-/B' ratings on KDB Bank Uzbekistan
with a stable outlook. Our ratings on KDB Uzbekistan reflect the
'bb-' anchor, which is one notch higher than the 'b+' anchor for
banks that only operate in Uzbekistan. The higher anchor reflects
the lower risks we see for KDB Uzbekistan compared with other Uzbek
banks due to its significant liquid investments outside its country
of domicile, predominantly in southeast Asian markets.

"We incorporate into our ratings the bank's focus on large
corporate clients and plans to increase its lending business in
Uzbekistan, which will somewhat expand its narrow customer base. We
also factor in its strong capital buffer, with a forecast RAC ratio
of 11.7%-12.2% in the next 18 months, primarily low-risk assets,
and good profitability. We think that KDB Uzbekistan's high asset
quality and prudent risk management so far balance potential risks
from high business growth, as well as high dollarization and low
diversity of its loan portfolio. Our ratings also reflect the
bank's historically large liquidity buffer, mitigating the periodic
volatility of its depositor base.

"We consider KDB Uzbekistan a strategically important subsidiary of
Korea Development Bank (AA/Stable/A-1+). We could rate KDB
Uzbekistan up to three notches higher than the SACP to reflect
potential extraordinary support from the group. However, we cap the
ratings on the bank at the level of our foreign currency long-term
sovereign credit rating on Uzbekistan because, in our view, the
group would not be able to fully mitigate the stress associated
with a hypothetical sovereign default."

Outlook

The stable outlook on KDB Uzbekistan reflects that on the sovereign
and includes our view that, in the next 12-18 months, the bank will
adhere to its business model and maintain a low risk profile, while
it continues displaying solid profitability and strong
capitalization.

Downside scenario: S&P could take a negative rating action on the
bank if it took a similar action on Uzbekistan.

Upside scenario: A positive rating action on KDB Uzbekistan would
hinge on a positive rating action on the sovereign, assuming that
parent Korea Development Bank's commitment to provide extraordinary
support to its Uzbek subsidiary if needed is maintained.
  Ratings score snapshot

  Issuer credit rating: BB-/Stable/B
  Stand-alone credit profile: bb-

  Anchor: bb-
  Business position: Moderate (-1)
  Capital and earnings: Strong (+1)
  Risk position: Adequate (0)
  Funding and Liquidity: Adequate and Adequate (0)
  Comparable ratings analysis: 0
  Support: 0

  ALAC support: 0
  GRE support: 0
  Group support: 0
  Sovereign support: 0
  Additional factors: 0

  ESG credit indicators: E-2 S-2 G-3

Ipoteka Bank JSCM
Primary analyst: Ekaterina Marushkevich

S&P said, "We affirmed our 'BB-/B' ratings on Ipoteka Bank, with a
stable outlook. We think that the bank's sizable market share, wide
branch network, sustainably rising revenue, and focus on the
socially important mortgage segment support its business position
and the stability of its credit profile. We incorporate in our
ratings on Ipoteka our assessment of the bank's sufficient
capitalization, as reflected in our expected RAC ratio of 9.2%-9.7%
in 2022-2023. We view positively the lower dollarization and
single-name concentrations in Ipoteka's loan portfolio as well as
stabilizing loan portfolio growth. We expect the bank's stage 3
loans will gradually decrease to around 6% of total loans in the
next 12 months from 7.8% as of mid-2021, coming close to our
estimate for the sector average level. We view Ipoteka's funding
profile as stable and diversified, with funds from the government,
state-related entities, Eurobonds, and International Finance Corp.
The bank adequately manages its liquidity position, which remains
comparable with that of peers.

"We consider that Ipoteka has high systemic importance in the Uzbek
banking sector. We also see Ipoteka as a GRE with important role
and limited link with the government. We do not incorporate in the
ratings any notches reflecting the probability of extraordinary
government support because Ipoteka's SACP is already at the level
of the sovereign rating on Uzbekistan."

Outlook

The stable outlook on Ipoteka reflects S&P's view that the bank
will maintain adequate capital and keep its ties with the
government over the transition period related to its planned
privatization in the next 12 months.

Downside scenario: S&P said, "We could take a negative rating
action on Ipoteka if we took a similar action on Uzbekistan. If the
bank's profile is significantly riskier post-privatization and not
offset by new owner support, we could also downgrade the bank."

Upside scenario: A positive rating action on Ipoteka is unlikely in
the next 12 months. An upgrade would hinge on a positive rating
action on the sovereign and simultaneous improvement in the bank's
own credit quality.

  Ratings score snapshot

  Issuer credit rating: BB-/Stable/B
  Stand-alone credit profile: bb-

  Anchor: b+
  Business position: Adequate (0)
  Capital and earnings: Adequate (+1)
  Risk position: Adequate (0)
  Funding and Liquidity: Adequate and Adequate (0)
  Comparable ratings analysis: 0
  Support: 0

  ALAC support: 0
  GRE support: 0
  Group support: 0
  Sovereign support: 0
  Additional factors: 0

  ESG credit indicators: E-2 S-2 G-4

Uzpromstroybank
Primary analyst: Dmitriy Nazarov

S&P said, "We affirmed our 'BB-/B' ratings, with a stable outlook,
on Uzpromstroybank. In our view, the bank's high market share,
strong franchise in corporate banking, and close ties with several
of the largest GREs support its business position. The bank
demonstrates improving earning capacity bolstered by a growing
share of commercial loans in its lending mix and an increasing net
interest margin. We expect that the bank's asset quality will
gradually converge with the system average, with a share of
nonperforming assets (NPAs) to total loans falling to 4.5%-5.0%. We
also expect that the bank will maintain adequate capital buffer
with our RAC ratio close to 8.2-8.3% by year-end 2023. We think
this capital buffer will support its growing business and ability
to continue distributing 50% of its net income to dividends as per
the government decree.

"In our view, Uzpromstroybank has high systemic importance in
Uzbekistan. We also consider the bank a GRE, with a moderately high
likelihood of receiving timely and sufficient government support.
We believe it will maintain a significant volume of government
business, including lending and settlement services to large GREs
and lending to other industries supported by the government. We
think that the link between the government and Uzpromstroybank
remains strong because the government directly controls more than
90% of the bank's capital. Although Uzpromstroybank is one of the
GREs to be privatized, we do not think the link between the
government and the bank will weaken in the next two-to-three years
because the government will keep control of the bank and the
privatization process will be gradual.

"Our assessment of Uzpromstroybank's 'bb-' SACP incorporates the
government's ongoing support to the bank in terms of funding and
guarantees. We do not include additional uplift for potential
government support because the SACP is at the same level as the
sovereign rating."

Outlook

The stable outlook mirrors that of the sovereign and S&P's view
that Uzpromstroybank's adequate capital buffers, improving asset
quality, and solid business position in Uzbekistan will support its
credit profile in the coming 12 months.

Downside scenario: S&P said, "We could take a negative rating
action in the next 12 months if we were to make a similar ration
action on Uzbekistan. We could also consider a negative rating
action if contrary to our expectations, the bank's asset quality
deteriorates and remains worse than that of domestic peers."

Upside scenario: A positive rating action is unlikely over the next
12 months because it would require a similar rating action on the
sovereign, together with further improvement of the bank's SACP.

  Ratings score snapshot

  Issuer credit rating: BB-/Stable/B
  Stand-alone credit profile: bb-

  Anchor: b+
  Business position: Adequate (0)
  Capital and earnings: Adequate (+1)
  Risk position: Adequate (0)
  Funding and Liquidity: Adequate and Adequate (0)
  Comparable ratings analysis: 0
  Support: 0

  ALAC support: 0
  GRE support: 0
  Group support: 0
  Sovereign support: 0
  Additional factors: 0

  ESG credit indicators: E-2 S-2 G-4

Hamkorbank
Primary analyst: Dmitriy Nazarov

S&P said, "We affirmed our 'B+/B' ratings, with a positive outlook,
on Hamkorbank. In our view, the bank's sound and stable franchise
in SME and retail lending, sizable customer base, and diverse
lending mix will support its business position. We believe
asset-quality metrics will stabilize over the forecast period. We
do not expect a new significant influx of problem loans from the
restructured portfolio and believe that the stage 3 loans will have
decreased to 4.7% in 2021 and will decrease to 4.3% in 2022, which
is close to our systemwide expectations; and cost of risk will
gradually fall to 1.0%-1.2% through 2022. We anticipate that
Hamkorbank's creditworthiness could strengthen thanks to continuing
improvement of its capital position. We think that sustainably
strong profitability in previous years, with annual return on
average equity at 25% or greater since 2013, and no expected common
dividends distribution support potential favorable dynamics of the
bank's capital buffer in coming years. In our view, Hamkorbank's
funding profile and liquidity position are comparable with those of
large state-owned banks. The bank's liquidity management remains
prudent. As of Dec. 31, 2021, its highly liquid assets covered
about 52% of its total customer deposits and represented about 18%
of its total assets."

Outlook

S&P said, "The positive outlook on Hamkorbank reflects our view
that the bank's creditworthiness could strengthen in the next 12-18
months thanks to potentially stronger capital adequacy, with the
forecast RAC ratio being sustainably above 10%. The outlook also
reflects our expectations that the bank will continue to actively
increase its business, with a focus on retail and micro lending;
and demonstrate solid profitability, with return on average equity
sustainably exceeding 20%. Finally, we believe Hamkorbank's asset
quality will gradually improve with a decreasing share of problem
assets and the cost of risk remaining under 1.2%."

Upside scenario: S&P said, "We could raise our rating if
Hamkorbank's RAC ratio exceeds and remains sustainably above 10% in
the next 12-18 months, supported by the bank's solid profitability
and capital generation capacity, and if its capital adequacy ratio
remains at least 100 basis points above the regulatory threshold.
An upgrade would be possible only if the bank's asset quality
improved further, with a share of problem assets closer to our
system average assumptions and new loan loss provisions not
exceeding those of domestic peers."

Downside scenario: S&P said, "We could revise the outlook to stable
if the bank's forecast capital buffer came under pressure from high
asset growth and lower profitability, jeopardized by
higher-than-expected credit losses. Significant deterioration of
capital adequacy ratios with a buffer of lower than 100 basis
points above the regulatory threshold, might prompt us to consider
a negative rating action."

  Ratings score snapshot

  Issuer credit rating: B+/Positive/B
  Stand-alone credit profile: b+

  Anchor: b+
  Business position: Adequate (0)
  Capital and earnings: Adequate (+1)
  Risk position: Moderate (-1)
  Funding and Liquidity: Adequate and Adequate (0)
  Comparable ratings analysis: 0
  Support: 0

  ALAC support: 0
  GRE support: 0
  Group support: 0
  Sovereign support: 0
  Additional factors: 0

  ESG credit indicators: E-2 S-2 G-3

Orient Finans Bank (OFB)
Primary analyst: Victor Nikolskiy

S&P said, "We affirmed our 'B+/B', with a stable outlook, on OFB
based on the bank's sustainable performance in terms of cost of
risk and NPLs amid the pandemic, combined with very prudent capital
management. In our base-case scenario, OFB will have better than
average cost of risk in 2022-2023. We continue to believe that the
bank has substantial capital buffers, underpinned by good profits,
to absorb losses. While the RAC might be above 15% in the next
12-18 months, we do not believe this overcapitalization is
sustainable over the next three years.

"We believe OFB has lower loan dollarization than peers', with
loans in foreign currency at only 35% of gross loans as of 2021
year end, versus about 49% for the system average. This somewhat
protects the bank's performance from devaluation of the sum.

While not owned by the government, OFB has access to large
corporate customers and is involved in financing high-profile
projects initiated by the Cabinet of Ministers, despite its
relatively small market share and in contrast to other small and
midsize banks in Uzbekistan. The projects have generally good
credit quality, but this leads to relatively high single-name
concentration versus peers.

OFB has ample liquidity buffers. Net broad liquid assets covered
about 48% of demand customer deposits as of June 30, 2021, which is
better than other Uzbekistani banks, but is explained by
significant concentration of deposits. S&P expects these adequate
liquidity buffers will remain available over the next 12-18 months
to balance potential deposit outflow risks.

Outlook

S&P said, "The stable outlook reflects our view that OFB's solid
capital buffer and earnings capacity will support its credit
standing over the next 12-18 months. The outlook also reflects our
expectation that the bank's liquidity position will remain adequate
in that time."

Upside scenario: S&P said, "We believe that a positive rating
action in the next 12-18 months is unlikely. Beyond then, we could
take a positive rating action if OFB continues to show a track
record of lower credit losses and lower share of NPLs compared with
that of peers, while maintaining stable capitalization and
profitability metrics, while committing to an RAC ratio above 15%
with a buffer."

Downside scenario: A significant decline in capitalization, either
via higher-than-expected growth in exposure or large dividend
distributions, could also lead S&P to revise outlook to negative or
lower the rating.

  Ratings score snapshot

  Issuer credit rating: B+/Stable/B
  Stand-alone credit profile: b+

  Anchor: b+
  Business position: Moderate (-1)
  Capital and earnings: Strong (+2)
  Risk position: Moderate (-1)
  Funding and Liquidity: Adequate and Adequate (0)
  Comparable ratings analysis: 0
  Support: 0

  ALAC support: 0
  GRE support: 0
  Group support: 0
  Sovereign support: 0
  Additional factors: 0

  ESG credit indicators: E-2 S-2 G-4

Xalq Bank
Primary analyst: Dmitriy Nazarov

S&P said, "We affirmed our 'B+/B' ratings, with a stable outlook,
on Xalq Bank. We anticipate the bank's asset quality will gradually
improve after the dramatic hit in 2021, but remain materially
weaker than that of peers. We expect its share of problem assets
could reach up to 15% of gross loans at YE2021 under International
Financial Reporting Standards. This reflects Xalq's relaxed
underwriting and previously aggressive growth, pandemic effects, as
well as the conservative revaluation of loan portfolio quality by
the new management. The bank will likely preserve a solid capital
position with the RAC ratio remaining above 10% in the next 12-18
months thanks to large capital support from the government in 2021
(about Uzbek sum 3.0 trillion) and improved earnings capacity. In
our view, Xalq's relatively high market share, its extensive branch
network, the widest in the country, and its solid franchise in
retail and SME lending support the stability and diversity of its
business. We understand that the government's stop to all new
lending announced Aug. 1, 2021, due to issues with asset quality
risk management, will be temporary and will not materially damage
the bank's business position. We expect that the bank's funding
profile will remain dominated by pension deposits and
government-related funds, which anchors its stability. The
liquidity buffer stands at about 18.3% of total assets, which we
view as sufficient given the stability of its funding base,
dominated by state-related funds.

"In our view, Xalq Bank has moderate systemic importance in
Uzbekistan due to its exclusive role as an administrator of pension
fund deposits and its wide franchise across the country.

"We also consider the bank a GRE, with a moderately high likelihood
of receiving timely and sufficient government support, if needed.
This, in turn, reflects Xalq's important public policy role for the
financial system and close link with the government, with the
government directly owning 100% of the bank's capital. We do not
expect Xalq's privatization in the next two-to-three years. The
bank continues to be an exclusive government agent to manage and
distribute state pensions, and the transfer of the managing
function has been postponed at least until next year. We think the
bank will also remain important for the government in financing a
number of social support programs, mainly in the entrepreneurship
and SME sector.

"Our assessment of Xalq's SACP incorporates the government's
ongoing support to the bank in terms of capital, funding, and
guarantees. Given the proximity of the bank's 'b+' SACP to our
local currency long-term rating on Uzbekistan, our long-term rating
on the bank does not include any uplift for potential government
support."

Outlook

The stable outlook reflects S&P's view that, despite the
substantial increase in problem assets and credit losses in 2021,
Xalq will likely preserve its credit profile from further
deterioration thanks to its sufficient capital and liquidity
buffer, stable funding, and government support.

Downside scenario: S&P said, "We could take a negative rating
action in the next 12 months if, contrary to our expectations, the
bank's capital position deteriorates significantly, with its
capital adequacy ratio lower than or at risk of breaching the
regulatory minimum, or its RAC ratio falling below 10%, while asset
quality remains weak. This might happen if, for example, Xalq's new
loan loss provisions materially exceed our expectations and the
government does not provide timely and sufficient support to offset
pressure on the bank's capital position. A negative rating action
might also follow a significant outflow of depositors' and foreign
creditors' funds, leading to pressure on the bank's liquidity.
Weaker client confidence and an inability to expand healthily,
resulting in a deterioration of Xalq's market footprint, might also
lead us to take a negative rating action."

Upside scenario: S&P could consider a positive rating action over
the next 12-18 months if management reduces problem loans and
improves the bank's risk management, with NPAs moving closer to the
system average, and if the bank maintains its solid capital
position with its RAC ratio sustainably above 10%.

  Ratings score snapshot

  Issuer credit rating: B+/Stable/B
  Stand-alone credit profile: b+

  Anchor: b+
  Business position: Adequate (0)
  Capital and earnings: Strong (+2)
  Risk position: Constrained (-2)
  Funding and Liquidity: Adequate and Adequate (0)
  Comparable ratings analysis: 0
  Support: 0

  ALAC support: 0
  GRE support: 0
  Group support: 0
  Sovereign support: 0
  Additional factors: 0

ESG credit indicators: E-2 S-2 G-4

Turon Bank
Primary analyst: Ekaterina Marushkevich

S&P said, "We affirmed our 'B/B' ratings on Turon Bank. The ratings
reflect Turon's modest market share. We recognize the bank's close
ties with the government and increasing involvement in the
implementation of government-led projects. This could support
Turon's business volumes and stability but also weigh on its
profitability margin. Also, material capital injections from the
government over past two years support the bank's capital base.
Turon keeps relatively good asset quality with NPAs not exceeding
those of peers. In our view, this reflects low risk coming from
government-related business and the bank's focus on traditional
areas of expertise. Turon's funding is largely represented by
international institutions, which we expect to remain stable given
the long-term nature of these funds. The bank's liquid assets are
sufficient, in our view, to cover its obligations in a stress
scenario. We estimate that the bank's liquid assets compose about
13% of its total assets.

"We consider Turon a GRE with a moderate likelihood of government
support if needed. This reflects the strong link between the bank
and the government, which now owns about 99% of Turon's capital. At
the same time, recently announced plans to privatize the bank could
weaken the government's willingness to provide timely extraordinary
support, in our view. Nevertheless, we think that privatization
will take several years and the government will retain control of
the bank over the next two-to-three years. In our view, Turon's
role for the government is limited, considering its small market
share, relatively small size of implemented government-related
projects, and our understanding that the bank's business can be
easily undertaken by another state-owned bank.
"Given the proximity of Turon's 'b' SACP and our local currency
long-term rating on Uzbekistan, our long-term rating on the bank
does not include any uplift for potential government support."

Outlook

S&P said, "The stable outlook reflects S&P Global Ratings'
expectation that over the next 12 months, Turon's asset quality
will likely remain similar to the system average. We assume the
bank will remain involved in government-led projects in the
hydropower industry and its capital buffer will remain sufficient
to support lending growth."

Downside scenario: S&P said, "We may lower the ratings on Turon in
the next 12 months if the bank's asset quality significantly
deteriorates, with the share of NPAs in the loan portfolio
materially exceeding that of peers. We could also consider a
negative rating action if Turon's liquidity buffer declines
materially because of aggressive asset growth or unexpected
outflows of funds from international financial institutions or
depositors."

Upside scenario A positive rating action is unlikely considering
the bank's modest market shares and only moderate profitability.

  Ratings score snapshot

  Issuer credit rating: B/Stable/B
  Stand-alone credit profile: b

  Anchor: b+
  Business position: Moderate (-1)
  Capital and earnings: Moderate (0)
  Risk position: Adequate (0)
  Funding and Liquidity: Adequate and Adequate (0)
  Comparable ratings analysis: 0
  Support: 0

  ALAC support: 0
  GRE support: 0
  Group support: 0
  Sovereign support: 0
  Additional factors: 0

  ESG credit indicators: E-2 S-2 G-4

Davr-Bank
Primary analyst: Andrey Strebezh

S&P said, "We affirmed our 'B/B' ratings on Davr-Bank with a stable
outlook. Davr-Bank is an Uzbekistan-based bank with a small
franchise and narrow clientele base, which makes it vulnerable to
challenging operating conditions and tight competition. Over the
past few years, Davr-Bank expanded its lending book while
maintaining good asset quality, profitability, and diversity of
operations. However, ratings pressure might still come from rapid
business expansion and eventually result in higher-than-expected
credit risks. In addition to its focus on the SME sector, the bank
continues to develop its consumer lending business. Davr-Bank
possesses adequate capital buffer, with our forecast RAC ratio in
the 9.7%-9.9% range in the next 18 months. Single-name
concentration that is lower than peers' supports the stability of
its operations, in our view. While liquidity metrics are somewhat
weaker than local peers', Davr-Bank's prudent asset and liability
management and mitigate the risks of unexpected fund outflows.
Unlike most small Uzbek banks, Davr-Bank attracts long-term credit
lines from international financial institutions, which lengthens
the bank's funding maturity profile."

Outlook

The stable outlook reflects S&P's view that Davr-Bank's solid
capital buffer and earnings capacity will support the bank's
expected loan growth of 30%-35% in the next two years. The outlook
also reflects its expectation that the bank's liquidity position
will remain adequate, with it maintaining access to funding from
international financial institutions.

Upside scenario: S&P said, "We believe a positive rating action in
the next 12-18 months is unlikely. Beyond that time, we could take
one if Davr-Bank commits to raising and increasing its
capitalization metrics, with the RAC ratio sustainably above 10%,
either through lower growth or additional capital injections." A
positive rating action would hinge on the bank's funding and
liquidity remaining adequate with no dependency on short-term
funding.

Downside scenario: S&P said, "We could revise the outlook to
negative if Davr-Bank's asset quality deteriorated beyond our
assumptions, which would result in higher impairment charges.
Furthermore, a negative rating action is possible if lending growth
that is above expectations results in weaker capitalization. In
addition, we would revise our outlook to negative if the bank faced
unexpected funding outflows."

  Ratings score snapshot

  Issuer credit rating: B/Stable/B
  Stand-alone credit profile: b

  Anchor: b+
  Business position: Constrained (-2)
  Capital and earnings: Adequate (+1)
  Risk position: Adequate (0)
  Funding and Liquidity: Adequate and Adequate (0)
  Comparable ratings analysis: 0
  Support: 0

  ALAC support: 0
  GRE support: 0
  Group support: 0
  Sovereign support: 0
  Additional factors: 0

  ESG credit indicators: E-2 S-2 G-4

Kapitalbank
Primary analyst: Andrey Strebezh

S&P said, "We affirmed our 'B-/B' ratings on Kapitalbank with a
positive outlook. Kapitalbank is a midsize bank focusing on small
and retail businesses, and enjoys a good regional presence and
brand recognition in these segments, comparable with that of much
larger players. We expect the bank to continue showing solid
earnings capacity and expanding its franchise, supported by
diversified revenue, good operating efficiency, and a stable
deposit base; and demonstrate return on equity above 17% in the
next two years. Positively, Kapitalbank has demonstrated more
prudent capital policy over the past two years, supported by
several injections from shareholders, and we expect its RAC ratio
to be 6.2%-6.7% in the next 18 months. While the current share of
problem loans is low, pressure on asset quality could increase from
an unseasoned loan book and material actual and expected growth of
this loan book, as well as the pandemic's prolonged economic
consequences. The funding base is mostly composed of customer
deposits, while the bank keeps sufficient liquidity buffer to cover
its needs.

"Kapitalbank's moderate systemic importance underpins our
assessment, as the bank has a sustainably high share of retail
deposits and operates one of the largest ATM networks in the
country. However, we do not add notches of support to the bank's
SACP, given the narrow gap between the sovereign's creditworthiness
and the bank's SACP."

Outlook

The positive outlook reflects S&P Global Ratings' view that
Kapitalbank's creditworthiness may improve over the next 12-18
months. This could happen if the bank continues to demonstrate
sustainable bottom-line results and increasing business volumes in
line with its strategy, while preserving its capital buffer and
asset quality.

Upside scenario: An upgrade in the next 12-18 months would hinge on
Kapitalbank continuing to increase business volumes in SME and
retail lending, as per its strategy, and demonstrating sustainable
bottom-line results. This would enhance revenue diversification and
support margins and profitability, allowing the bank to withstand
stiff competition from large private and state-owned banks. An
upgrade is only possible if the bank maintains prudent risk and
capital management, with the solid quality of loan book
significantly increased over the past year and with its local
capital regulatory ratio remaining above 14%.

Downside scenario: An outlook revision to stable could follow if
Kapitalbank's capital becomes volatile, with regulatory capital
ratios falling to minimum values. This could happen following
substantial asset quality deterioration, leading to elevated credit
losses, or if a fresh capital injection does not support
greater-than-expected lending growth. A downgrade is possible if we
see pronounced funding and liquidity pressures, which could lead to
visible specific default scenarios over the next 12 months.

  Ratings score snapshot

  Issuer credit rating: B-/Positive/B
  Stand-alone credit profile: b-

  Anchor: b+
  Business position: Moderate (-1)
  Capital and earnings: Moderate (0)
  Risk position: Moderate (-1)
  Funding and Liquidity: Adequate and Adequate (0)
  Comparable ratings analysis: 0
  Support: 0

  ALAC support: 0
  GRE support: 0
  Group support: 0
  Sovereign support: 0
  Additional factors: 0

  ESG credit indicators: E-2 S-2 G-4

Ravnaq Bank
Primary analyst: Andrey Strebezh

S&P said, "We affirmed our 'B-/B' ratings on Ravnaq-Bank with a
negative outlook. Ravnaq-Bank is a small bank with little business
diversity and a narrow customer base, benefiting from its
shareholders' close ties with customers. Lending expansion could
mean higher losses because Ravnaq's risk management practices are
at an early stage of development and it faces strong competition.
The bank's core profitability is low and there is potential for
additional capital volatility in the case of a spike in credit
losses. Ravnaq's financial standing was hit harder by the pandemic
than most of its domestic peers in terms of asset quality
deterioration. Therefore, we anticipate the bank will face pressure
from substantial loan loss provisions, and project Ravnaq will be
loss-making in 2021, and our risk-adjusted capital ratio will
decline to 8.0%-8.1%. The bank's funding mostly includes customer
deposits and, unlike some peers, it does not attract long-term
funds from international financial institutions. The bank keeps
liquidity buffers just sufficient to service its needs. However,
further delays in loan repayments could disrupt its liquidity
position."

Outlook

The negative outlook reflects the bank's still high amount of
problem loans, low earnings, and high loan concentrations. In
addition, it incorporates downside risks to the bank's liquidity
position.

Downside scenario: S&P could lower the rating over the next 6-12
months if it sees further asset quality deterioration or the
liquidity buffer weakens, for instance via unexpected high deposit
outflows.

Upside scenario: An upgrade is a remote possibility, in S&P's view.
However, it might revise the outlook to stable if Ravnaq's asset
quality strengthens and it maintains sufficient liquidity buffers
with no rise in deposit volatility.

  Ratings score snapshot

  Issuer credit rating: B-/Negative/B
  ESG credit indicators: E-2 S-2 G-4


  Ratings List

  NATIONAL BANK FOR FOREIGN ECONOMIC ACTIVITY OF THE REPUBLIC OF
UZBEKISTAN   

  RATINGS AFFIRMED

  NATIONAL BANK FOR FOREIGN ECONOMIC ACTIVITY OF THE REPUBLIC OF
UZBEKISTAN

   Issuer Credit Rating         BB-/Stable/B

  NATIONAL BANK FOR FOREIGN ECONOMIC ACTIVITY OF THE REPUBLIC OF
UZBEKISTAN
  
   Senior Unsecured             BB-

  KDB BANK UZBEKISTAN JSC            

  RATINGS AFFIRMED

  KDB BANK UZBEKISTAN JSC

   Issuer Credit Rating           BB-/Stable/B

  IPOTEKA BANK JSCM              

  RATINGS AFFIRMED

  IPOTEKA BANK JSCM

   Issuer Credit Rating           BB-/Stable/B

  IPOTEKA BANK JSCM

   Senior Unsecured               BB-

  UZPROMSTROYBANK              

  RATINGS AFFIRMED

  UZPROMSTROYBANK

   Issuer Credit Rating           BB-/Stable/B

  UZPROMSTROYBANK

   Senior Unsecured               BB-

  HAMKORBANK JSCB              

  RATINGS AFFIRMED

  HAMKORBANK JSCB

   Issuer Credit Rating          B+/Positive/B

  ORIENT FINANS BANK              

  RATINGS AFFIRMED

  ORIENT FINANS BANK

   Issuer Credit Rating          B+/Stable/B

  XALQ BANK                

  RATINGS AFFIRMED

  XALQ BANK

   Issuer Credit Rating         B+/Stable/B

  TURON BANK                

  RATINGS AFFIRMED

  TURON BANK

   Issuer Credit Rating         B/Stable/B

  DAVR-BANK                

  RATINGS AFFIRMED

  DAVR-BANK

   Issuer Credit Rating         B/Stable/B

  KAPITALBANK               

  RATINGS AFFIRMED

  KAPITALBANK

   Issuer Credit Rating        B-/Positive/B

  RAVNAQ BANK               

  RATINGS AFFIRMED

  RAVNAQ BANK

   Issuer Credit Rating        B-/Negative/B


STATE TRANSPORT: Moody's Affirms 'Ba1' CFR, Outlook Remains Stable
------------------------------------------------------------------
Moody's Investors Service affirmed Ba1 long-term corporate family
rating of State Transport Leasing Company (JSC GTLK) ("GTLK" or
"the company") and Ba2 foreign currency backed senior unsecured
debt ratings of GTLK Europe DAC and GTLK Europe Capital DAC. It
also affirmed b2 Baseline Credit Assessment (BCA) of GTLK.

The issuer outlooks remains stable.

RATINGS RATIONALE

Moody's affirmation of GTLK's long-term CFR at Ba1 reflects the
rating agency's assessment of high probability of government
support based on the company's key policy role as a government
agent to facilitate the development of the transport sector in
Russia, demonstrated solid track record of state support through
regular capital injections and the company's inclusion in the
long-term strategy of Russia's transport sector development with
planned allocation of financing from the National Welfare Fund.
Given GTLK's high systemic importance, Moody's assumes that the
Russian government has a strong incentive to support GTLK in case
of need.

GTLK's Ba1 CFR is based on its b2 BCA and incorporates a high
likelihood of support from the Government of Russia (Baa3 stable),
resulting in a four-notch uplift of its CFR.

GTLK's b2 BCA reflects the company's leading market position in the
transport leasing sector in Russia; exposure to large systemically
important corporates; extended debt maturity profile, and regular
capital support from the government. Officially cancelled merger
with VEB-Leasing (not rated) eases pressure on GTLK's standalone
credit profile. At the same time, GTLK's BCA remains constrained by
the lasting pandemic, concentrated lease portfolio, high debt
leverage, measured as debt/EBITDA, and susceptibility to
politically and socially motivated decisions because of its policy
role.

The Ba2 foreign currency backed senior unsecured debt ratings
assigned to GTLK Europe DAC and GTLK Europe Capital DAC (GTLK's
Ireland based subsidiaries) are positioned one notch below GTLK's
CFR of Ba1 and reflect the application of Moody's Loss Given
Default analysis for Loss Given Default for Speculative-Grade
Companies and the structural subordination due to GTLK's
substantial amount of secured debt.

OUTLOOK

Issuer outlook on GTLK and its subsidiaries is stable, in line with
the outlook on Russia's sovereign debt rating.

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

The company's CFR could be upgraded if there is a significant
improvement in the operating environment and strengthening of the
company's credit profile, or positive reassessment of the
probability of government support, combined with the maintenance of
a sound credit profile.

GTLK Europe DAC's backed senior unsecured debt rating could be
upgraded if GTLK's CFR is upgraded or if there is a positive change
in GTLK's debt capital structure, which would increase the recovery
rate for the senior unsecured debt classes.

GTLK's CFR might be downgraded in the event of a downgrade of
Russia's sovereign debt rating or if Moody's considered that the
company's strategic importance and integration with the Russian
government were to diminish materially, for example due to changes
in the entities' status, or if the prospects of prompt and full
government support were to decrease. GTLK's BCA could also be
downgraded in case of a significant weakening of its asset quality,
capitalization metrics or refinancing capacity, and increase in
reliance on extraordinary capital or liquidity support from the
government.

LIST OF AFFECTED RATINGS

Issuer: State Transport Leasing Company (JSC GTLK)

Affirmations:

Long-term Corporate Family Rating, Affirmed Ba1

Baseline Credit Assessment, Affirmed b2

Outlook Action:

Outlook, Remains Stable

Issuer: GTLK Europe Capital DAC

Affirmation:

Backed Senior Unsecured Regular Bond/Debenture, Affirmed Ba2

Outlook Action:

Issuer: GTLK Europe DAC

Affirmation:

Backed Senior Unsecured Regular Bond/Debenture, Affirmed Ba2

Outlook Action:

Outlook, Remains Stable

PRINCIPAL METHODOLOGY

The methodologies used in these ratings were Finance Companies
Methodology published in November 2019.

TURKISTON BANK: S&P Affirms 'CCC+/C' ICRs, Alters Outlook to Stable
-------------------------------------------------------------------
S&P Global Ratings affirmed its 'CCC+/C' long- and short-term
issuer credit ratings on Turkiston Bank.

S&P also revised its outlook on Turkiston to stable from negative.

S&P said, "We revised the outlook on Turkiston to stable from
negative to reflect our reduced concerns on further deterioration
of credit standing. While asset quality remains poor, with
nonperforming loans standing at about 70% as of Jan. 1, 2022, this
is an improvement from over 80% as of June 30, 2021. We see some
gradual workout of problem loans via foreclosure and repayment. We
note stabilization of the bank's management team after significant
changes at the beginning of 2021.

"Turkiston is still in breach of regulatory liquidity ratios. The
bank has restored liquidity coverage ratios above regulatory
requirements, but stable funding ratios are still below the minimum
level. We understand that Turkiston is moving ahead with the
roadmap agreed with the regulator. While reported capital ratios
are above the regulatory minimum, we believe that the bank needs
significant additional provisioning. We understand that Turkiston's
owners plan to inject additional capital in 2022 themselves or by
attracting new investors.

"The ratings on Turkiston continue to reflect concerns regarding
the business model and its sustainability in the current economic
environment. We still believe that Turkiston is currently
vulnerable and is dependent upon favorable business, financial, and
economic conditions to meet its financial commitments.

The recent rapid spread of the omicron variant highlights the
inherent uncertainties of the pandemic as well as the importance
and benefits of vaccines. Although the risk of new, more severe
variants displacing omicron and evading existing immunity cannot be
ruled out, our current base case assumes that existing vaccines can
continue to provide significant protection against severe illness.
Furthermore, many governments, businesses, and households around
the world are tailoring policies to limit the adverse economic
impact of recurring COVID-19 waves. S&P said, "Consequently, we do
not expect a repeat of the sharp global economic contraction of
second-quarter 2020. Meanwhile, we continue to assess how well each
issuer adapts to new waves in its geography or industry."

S&P said, "The stable outlook reflects our view that Turkiston's
business model and franchise remain vulnerable to liquidity stress
in case of unexpected funding pressures, but also the bank's
ability to continue to operate as a going concern since we
downgraded it to the 'CCC' category in January 2021.

"We could lower the ratings over the next 12-18 months if the
bank's liquidity deteriorates, with clear risk of default
scenarios, and it is not fully compensated by support in a timely
manner, either from the bank's shareholder or the central bank as a
lender of last resort.

"We could consider a positive rating action in the next 12-18
months if Turkiston is able to sustainably restore its liquidity,
clean its balance sheet from nonperforming assets, and increase its
capital base, thus ensuring the sustainability of its franchise
over the medium term."




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

PROPULSION (BC) FINCO: Moody's Assigns First Time 'B2' CFR
----------------------------------------------------------
Moody's Investors Service has assigned a B2 Corporate Family rating
and a B2-PD Probability of Default rating to Propulsion (BC) Finco
S.a r.l. (Propulsion Finco or the company), the indirect parent
company of ITP Aero and top holding company of the restricted
lending group (transaction remains subject to regulatory approval).
Concurrently Moody's has assigned B2 instrument ratings to the USD
equivalent of a EUR575 million senior secured term loan and to the
USD equivalent of a EUR100 million senior secured revolving credit
facility. The outlook on all ratings is stable.

This is the first time that Moody's has assigned ratings to
Propulsion (BC) Finco S.a r.l.

RATINGS RATIONALE

Propulsion Finco's B2 Corporate family rating reflects the group's
(i) tier one aero engine supplier position for complete engine
modules with a strong recognition for its R&D and production
capabilities from aero engine Original Equipment Manufacturers,
(ii) good engine programme diversification with presence on nine
different engine platforms under Risk and Revenue Sharing
Programmes (RRSPs) or hybrid RRSPs with a focus on wide body
aircraft engines and on Rolls Royce notwithstanding the company's
exposure to the PW1000G also under the RRSP agreement (one of two
engine sources for the very successful A320 narrow body family),
(iii) exposure to Defense programmes (15% of 2020 group revenue
mainly through EJ200 engine platform, the engine of the
Eurofighter) and to MRO activities (7% of 2020 group revenue) while
the spin-off of ITP Aero from Rolls Royce should offer room for
further growth in MRO activities over time, (iv) engine programmes
at the sweet spot of their programme life with all engine
programmes already out of the capital and R&D intensive phase of
development and around 5 years into the 15 to 20 years production
phase, a phase of the programme when the more profitable
aftermarket with a high share of spare parts sale starts to kick
in, (v) the positive medium term outlook for passenger traffic
recovery with Moody's maintaining its positive outlook on both the
Passenger Airline and Aerospace & Defense sectors despite the
Omicron variant on the expectation of a sustained albeit volatile
recovery in passenger traffic through 2023 and beyond, and (vi) the
profitable and cash flow generative nature of Propulsion Finco's
business model pre-pandemic.

The company's CFR is constrained by (i) its concentration on Rolls
Royce (-62% of group revenue) and wide body engine platforms, which
will take longer to recover from the pandemic than narrow body
engine platforms, (ii) a high initial leverage with a pro-forma
leverage of around 6.0x as per LTM September 2021 albeit this is
against an EBITDA that is heavily down versus pre-pandemic levels
and should recover gradually over the next 2-3 years irrespective
of profitability improvements that the new owners might achieve,
(iii) a somewhat complex ownership structure with third party
investors holding preferred equity outside of the restricted group
as well as up to 30% of the equity being held by Spanish private or
public investors, partially through a Basque holding company
located within the restricted group notwithstanding that Bain
Capital Specialty Finance, Inc. (Bain Capital) has mitigated all
the cash leakage risks through the contractual terms of the senior
facilities and the usage of the intercompany loans and the
governance leakage through an investment agreement that clearly
defines and limits the rights of the minority shareholders within
the restricted group, and (iv) the carve out risk of Hucknall &
Fabrications, a production site that will be carved out of Rolls
Royce in addition to the relatively independent ITP Aero business
although the management of ITP Aero has confirmed that the carve
out process is well on time and should be finalized prior to the
closing of the acquisition.

RATIONALE FOR THE STABLE OUTLOOK

The stable outlook reflects Moody's expectations that Propulsion
Finco will benefit from favorable market conditions over the next
12 to 18 months supported by a gradual recovery in passenger
traffic irrespective of the volatility induced by new covid-19
variants. The stable outlook also assumes that Propulsion Finco
will gradually reduce leverage to bring down Moody's adjusted debt
/ EBITDA to below 5.5x from 6.2x pro-forma of the new capital
structure and as per LTM September 2021.

LIQUIDITY

The liquidity position of Propulsion Finco will be adequate at
closing of the transaction. The company will have EUR50 million of
cash on balance sheet at closing from overfunding of the purchase
price as well as access to EUR100 million under the group's
revolving credit facility. This should be more than sufficient to
cover basis liquidity needs over the next twelve months mainly
consisting of working cash, capex and working capital. The
seasonality of the business is not very significant with a working
capital swing of around EUR25-35 million intra-year, which should
be well covered by cash on balance sheet and access to the
revolver. Propulsion Finco has also a history of positive free cash
flow generation. Moody's expect free cash flow generation to be
positive going forward further improving the company's liquidity
position going forward. The revolving credit facility will only
include one springing covenant. The covenant will only be tested if
drawings under the facility exceed 40% and the company will enjoy
ample headroom under the testing level.

STRUCTURAL CONSIDERATIONS

The instrument ratings assigned to the senior secured term loan and
revolving credit facility is in line with the B2 Corporate Family
rating reflecting the absence of other structurally senior or
junior debt instruments within the restricted group.

Despite the capital structure of Propulsion Finco being solely
composed of bank debt Moody's have assumed a 50% recovery rate at
the corporate family level due to the loose financial covenant
package of the proposed transaction.

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

An upgrade is unlikely in the short term due to the high opening
leverage and the uncertainties related to the recovery in passenger
traffic over the next 12 months. Longer term a reduction in
leverage (as measured by Moody's adjusted debt/EBITDA) to below
4.5x, an improvement in FCF/debt towards 10% and the maintenance of
an adequate liquidity profile could lead to positive pressure on
the rating.

Conversely, the failure of Propulsion Finco to bring down leverage
(as measured by Moody's adjusted debt/EBITDA) to below 5.5x over
the next 12 to 18 months as well as FCF / debt trending towards 0
and a deterioration in the group's liquidity position could exert
negative pressure on the rating.

PRINCIPAL METHODOLOGY

The principal methodology used in these ratings was Aerospace and
Defense published in October 2021.

COMPANY PROFILE

Propulsion (BC) Finco S.a r.l. is the parent company of ITP Aero, a
tier 1 supplier of aero engine modules headquartered in Spain. ITP
Aero is currently being spun off from Rolls Royce and being
acquired by funds controlled by Bain Capital.

ITP Aero has leading market positions in low pressure turbines with
around 25% market share of all outsources work across all aero
engine programmes. The company generated adjusted revenue of EUR1.3
billion and a Moody's adjusted EBITDA of EUR175 million in 2019.
ITP Aero currently employs around 4300 people.

TENDAM BRANDS: S&P Upgrades ICR to 'B+', Outlook Stable
-------------------------------------------------------
S&P Global Ratings raised its long-term issuer credit rating on
Tendam Brands S.A.U. to 'B+' from 'B', its issue rating on the
group's super senior revolving credit facility (RCF) to 'BB' from
'BB-' and its issue rating on the fixed- and floating-rate senior
secured notes to 'B+' from 'B'. The recovery ratings on the debt
are unchanged at '1' and '3', respectively.

The stable outlook indicates that S&P expects Tendam Brands to
continue to deliver strong performance despite macroeconomic
uncertainty. This includes S&P Global Ratings-adjusted debt to
EBITDA sustainably below 4x, an EBITDAR ratio of about 1.8x, and
materially positive FOCF after lease payments of about EUR80
million.

The group's results for the first nine months of FY2022 show a
strong operating performance and a progressive normalization of
sales. Thanks to tight cost and working capital management, Tendam
also achieved sizable cash generation. All of the group's brands
recovered, supporting top-line growth. In particular, two brands
which had been hard hit by the pandemic showed strong growth:
Cortefiel & Pedro Del Hierro grew 61.5% against FY2021 and
Springfield by 47.3%. S&P said, "We attribute the rapid pick-up in
sales to the ongoing repositioning of these brands as more casual,
indicating the group's ability to rapidly adapt its product
offering to changing circumstances. Revenue generation associated
with the Women'Secret brand grew by 37.3% compared with the first
nine months of FY2021 and even 2.6% compared with FY2020, so it has
already surpassed the pre-pandemic level. Overall, the top line is
only 5.2% behind FY2020, partly because the group closed
unprofitable stores. On a like-for-like basis, growth is up 0.7%.
Tendam's strong topline performance, combined with its tight cost
management, translated into a pre-IFRS16 EBITDA of EUR101 million
for the first nine months of FY2022. The 13.1% EBITDA margin is 80
basis points (bps) higher than the pre-pandemic level. The group
undertook active inventory management, which we don't expect it to
be able to repeat, and this enabled working capital to contribute
strongly to the group's cash flow generation. It also tightly
limited capital expenditure (capex) and one-off costs. The group
reported EUR69 million of FOCF at the end of the first nine months.
Given the seasonality of the apparel industry, we expect the fourth
quarter to confirm that trend."

S&P said, "Redeeming the ICO loan, combined with restored
profitability, boosted credit metrics to the levels comparable with
those Tendam had when we rated it 'B+' and confirms the group's
prudent approach to leverage.On Jan. 27, 2022, Tendam announced the
repayment of its EUR132.5 million ICO credit facility, which it
contracted in case of liquidity shortages when the pandemic first
hit and lockdowns were imposed. The group managed to contain the
cash burn in FY2021 to about EUR50 million and maintained high
liquidity levels. The group's solid cash position of EUR240 million
as of end-November 2021 enabled it to redeem the facility in full
in early February. Therefore, its total gross financial debt is
expected to decrease to about EUR530 million by the end of FY2022.
We forecast that S&P Global Ratings-adjusted EBITDA will be EUR250
million-EUR260 million in FY2022 and gradually reach EUR300
million-EUR320 million in FY2024, allowing adjusted debt to EBITDA
to decrease to 3.9x-4.1x in FY2022 and toward 3.2x-3.6x in FY2024.
This is comparable with the group's 3.7x leverage in FY2020, when
we upgraded Tendam to 'B+'. We also expect Tendam to post a sizable
FOCF after lease payment in FY2022 of about EUR100 million,
building on the strong dynamic of the first nine months. This
indicates that liquidity will remain robust even after the ICO loan
repayment. Although we don't expect that solid FOCF generation to
be normative, we consider that the group's use of its cash on
balance to repay the ICO loan indicates a prudent approach to
financial leverage. Lastly, while FOCF after lease payments should
be about EUR70 million-EUR80 million in FY2023-FY2024, it remains
sizable, indicating cash flow conversion metrics more in line with
'B+' rated peers.

"Despite inflationary pressures and a still-uncertain context, we
expect Tendam to sustain a robust top-line performance thanks to
its capacity to adapt its business model to emerging trends. Tendam
has a brand diversification strategy that enables it to cushion
potential volatility arising from event risk, such as the pandemic
or weather conditions, or fashion risk. About 30% of its earnings
during the first nine months of FY2021 were generated outside
Spain. More importantly, the group relies on a diversified brand
portfolio and target different customer groups, both men and women
and both outdoor and indoor, which has helped mitigate the impact
of the pandemic on earnings. Menswear is traditionally less subject
to fashion risk, for instance. Given the pandemic, the group
accelerated its repositioning of its brands, shifting Cortefiel &
Pedro Del Hierro and Springfield to a more casual style and
launching new brands--High Spirts, Hoss Intropia, and Slow Love--to
target a younger audience that has a higher median shopping basket
through both on- and off-line channels. We understand that Tendam
continues complementing its product offering by developing two
additional brands and a collaboration.

"The group's competitive positioning, tight cost management, and
diversified supply chain should also help it mitigate the impact of
inflation. Although we don't expect Tendam to be able to pass on
all price increases to consumers, its relatively
middle-of-the-range pricing strategy may enable it to absorb some
of the cost increase. Value retailers have less ability to absorb
cost increases because of their low margins. Tendam also benefits
from a relatively diversified supply chain. Most of its products
are sourced from Asia-Pacific, but Tendam also has suppliers in
Portugal, Spain, and Turkey, which will help mitigate the impact of
rising shipping costs. We also expect the group to pursue its store
optimization plan, which carries few one-off costs (EUR20 million
in FY2022). Its relatively favorable lease contract terms in Spain
enable it to exit nonperforming stores rapidly."

The development of the e-commerce channel should benefit Tendam's
margins, since it is typically more profitable than store sales. In
the first nine months of FY2022, the group sourced 13% of sales
through its e-commerce channel, versus 6% over the same period in
FY2020. Online profitability should be further reinforced by
Tendam's proprietary marketplace, which adds visibility to its own
brands. S&P expects the group's profitability to be similar to
FY2020 during FY2022 and to surpass it by more than 100 bps in
FY2023 and FY2024, reaching 24.5%-25.5% on an adjusted basis.

The recent rapid spread of the omicron variant highlights the
inherent uncertainties of the pandemic as well as the importance
and benefits of vaccines. While the risk of new, more severe
variants displacing omicron and evading existing immunity cannot be
ruled out, our current base case assumes that existing vaccines can
continue to provide significant protection against severe illness.
Furthermore, many governments, businesses, and households around
the world are tailoring policies to limit the adverse economic
impact of recurring COVID-19 waves. S&P said, "Consequently, we do
not expect a repeat of the sharp global economic contraction of
second-quarter 2020. Meanwhile, we continue to assess how well each
issuer adapts to new waves in its geography or industry."

S&P said, "The stable outlook indicates that despite supply-chain
disruption, inflation, and the consequences of the omicron variant,
Tendam continues to deliver strong performance. Growth in FY2023 is
predicted to be 8%-10%, with a broadly stable EBITDA margin and a
solid FOCF after lease payments. Growth is expected to stem from
the successful repositioning of legacy brands and ramp-up of newly
launched brands, as well as e-commerce sales as online penetration
steps up in Spain. We expect adjusted debt to EBITDA to remain
sustainably about 4x or below, an EBITDAR ratio of about 1.8x, and
materially positive FOCF after lease payments of about EUR80
million."

S&P could lower the rating over the next 12 months if Tendam's
operating performance deteriorated. This could occur if the
repositioning of the legacy brands and the Tendam 5.0 strategy were
unsuccessful, causing the group to be unable to consistently reduce
leverage below 4.5x while its:

-- FOCF generation after lease payment stayed below 5% of net
debt;

-- EBITDAR coverage ratio remained below 1.6x; and

-- Liquidity materially weakened.

Evidence of a more-aggressive financial policy focused on
debt-financed shareholder remuneration or acquisitions could also
lead to a sustained weakening of Tendam's credit metrics and
therefore a negative rating action.

S&P said, "We see rating upside as unlikely over the next 12
months, given Tendam's limited scale and high operating leases,
which limit substantial reduction in debt. However, we could
consider an upgrade if Tendam increased its scale of operations by
growing its revenue and profitability margin much quicker than we
currently anticipate, while generating strong FOCF." An upgrade
would also depend on this improving EBITDAR cover to above 2.2x and
a further decline in leverage, plus a clear commitment from the
owners to maintain this financial policy and adequate liquidity.

ESG credit indicators: To: E-2 S-2 G-3; From: E-2 S-3 G-3

S&P said, "Social factors are now a neutral consideration in our
credit rating analysis, because Tendam has been able to recover to
pre-pandemic level over the first nine months of FY2022, driven by
the successful repositioning of its legacy brands toward a more
casual style, the launch of additional brands in line with
post-pandemic consumer behavior, and the successful execution of
its transformation strategy. Governance factors are a moderately
negative consideration, as is the case for most rated entities
owned by private-equity sponsors. We consider the company's highly
leveraged financial risk profile points to corporate
decision-making that prioritizes the interests of the controlling
owners. This also reflects generally finite holding periods and a
focus on maximizing shareholder returns.

"The EUR200 million super senior RCF due 2024 is rated 'BB' and has
a recovery rating of '1', reflecting our expectation that recovery
prospects would be very high (90%-100%, rounded estimate: 95%) in
the event of default, supported by the low amount of priority
debt.

"The outstanding senior secured debt due 2024 (comprising EUR209
million fixed-rate and EUR325 million floating-rate 2024 notes) are
rated 'B+', with a recovery rating of '3', implying recovery
prospects of 50%-70% (rounded estimate 50%). The recovery rating is
constrained by the prior-ranking liabilities, notably the sizable
super senior RCF.

"Our hypothetical default scenario assumes intensified competition
in the Spanish apparel retail market accompanied by a severe
macroeconomic downturn, leading to substantial deterioration in the
group's profitability and cash flow generation.

"We value Tendam as a going concern, underpinned by its leading
position in its respective niches of the Spanish premium segment of
mass-market apparel, its well-established brands, and geographic
diversity.

-- Year of default: FY2026

-- Jurisdiction: Spain

-- EBITDA at emergence: EUR98.8 million.

-- Implied enterprise value EBITDA multiple: 5.0x, in line with
sector average

-- Net enterprise value at default (after 5% administrative
costs): EUR469.4 million

-- Estimated super senior secured debt claims: EUR175 million

    --Recovery expectations: 90%-100% (rounded estimate: 95%)

-- Estimated senior secured debt claims: EUR552 million
    --Recovery expectations: 50%-70% (rounded estimate: 50%)

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




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

BANK ALLIANCE: S&P Affirms 'B-/B' ICR, Outlook Stable
-----------------------------------------------------
S&P Global Ratings affirmed its 'B-/B' long- and short-term issuer
credit ratings on Bank Alliance following a revision to its
criteria for rating banks and nonbank financial institutions and
determining a Banking Industry Country Risk Assessment (BICRA).

S&P said, "Our assessments of economic risk and industry risk in
Ukraine remain unchanged at '10' and '9', respectively. These
scores determine the BICRA and the 'b' anchor, or starting point,
for our ratings on financial institutions operating predominantly
in Ukraine. We see the trend for the economic as stable and for the
industry in Ukraine as positive.

"We expect Bank Alliance to remain a small player focusing on
small-to-midsize enterprises (SMEs) despite planned rapid growth.
The bank had a 0.6% market share by net assets and about 1% by
corporate loans and corporate deposits as of Sept. 30, 2021, in a
system where the top four state banks dominate and account for
about half the system's net assets. The bank's franchise depends on
the reputation of its majority shareholder, Alexander Sosis, and
his willingness and ability to support the bank with capital and
liquidity injections in case of unfavorable developments.

"We expect that Bank Alliance's capitalization, as measured by our
RAC ratio, will increase to a still low 3% in 2022-2023.Low
capitalization will remain a rating constraint. We believe that
Bank Alliance's ability to manage rapid growth in its loans and
off-balance-sheet credit exposures and to create an adequate risk
management framework will largely determine its asset quality.
Stage 3 loans were under 2% of total loans as of Sept. 30, 2021,
because of the bank's limited operations before 2018 and fast
growth over the past three years. This is well below 35% average
ratio of nonperforming loans (NPLs) in the Ukrainian banking
system. However, Bank Alliance's asset quality could worsen rapidly
if some of its large loans become NPLs. We view the bank's funding
profile as in line with that of other small private Ukrainian banks
and international peers.

"We believe that Bank Alliance does not meet our definition for a
'CCC+' rating under our criteria. Therefore we rate the bank
'B-/B'.

"The stable outlook reflects our expectation that planned capital
injection will support Bank Alliance's new business growth and
profitability and strengthen its franchise over the next 12
months.

"A positive rating action in the coming 12 months is unlikely
because we do not envision material improvements to the bank's
business position and capitalization during this period.

"We could lower the rating if Bank Alliance's liquidity or asset
quality weakened significantly below our base-case assumptions over
the next 12 months such that the bank was more vulnerable to
adverse market conditions. This could occur because profit
generation or capital injections lag balance-sheet expansion, or if
the asset quality of the largest loans deteriorates rapidly. We
could also lower the ratings if we were to observe increasing risks
of breaching regulatory capital adequacy ratios."




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

CINEWORLD: May Strike Deal with Cineplex on Takeover Suit Damages
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Alice Hancock, Joe Rennison and Anna Nicolaou at The Financial
Times report that Cineworld Group PLC is expected to skirt
bankruptcy for the second time in two years, say lenders, despite
the UK cinema group facing an almost US$1 billion payout that
exceeds its market value for pulling out of a deal to buy Canadian
rival Cineplex.

The world's second largest cinema operator has appealed against the
court-awarded damages, but investors in Cineworld's debt expect the
two companies to strike a deal for a significantly lower amount
even if unsuccessful, the FT rleates.

That is because if Cineworld were pushed into bankruptcy by the
damages, Cineplex would be near the back of the queue of creditors
to be paid, multiple lenders told the FT.

The group's debt pile stood at US$4.6 billion at the end of June
2021, the FT relays, citing its most recent filings.

The legal wrangle between the two companies comes as cinema
operators worldwide battle to resuscitate revenues that were wiped
out during the worst of the coronavirus pandemic, the FT notes.

The Cineplex claim stems from Cineworld's annulment in June 2020 of
a deal struck six months earlier to buy the Canadian group for
US$2.3 billion, the FT discloses.  The two companies subsequently
sued each other over breaches of contract and a Canadian court
awarded Cineplex CAD1.23 billion (US$950 million) in damages in
December 2021 -- more than the London-listed company's current
GBP530 million market value, the FT recounts.

But due to the way that the deal was structured, Cineworld could
leverage its already high debt load to push Cineplex into accepting
a lower payout, the FT states.

Cineplex filed a cross-appeal against Cineworld's challenge to the
court ruling, the FT relates.  The Canadian group argued that if
the original damages are struck out, the court should consider a
list of other claims that range from CAD714 million for liabilities
that would have been covered by Cineworld had the deal completed to
CAD1.3 billion for lost compensation to Cineplex's security
holders, the FT discloses.

Still, any new claim would remain subordinate to secured creditors
in bankruptcy, giving Cineplex little benefit in forcing Cineworld
down that path, the FT notes.

"Any waterfall of payments in a situation of insolvency or
restructuring would require addressing the priority of different
claims," the FT quotes Abigail Klimovich, an analyst at S&P Global
Ratings, as saying.  "The collateral definition is quite specific
in terms of the claim for secured debt holders.  Any other claims
that do not have specific access to the collateral would rank
junior to the secured debt creditors."


CORPORATE & PROFESSIONAL: Goes Into Administration
--------------------------------------------------
Cristian Angeloni at International Adviser reports that UK-based
Sipp firm Corporate & Professional Pensions Limited has gone into
administration, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) announced.

The FCA-regulated business appointed Adam Stevens and Nick Myers of
Smith & Williamson as joint administrators on February 1, 2022,
International Adviser relates.

According to International Adviser, Messrs. Stevens and Myers will
write to clients of the firm within seven days, but if customers
have not received any communications from the administrators, the
watchdog urged them to contact Smith & Williamson.

Existing Corporate & Professional's pensions can continue to
operate and accept contributions, the regulator added, as the Sipp
provider is an authorised firm, International Adviser notes.  In
the meantime, the administrators will look for a different operator
to takeover, International Adviser states.

The FCA has also warned clients to "remain alert to the possibility
of fraud" as some may leverage the current situation to take money
from them, International Adviser relays.

Corporate and Professional Pensions was forced to enter
administration as it was "unable to pay Financial Ombudsman Service
final decisions related to the due diligence completed by the firm
prior to taking on some pension investments", International Adviser
quotes the FCA as saying.

After seeking advice from Smith & Williamson, the firm decided to
go into administration, International Adviser recounts.

From this moment onwards, the Financial Services Compensation
Scheme (FSCS) will also investigate whether there may be any claims
which meet its qualifying conditions for redress -- up to GBP85,000
(US$114,145, EUR102,026), International Adviser discloses.


EBOR CONCRETES: Bought Out of Administration by JP Concrete
-----------------------------------------------------------
Business Sale reports that precast specialist Ebor Concretes has
been acquired out of administration by JP Concrete Products Ltd
after administrators for the firm conducted a successful
accelerated sale process.

The Harrogate-based company was placed into administration in
mid-November 2021, with restructuring firm Armstrong Watson engaged
to run an accelerated sale process, Business Sale relates.

Joint administrators and Armstrong Watson partners Rob Adamson and
Mike Kienlen then continued trading the business while seeking a
buyer, with the sale to Nottingham-based JP Concrete Products
completing on December 16, Business Sale recounts.  The sale was
successfully closed despite the unexpected death of an Ebor
Concretes director in late November, Business Sale notes.

The director, David Brennan, had acquired the firm out of
liquidation in February 2019, but passed unexpectedly on November
30th 2021, with the sale out of administration still ongoing,
Business Sale relays.  The sale to JP Concrete Products ultimately
preserved the jobs of Ebor Concretes' 26 staff, according to
Business Sale.

Ebor Concretes was founded in 1942 and remained under family
ownership up until its sale to Amber Precast in April 2016.
However, the company then entered liquidation in 2019 after
experiencing trading difficulties, Business Sale relates.
Following its subsequent acquisition by David Brennan, the company
then returned to administration last year, with its struggles
attributed to the continuing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on
workloads and cashflow, Business Sale discloses.

Armstrong Watson worked alongside BPI Asset Advisory on the
administration and was able to generate interest in Ebor Concretes,
with two bidders having been keen to proceed with a deal prior to
Brennan's passing, Business Sale states.


MIDAS GROUP: Collapse May Impact Cornwall Council Projects
----------------------------------------------------------
Richard Whitehouse at CornwallLive reports that Cornwall Council
has said it is working to ensure that construction projects with
Midas can continue to be delivered should the firm go into
administration.

The council has a number of contracts with Midas for schemes which
include homes, schools and workspace projects, CornwallLive
discloses.

Midas, based in Exeter, has filed a notice of intention to go into
administration putting the future of the firm into doubt,
CornwallLive relates.

Among the contracts that Midas has with Cornwall Council and its
wholly owned development company Treveth are hundreds of new homes,
CornwallLive notes.

According to CornwallLive, in a statement the council said: "The
council was made aware on Friday, January 28, that Midas Group was
filing notice for administration.  The council has a number of
projects with Midas Group across education, housing and
work-space.

"The council has contracts in place for the delivery of these
projects and will work with Midas through the formal administration
process triggered on January 28.  At this stage the council has
been preparing and continues to contingency plan across all Midas
contracts to support the successful delivery of these projects into
the future."


MIDAS GROUP: Most Staff Seek for New Jobs After Administration
--------------------------------------------------------------
Grant Prior at Construction Enquirer reports that most Midas staff
are looking for new jobs as rescue hopes for the stricken
contractor fade.

The Enquirer understands that staff have been told to stay at home
amid fears that aggrieved subcontractors will visit sites and
offices demanding payment.

The firm's 500 staff were told that a rescue by a rival contractor
was close last week as Midas battled cash-flow problems, The
Enquirer relates.

But workers were stunned when directors filed a notice of intention
to appoint an administrator on Jan. 28, The Enquirer discloses.

That led to a mass exodus as swathes of staff were let go and
employees started the hunt for new roles despite a public show of
defiance from Midas bosses, according to The Enquirer.



TRITON UK: Moody's Affirms 'B3' CFR & Rates New 1st Lien Debt 'B3'
------------------------------------------------------------------
Moody's Investors Service has affirmed Triton UK Midco Limited's
(Synamedia or the company) B3 corporate family rating and B3-PD
probability of default rating. Concurrently, Moody's has assigned a
B3 instrument rating to the new USD390 million guaranteed senior
secured first lien term loan due 2029 and USD50 million guaranteed
senior secured first lien revolving credit facility (RCF) due 2027
to be raised by Synamedia Americas Holdings, Inc. The outlook on
the ratings is stable.

Synamedia is looking to refinance its existing debt which is
composed of a USD305 million senior secured term loan due 2024
(USD266.5 million outstanding as of December 2021) and a USD100
million second lien senior secured term loan due 2026 with a new
USD390 million loan due 2029. Additionally, the company will put in
place a new USD50 million RCF expiring in 2027 that will be undrawn
at the closing of the refinancing. Moody's will withdraw the
ratings on the existing instruments upon their repayment or
cancellation.

RATINGS RATIONALE

"The affirmation of the B3 CFR with a stable outlook reflects (1)
the improved maturity profile of the company pro forma for the
refinancing transaction, (2) the company's adequate liquidity
position supported by the undrawn RCF, cash balance, and
expectation for positive free cash flow (FCF) generation over the
next couple of years, and (3) the likelihood that significant
investments in research and development (R&D) and marketing in
particular in fiscal year (FY) ending June 2022 will support the
strong growth of Synamedia's next-generation solutions, including
Media Cloud Services", says Sebastien Cieniewski (VP - Senior
Credit Officer), Moody's lead analyst for Synamedia.

However, these strengths are partly mitigated by (1) Synamedia's
Moody's adjusted gross leverage which will peak at between 5.5x and
6.0x in FY 2022 due to lower revenues and higher costs in that year
before decreasing to around 4.0x by FY 2023, and (2) the structural
decline of Synamedia's highly profitable Broadcast Technologies
business.

After having experienced a strong improvement in its underlying
EBITDA (as reported by the company) to USD138.2 million in FY 2021
from USD73.8 million in prior year reflecting the full year impact
of reduced operating costs following the successful conclusion of
the restructuring and right-sizing initiatives undertaken since the
carve-out from Cisco Systems, Inc (A1 stable), Moody's projected
Synamedia's EBITDA to decline in FY 2022 before experiencing a
return to growth from FY 2023. The rating agency now expects this
decline to be more pronounced due to revenues declining at high
single-digit rates in FY 2022 instead of Moody's prior assumption
of mid-single digit decrease for the top line partly due to
unfavorable foreign exchange movements and longer time-to-revenue
for its next-generation products. Additionally the rating agency
expects increased operating expenses for R&D to support the
deployment of its next-generation products.

Although Broadcast Technologies will continue to decline over time,
the rating agency notes that there is increased visibility due to
the signing of multi-year agreements with predictable revenue
profiles. On the other hand, Moody's projects strong momentum for
Synamedia's next generation solutions, including Media Cloud
Services, leading to an overall low- to mid-single digit revenue
growth for the group from FY 2023.

The weaker EBITDA projected in FY 2022 will result in a spike in
Moody's adjusted gross leverage to between 5.5x and 6.0x by the end
of the year. However based on the rating agency's expectation for a
return to revenue and EBITDA growth, leverage should decrease
towards 4.0x by the end of FY 2023 and further improve in the
following year.

Synamedia benefits from an adequate liquidity position pro forma
for the refinancing transaction supported by a cash balance of
USD43.3 million and full availability under its USD50 million RCF
as of September 26, 2021. Synamedia generated a positive Moody's
adjusted FCF of USD12 million in FY 2021 and the rating agency
expects a modest positive FCF in FY 2022 excluding transaction fees
for the refinancing of the company's debt. The new credit
facilities agreement includes a springing financial maintenance
covenant tested only if more than 40% of the RCF is drawn.

Synamedia's B3-PD PDR, at the same level as the CFR, reflects the
company's senior secured first lien debt structure with weak
financial maintenance covenants. The B3 rating on the company's new
guaranteed senior secured first lien term loan due 2029 and
guaranteed senior secured first lien RCF due 2027 reflects their
pari passu ranking and the absence of any significant liabilities
ranking ahead or behind. The credit facilities benefit from
guarantees from all material subsidiaries of Synamedia and are
secured over most of the tangible and intangible assets of the
group.

RATING OUTLOOK

The stable outlook incorporates Moody's expectation that
Synamedia's structural decline in Broadcast Technologies revenues
will be more than offset by growth in Media Cloud Services and
Video Network and that the company will generate positive FCF in
order to maintain an adequate liquidity position.

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

Synamedia's ratings could be upgraded if the company shows a track
record of revenue growth while maintaining its EBITDA margin at
above 20%, and adjusted FCF as a percentage of adjusted gross debt
is above 5% on a sustained basis. Additionally the company would
have to maintain its adjusted gross leverage at or below 3.0x and
an adequate liquidity position. The ratings could come under
downward pressure if the company fails to stabilize its revenues on
a sustainable basis, Moody's adjusted leverage increases to above
4.0x for a prolonged period of time, or FCF turns negative leading
to a weaker liquidity position.

PRINCIPAL METHODOLOGY

The principal methodology used in these ratings was Diversified
Technology published in August 2018.

COMPANY PROFILE

Headquartered in Staines, UK, Synamedia is a global provider of
video infrastructure technology whose portfolio features video
network services; anti-piracy solutions and intelligence; and video
platforms with fully-integrated capabilities including cloud
digital video recording (DVR) and advanced advertising. The company
operates through 2 segments: (1) Video Platform, which includes
Broadcast Technologies, Media Cloud Services, and Broadband &
Syndication Technologies solutions, and (2) Video Network.

TRITON UK: S&P Alters Outlook to Positive, Affirms 'B-' ICR
-----------------------------------------------------------
S&P Global Ratings revised its outlook on Triton UK Midco
(Synamedia) to positive from stable and affirmed its 'B-' long-term
issuer credit rating. S&P also assigned its 'B-' issue ratings to
the proposed new first lien term loan and revolving credit facility
(RCF), replacing the existing 'B'-rated facilities. The lower issue
ratings reflect the removal of the second lien debt cushion under
the proposed transaction structure.

The positive outlook indicates that S&P could upgrade the ratings
over the next 12 months if Synamedia's adjusted gross leverage is
about 5.5x or lower and its adjusted FOCF to debt is above 5% in
FY2022, in line with its base case, assuming it is also on track
for a transition to revenue growth in FY2023.

S&P said, "The outlook revision reflects our expectation of solid
FOCF in FY2022, supported by the planned refinancing. We forecast
that Synamedia's plan to issue a new $390 million first lien term
loan to refinance its existing first lien and second lien debt will
result in about $5 million lower interest payments per year. This
means that we expect its S&P Global Ratings-adjusted FOCF to debt
will be about 6% in FY2022, slightly higher than about 5% excluding
the refinancing. In addition, proposed lower amortization payments
of about 1% per year would materially improve Synamedia's FOCF
relative to ongoing debt servicing, boosting its medium-term
liquidity position.

"We anticipate that Synamedia's adjusted leverage will not rise
above 5.5x in FY2022, despite EBITDA decline. In our view,
Synamedia's adjusted EBITDA could decline by about 30% in FY2022
after a relatively strong FY2021. This is because of a 9%-10%
revenue decline and 500 basis points (bps) of EBITDA margin
decline. The revenue decline reflects mid-to-high single-digit
video platform revenue decline, owing to a steep decline in legacy
broadcast technologies products, partly offset by strong growth
(from a low base) in next-generation media cloud services. It also
reflects double-digit revenue decline for the group's video network
segment, because of a shift to long-term recurring subscription
sales for legacy hardware and a large contract win in FY2021 that
will not recur in FY2022. The EBITDA margin decline reflects
operating leverage and increased next-generation research and
development (R&D) and sales and marketing investment in media cloud
services. However, despite the EBITDA decline, we anticipate that
Synamedia's adjusted gross leverage, which was 3.6x in FY2021, is
unlikely to rise higher than 5.5x in FY2022. This is supported by
some flexibility by Synamedia to lower its spend if top-line
performance is weaker than expected.

"We forecast that Synamedia could transition to solid revenue
growth in FY2023, albeit with some execution risk, driving
potentially material improvement in its credit metrics. Synamedia
could grow its revenue by about 4%-6% in FY2023, supported by
low-single-digit growth in its video platform segment and a strong
recovery in video network solutions. The slight growth in video
platform assumes a more modest decline in broadcast technologies,
with downside risk limited by all its top 10 customers being signed
to long-term contracts, and strong growth in media cloud services
and broadband and syndication technologies. We think there is some
execution risk within the plan to strongly grow video network
revenue, given the high volatility of this segment historically and
still-significant (albeit reducing) nonrecurring revenue. That
said, if Synamedia is able to deliver revenue improvement, and if
it achieves EBITDA margin improvement thanks to operating leverage
and cost savings, its adjusted gross leverage and FOCF to debt
should improve, creating headroom for a higher rating.

"The positive outlook indicates that we could raise the ratings
over the next 12 months if Synamedia's EBITDA does not decline more
than we expect in FY2022, and if the group is on track for a
recovery in operating performance in FY2023."

Upside scenario

S&P could raise the ratings if Synamedia's adjusted gross leverage
were about 5.5x or lower and its adjusted FOCF to debt above 5% in
FY2022, in line with its base case, assuming it is also on track
for a transition to revenue growth in FY2023. An upgrade would also
hinge on Synamedia maintaining its adjusted leverage at about 5.5x
or below on a sustainable basis thanks to prudent financial
policy.

Downside scenario

S&P could revise the outlook to stable if Synamedia's adjusted
gross leverage is meaningfully above 5.5x, its adjusted FOCF to
debt is below 5% in FY2022, and its credit metrics are unlikely to
significantly improve in FY2023 due to weaker-than-expected revenue
or potential debt-funded acquisitions.

ESG credit indicators: E-2, S-2, G-3



                           *********


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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