---

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

                          E U R O P E

          Friday, September 22, 2023, Vol. 24, No. 191

                           Headlines



G E R M A N Y

E-MAC DE 2006-II: Fitch Affirms 'CCsf' Rating on Two Tranches
THYSSENKRUPP AG: Fitch Alters Outlook on 'BB-' LongTerm IDR to Pos


G R E E C E

ALPHA BANK: Fitch Hikes LongTerm IDR to 'BB-', Outlook Stable
EUROBANK SA: Fitch Hikes LongTerm IDR to 'BB', Outlook Stable
NATIONAL BANK: Fitch Hikes LongTerm IDR to 'BB', Outlook Stable
PIRAEUS BANK: Fitch Hikes LongTerm IDR to 'BB-', Outlook Stable
[*] Moody's Hikes Longterm Deposit Ratings of 6 Greek Banks



I R E L A N D

AVOCA CLO XXI: Fitch Affirms Bsf Rating on Class F Notes
CARLYLE EURO 2018-2: Fitch Affirms B-sf Rating on Class E Notes
FINANCE IRELAND 4: DBRS Confirms BB(high) Rating on Class F Notes
FINANCE IRELAND 6: DBRS Gives Prov. BB Rating on Class E Notes
MALLINCKRODT PLC: High Court Appoints Interim Examiner

ROCKFORD TOWER 2019-1: Fitch Affirms Bsf Rating on Class F Notes


I T A L Y

BELVEDERE SPV: DBRS Cuts Rating on Class A Notes to CCC
RED & BLACK: DBRS Gives Prov. B(high) Rating on Class E Notes
WEBUILD SPA: Fitch Gives 'BB(EXP)' Rating on EUR500MM Unsec. Notes


N E T H E R L A N D S

E-MAC DE 2006-II: Moody's Hikes Rating on EUR24.5MM C Notes to Ba1
NIBC BANK: Moody's Ups Rating on Perpetual Securities to Ba1(hyb)
SPRINT BIDCO: Fitch Lowers LongTerm IDR to 'B-', Outlook Stable


S P A I N

CAIXABANK LEASINGS 3: DBRS Confirms BB(low) Rating on B Notes


T U R K E Y

MERSIN ULUSLARARASI: Fitch Alters Outlook on 'B' Rating to Stable
TURKIYE WEALTH: Fitch Alters Outlook on 'B' LongTerm IDRs to Stable
[*] Fitch Alters 11 Turkish Corp Issuers' FC IDR Outlooks to Stable


U N I T E D   K I N G D O M

ALPHA TOPCO: Moody's Raises CFR to Ba2 & Alters Outlook to Stable
AVON FINANCE 4: Fitch Gives Final CCC Rating on Class X Notes
BROSS BAGELS: Unlikely to Pay GBP970,000 Owed to Creditors
BUCKINGHAM GROUP: Main Plant Supplier Continues to Trade
DUBLIN BAY 2018-MA1: DBRS Confirms BB(low) Rating on Z1 Notes

GRIFONAS FINANCE 1: Moody's Ups Rating on EUR28.5MM C Notes to B1
PHARMASERVE: Kroll Completes Part-Sale of Business to Noveayr
PITCH FOODS: Enters Into Creditor's Voluntary Liquidation
RMAC 3 PLC: Fitch Gives Bsf Final Rating on F Notes, Outlook Stable
TURBO FINANCE 9: Moody's Hikes Rating on GBP14.6MM E Notes to Ba1

WILKO LTD: PwC to Review Dividends Paid Out to Wilkinson Family


X X X X X X X X

[*] BOOK REVIEW: The First Junk Bond

                           - - - - -


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

E-MAC DE 2006-II: Fitch Affirms 'CCsf' Rating on Two Tranches
-------------------------------------------------------------
Fitch Ratings has upgraded E-MAC DE 2005-I B.V.'s and E-MAC DE
2006-II B.V.'s class C notes and affirmed the other classes. Fitch
has also affirmed E-MAC DE 2006-I B.V., as detailed below.

   Entity/Debt                Rating           Recovery   Prior
   -----------                ------           --------   -----
E-MAC DE 2006-I B.V

   Class B XS0257590876   LT AAAsf  Affirmed   AAAsf
   Class C XS0257591338   LT CCCsf  Affirmed   CCCsf
   Class D XS0257592062   LT CCsf   Affirmed    CCsf
   Class E XS0257592575   LT CCsf   Affirmed    CCsf

E-MAC DE 2005-I B.V.

   Class C XS0221902538   LT A+sf   Upgrade    BBBsf
   Class D XS0221903429   LT CCCsf  Affirmed   CCCsf
   Class E XS0221904237   LT CCsf   Affirmed    CCsf  

E-MAC DE 2006-II B.V.

   Class B XS0276933859   LT AAAsf  Affirmed   AAAsf
   Class C XS0276934667   LT A+sf   Upgrade      Asf
   Class D XS0276935045   LT CCsf   Affirmed    CCsf
   Class E XS0276936019   LT CCsf   Affirmed    CCsf

TRANSACTION SUMMARY

The transactions are true-sale securitisations of German
residential mortgage loans originated by GMAC-RFC Bank GmbH. Adaxio
AMC GmbH is the transaction's current servicer and the successor to
GMAC-RFC Bank GmbH.

KEY RATING DRIVERS

Swaps Support Transactions: The pools comprise mainly fixed-rate
loans with some floating-rate loans. The fixed-rate portion of the
portfolio is swapped with a fixed swap rate to be paid by the SPV
in exchange for 3m Euribor. On the loan reset dates, the issuer
will renew the swap agreement for all loans that are resetting. The
new swap rate ensures on the relevant day only, a minimum excess
margin of 20bp after fees and senior expenses and after interest
from all rated notes.

Fitch has reflected this feature in its analysis, assuming that the
share of fixed- and floating-rate loans remains constant. Fitch
deems this a reasonable assumption due to economic considerations
on the borrower's side, despite some minor fluctuation in the
fixed/floating mix over recent years.

Unsecured Recoveries Cover High Costs: The transactions feature
separate waterfalls with no principal borrowing to cover fees and
expenses or note interest. The available interest funds contain a
significant amount of unsecured recoveries, helping cover the high
fees and expenses. The swap provides some support to cover rising
(in relative terms) transactions costs, but Fitch is limiting this
effect by assuming a minimum swap rate of -1%. This means excess
spread can fall below its guaranteed level in its analysis. This
also addresses the risk of excessive dependence on the swap
counterparties.

Fitch assumes fees of EUR300,000 plus 0.5% of the collateral
balance annually, which is above the typical fees in RMBS. The
development of senior fees and expenses relative to available
interest funds and most importantly unsecured recoveries is crucial
for interest payments on senior and mezzanine notes. Fitch has
upgraded the class C notes of 2005-I and 2006-II given the further
strengthening of overcollateralisation and sufficient coverage of
the liquidity facility for class C interest.

Counterparty Exposure Caps Ratings: The liquidity facilities of
2005-I and 2006-I remain fully drawn by the issuer. The drawn
amounts are held at the issuers' transaction account banks. In line
with its counterparty criteria Fitch has capped the class C notes'
rating at the deposit rating of ABN AMRO Bank N.V. (deposit rating:
A+/Stable) Changes in the bank's ratings will directly affect the
notes' rating. For the 2006-I transaction, there are no rating
constraints from the drawn facility due to lower spreads payable on
the 'AAAsf' rated notes, reducing the issuer's dependence on the
facility to cover its expenses.

2006-II's liquidity facility has not been drawn as the rating of
the facility provider, NatWest Markets (Long-Term Issuer Default
Rating (IDR): A+/Stable), fulfils the documented rating
requirements. In Fitch's view, the reliance on the facility to
cover issuer expenses is elevated in this transaction. Fitch has
capped the class C notes' rating at the facility provider's
Long-Term IDR because Fitch believes that there is excessive
reliance on the facility to make interest payments. The class B
notes, which Fitch expects to be repaid in full soon, are less
reliant on the facility and no rating cap applies.

Increased Credit Enhancement: The transactions are amortising
sequentially and Fitch does not expect a switch to pro-rata given
the severe principal deficiency ledger (PDL), arrears and reserve
fund trigger breaches. 2006-I and 2006-II's class A notes were
repaid in full in August 2020. 2005-I's class A notes repaid in
full in 2018 and its class B notes in February 2022. Relative
credit enhancement for the mezzanine notes has been increasing
since the review in 2022. Principal losses for 2005-I's class B and
C notes, 2006-1's class B notes and 2006-II's class B and C notes
are less of a risk. Ratings are instead dominated by risks to the
coverage of expenses and note interest.

Junior Notes Undercollateralised: As a result of large losses to
date, 2005-I's class E notes, 2006-I's class C, D, and E notes, and
2006-II's class D and E notes are no longer fully backed by
performing assets. The ratings have been affirmed at 'CCCsf' and
below to reflect the high likelihood of principal losses.
Overcollateralisation improved on the class D notes of 2005-I, but
not sufficiently in Fitch's modelling to shield against losses in
higher rating scenarios than 'CCCsf'. Continued increases in
over-collateralisation could result in upgrades.

RATING SENSITIVITIES

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

Higher fees, expenses and swap costs or lower income from the asset
portfolio including unsecured recoveries could result in a
downgrade of the mezzanine notes.

For 2005-I's class C notes, a downgrade of the transaction account
bank's deposit rating would result in a downgrade of the notes'
rating as they are capped at the transaction account bank's
rating.

For 2006-II's class C notes, a downgrade of the liquidity facility
provider's Long-Term IDR would result in a downgrade of the notes'
rating as they are capped at the liquidity facility provider's
rating.

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

The issuers' ability to meet interest payment requirements on the
notes is highly sensitive to the transaction's income versus costs.
Lower-than-anticipated fees and expenses, higher income from the
asset portfolio or lower swap costs could result in an upgrade of
notes that are not rated 'AAAsf'.

The ratings of junior notes rated 'CCCsf' and lower are sensitive
to higher property values realised from foreclosures or increasing
excess spread. This would limit further PDL entries and could
reduce the existing balances.

CRITERIA VARIATION

As a variation from the European RMBS Rating Criteria Fitch applies
haircuts of 50% for each property value. This aims at aligning the
assumed recovery rates with recoveries observed and increases
assumed losses. The application of the variation has not resulted
in changes to model-implied ratings compared with the model-implied
rating using a model without variation.

DATA ADEQUACY

E-MAC DE 2005-I B.V., E-MAC DE 2006-I B.V, E-MAC DE 2006-II B.V.

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

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

Overall, and together with 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.

ESG CONSIDERATIONS

E-MAC DE 2005-I B.V., E-MAC DE 2006-I B.V and E-MAC DE 2006-II B.V.
have ESG Relevance Scores of '4' for Transaction Parties &
Operational Risk due to weaker underwriting standards applied by
the originator that have manifested in weaker-than-market
performance of the asset portfolio and reflected in originator
adjustments to the foreclosure frequency, which has a negative
impact on the credit profile, and is relevant to the ratings in
conjunction with other factors.

The highest level of ESG credit relevance is a score of '3', unless
otherwise disclosed in this section. A score of '3' 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. Fitch's ESG Relevance Scores are not
inputs in the rating process; they are an observation on the
relevance and materiality of ESG factors in the rating decision.


THYSSENKRUPP AG: Fitch Alters Outlook on 'BB-' LongTerm IDR to Pos
------------------------------------------------------------------
Fitch Ratings has revised thyssenkrupp AG's (TK) Outlook to
Positive. Fitch has affirmed TK's Long-Term Issuer Default Rating
(IDR) at 'BB-' and senior unsecured notes rating at 'BB-' with a
Recovery Rating of 'RR4'.

The Positive Outlook reflects substantial debt reduction over the
past three years coupled with its expectation of improving and
broadly neutral Free Cash Flow (FCF) in 2023-2025. Fitch forecasts
Fitch-adjusted gross debt to have more than halved to below EUR3
billion by end-FY23 (the financial year ending September 2023) from
its peak, and Fitch believes a further reduction to below EUR2
billion in FY24 is likely, as Fitch expects debt to be redeemed at
maturity. Fitch expects FCF to be supported by a moderate and
gradual recovery in earnings and improved cash conversion as a
result of working capital release and decreased restructuring
cash-outs. This is partially counterbalanced by its expectation of
increased growth and green capex and the reinstatement of
dividends.

TK's ratings also reflect its improved business profile underpinned
by managements restructuring and portfolio optimization efforts,
strong liquidity position, conservative capital structure and a
well-diversified business profile, which offset the company's
still-low underlying profitability.

KEY RATING DRIVERS

Strong Capital Structure; Conservative Policy: TK's ratings are
supported by a strong capital structure and the management's record
of conservative cash deployment following the sale of the Elevator
business. This is evidenced by the lack of buybacks and the
resumption of small dividend payments in FY23, in line with its
expectations and commensurate with the improvement in cash flow
generation.

Fitch expects the management to adjust the dividend accordingly in
a downturn. Fitch also expects EBITDA gross leverage to temporarily
increase in FY23 driven by a reduction in earnings, but,
thereafter, to improve and remain well below the positive
sensitivity of 2.5x. Fitch forecasts coverage metrics to remain
strong given TK's predominantly fixed debt structure and no
immediate external funding needs.

FCF Burn to Stop: Cumulative FCF burn in FY21-FY22 was about EUR2.5
billion, but Fitch expects this to greatly improve in the short
term. Fitch expects FCF to be slightly positive in FY23 as
declining earnings are offset by working capital release. In
FY24-FY25, assuming a modest working capital release, Fitch
projects FCF to be neutral as improving margins across business
segments are offset by its expectation of higher growth, green
capex and the reinstatement of dividends. Still,
better-than-expected working capital related to cash flow could
lead to FCF margins above 1%, a level key to an upgrade.

Materials & Steel Business Volatility: A wider economic slowdown
and heightened cost inflation affected TK's material businesses;
for FY23, Fitch forecasts the combined adjusted EBIT of the
material services and steel Europe divisions to decline by about
70% from the FY22 peak. At material services, Fitch expects
adjusted EBIT to recover to mid-cycle levels by FY25 as macro
conditions improve and growth initiatives pay off.

At steel Europe, Fitch believes an improvement in auto production,
normalisation of raw materials and energy costs and restructuring
efforts will gradually lead to reaching the management's mid-term
target of adjusted EBITDA of EUR100/tonne by FY26. Fitch considers
risks for the upcoming winter from curtailment of natural gas flows
to Europe to be manageable for TK's steel operations as ample EU
gas storage, alternative supplies of natural gas and reduced demand
will allow the European gas and electricity market to avoid the
record high prices of 2022.

Portfolio Optimisation Well-Progressed: The restructuring of TK's
previous conglomerate structure has advanced well with six out 10
business grouped under the (now eliminated) multi-tracks segment
sold, closed or partially listed. As a result, loss-making for the
segments has gradually decreased to a low three-digit range in
FY23.

Fitch believes the war in Ukraine has unevenly affected the
prospects for separation or partnerships for TK's steel and marine
businesses. Increased defence spending and heightened geopolitical
risks should expedite a resolution in the marine segment, but
energy security and affordability concerns have worsened the
outlook for the steel business.

Steel Business Future Is Uncertain: Fitch believes the outlook for
the separation of the steel business to have worsened. Prospects of
prolonged high energy costs as Europe restructures its energy
infrastructure away from Russian flows, uncertainties around the
efficacy of Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism as it replaces the
Emissions Trading System, high investments needed for
decarbonisation and pension obligations attached to the steel
business are risks and hurdles for potential buyers and partners.

Fitch believes a separation could potentially be positive for the
consolidated profile as Fitch sees the steel business as
neutral-to-negative FCF business in the short-to-medium term.
However, this will depend on the details of a potential deal and
its effect on the capital structure.

DERIVATION SUMMARY

TK has greater exposure to volatile steel earnings, a greater fixed
cost base and lower production flexibility than capital goods
peers, including KION GROUP AG (BBB/Stable) and Atlas Copco AB
(A+/Stable). These peers also have a greater proportion of total
group sales derived from stable servicing and maintenance.

Compared with pure-play steel peers, TK is more diversified owing
to its capital goods businesses. However, TK's steel segment
profitability lags behind regional peers that are able to achieve
EBITDA/tonne of above USD100/tonne compared with TK's about
USD65/tonne in the first six months of 2023.

KEY ASSUMPTIONS

Fitch's Key Assumptions within its Rating Case for the Issuer

- Mid-single-digit revenue contraction in FY23, followed by low
single-digit decrease in FY24/FY25

- EBITDA margins at about 4% in FY23 rebounding to about 5% in
FY24, recovering, thereafter, to about 6%

- No divestment or deconsolidation of the European steel business
in 2023-2027

- Capex at about 4% of revenue a year in 2023-2027

- Dividend payments resuming in FY23 at EUR93 million per year

- Maturing bond to be redeemed in 2024

RATING SENSITIVITIES

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

- EBITDA margin above 8%

- FCF margin above 1%

- EBITDA/gross leverage below 2.5x

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

- EBITDA margin below 5%

- Negative FCF on a sustained basis

- Failed restructuring measures resulting in EBITDA/gross leverage
above 3.5x, respectively, on a sustained basis

- Material deterioration in liquidity

LIQUIDITY AND DEBT STRUCTURE

Strong Liquidity: At 9M23, TK had about EUR7.7 billion of
liquidity, consisting of about EUR6.2 billion of readily available
cash and about EUR1.5 billion of undrawn committed credit lines
against EUR2.3 billion of current debt excluding leases and
including factoring. The company's EUR3 billion commercial paper
programme and the group's history of regularly tapping the capital
markets on a regular basis also support liquidity.

ISSUER PROFILE

thyssenkrupp AG (TK) is a manufacturer of industrial components and
a leading European supplier of flat steel. The German
conglomerate's operations span hundreds of sites and numerous
sectors, including components for vehicles and machinery,
industrial plant and vessel construction, metals and plastics
processing as well as carbon steel manufacturing.

ESG CONSIDERATIONS

The highest level of ESG credit relevance is a score of '3', unless
otherwise disclosed in this section. A score of '3' 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. Fitch's ESG Relevance Scores are not
inputs in the rating process; they are an observation on the
relevance and materiality of ESG factors in the rating decision.

   Entity/Debt           Rating        Recovery   Prior
   -----------           ------        --------   -----
thyssenkrupp AG    LT IDR BB- Affirmed              BB-

                   ST IDR B   Affirmed               B

   senior
   unsecured       LT     BB- Affirmed    RR4       BB-

   senior
   unsecured       ST     B   Affirmed               B




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

ALPHA BANK: Fitch Hikes LongTerm IDR to 'BB-', Outlook Stable
-------------------------------------------------------------
Fitch Ratings has upgraded Alpha Bank S.A.'s (Alpha; OpCo) and
Alpha Services and Holdings S.A.'s (HoldCo) Long-Term Issuer
Default Ratings (IDRs) to 'BB-' from 'B+' and Viability Ratings
(VRs) to 'bb-' from 'b+'. The Outlooks on the Long-Term IDRs are
Stable.

The upgrade reflects structural improvement in Alpha's
profitability, which will drive further organic capital generation
and result in stronger capital ratios. The upgrade also reflects
the continued downward trajectory in the bank's non-performing
exposure (NPE) ratio, stable funding and improved access to the
wholesale debt market to meet minimum requirements for own funds
and eligible liabilities (MREL).

KEY RATING DRIVERS

Franchise, Capital Position Underpin Ratings: The ratings reflect
the bank's position as one of four systemically important banks in
Greece, which supports its business and profitability prospects.
Its capitalisation has improved with increasing buffers over
regulatory requirements. However, capital remains vulnerable to
significant, albeit reducing, levels of capital encumbrance from
unreserved problem assets. Alpha's largely deposit-based funding
also underpins the ratings.

Systemically Important Domestic Bank: Alpha's business model is
focused on traditional commercial- and-retail banking activities in
the domestic market, with some diversification in fee-generating
activities, including asset management and insurance, and in
foreign markets like Romania and Cyprus. Business model
sustainability has improved in line with its balance-sheet risk
reduction and restructuring, although Alpha remains more exposed to
legacy problem assets (including NPEs and foreclosed assets) than
higher-rated domestic peers.

Above-Average NPEs, Weak Coverage: Alpha's NPE ratio (excluding
retained senior notes of impaired loan securitisations from total
loans) fell to 8.7% at end-June 2023, following further NPE
disposals and cures. However, it remains above that of Greek and
international peers. Alpha's impaired loan coverage of 36% at
end-June 2023 is also lower than at domestic peers.

Further Risk Reduction Expected: Fitch expects new NPE inflows to
remain manageable, and Alpha to continue reducing its NPEs through
increased cures, recoveries and write-offs. This should drive the
NPE ratio to mid-single digits by end-2025, also supported by its
expectation that the Greek economy will continue to grow and will
outperform the eurozone. However, risks to asset quality remain,
especially if inflationary pressures persist, or if interest rate
rises gather pace and increase borrowers' debt-servicing costs.

Satisfactory Profitability, Limited Diversification: Alpha's
operating profit/risk weighted assets (RWAs) has benefitted
significantly from the higher interest-rate environment, cost
management and normalising loan impairment charges (LICs). Fitch
expects the ratio to remain above 2% in the medium term on
continued cost-saving initiatives, organic growth and supportive
asset-quality developments, and despite anticipated decreases in
interest rates.

Sufficient Capital Buffers, Capital Encumbrance: Alpha's
fully-loaded common equity Tier 1 (CET1) ratio increased to 13.6%
at end-June 2023 on improving earnings, capital management and NPE
sales. Alpha also issued EUR400 million of additional Ter 1 (AT1)
debt in 1H23, supporting an increase in the total capital ratio to
about 18%. Fitch expects the CET1 ratio to strengthen in the next
two years towards its target of 16% by end-2025, supported by
structurally improved profitability and prudent dividend pay-outs.

Capitalisation remains exposed to significant amounts of unreserved
problem assets, which accounted for about 50% of CET1 capital at
end-June 2023. However, encumbrance has reduced significantly in
the last five years due to efforts to reduce balance-sheet risk,
and Fitch expects it to fall further on continued clean-up and
improved capital generation.

Stable Deposit-Based Funding: Alpha's loans/deposits ratio of 78%
is higher than at some domestic peers but is supported by a stable
and granular deposit base. Liquidity is also healthy. Access to
wholesale markets has improved as the bank issued a cumulative
EUR0.9 billion of unsecured debt in 2022 and a further EUR0.6
billion in 2023 to meet its MREL. However, market access remains
sensitive to changes in creditor sentiment and the Greek operating
environment.

Holdco and Opco Ratings Equalised: HoldCo is the parent holding
company of Alpha Bank, the group's main operating company and core
bank. The ratings of HoldCo and Alpha Bank are equalised as Fitch
believes that the risk of default of the two entities is
substantially the same. The equalisation also reflects its
expectation that double leverage will remain below 120%, and
fungible liquidity that is prudently managed at group level.

RATING SENSITIVITIES

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

Rating pressure could arise if the economic environment in Greece
deteriorates sharply. This could be triggered by an unexpected
domestic economic recession and a sharp rise in unemployment
without prospects of a rebound in the short term, leading to a
material deterioration of borrower creditworthiness and reduced
business opportunities for banks.

Fitch could downgrade the ratings if Fitch expects Alpha's NPE
ratio (excluding senior notes) to remain above 8% on a sustained
basis, or if its CET1 ratio falls below 12%, causing CET1 capital
encumbrance by unreserved problem assets to rise significantly.

A decline of operating profit/RWAs to below 1% due to structural
weaknesses in Alpha's business model, or evidence of funding
instability or inability to access wholesale debt markets for a
prolonged period, could also be negative for ratings.

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

Positive rating action could arise if Alpha's business model
strengthens further, resulting in stronger revenue generation and
diversification. The operating profit/RWAs stabilising above 2%
without a material deterioration in the bank's risk profile, and
the CET1 ratio strengthening above 15% would be positive for
ratings.

The problem asset ratio falling towards 7% with strengthened NPE
coverage, resulting in low CET1 capital encumbrance by unreserved
problem assets, coupled with stable funding and a continued
build-up of MREL buffers, could also lead to an upgrade.

Rating upside could also arise if its assessment of Greek banks'
operating environment improves. This could follow a positive rating
action on Greece's sovereign rating if Fitch believes that it has
the potential to benefit banks by means of increased business
opportunities, stronger borrower creditworthiness and easier or
cheaper access to the wholesale debt capital markets.

OTHER DEBT AND ISSUER RATINGS: KEY RATING DRIVERS

DEPOSITS

Alpha's long-term deposit rating is one notch above the Long-Term
IDR, because of full depositor preference in Greece and its
expectation that Alpha will comply with its final MREL, which will
be binding from 1 January 2026. Alpha's resolution debt buffer is
moderate, which Fitch expects to grow as the bank issues more
senior debt. Deposits will therefore benefit from protection
offered by more bank resolution debt and equity, resulting in a
lower probability of default.

The short-term deposit rating of 'B' is in line with the bank's
'BB' long-term deposit rating under Fitch's rating correspondence
table.

GOVERNMENT SUPPORT RATING (GSR)

Alpha's GSR of 'no support' reflects Fitch's view that although
external extraordinary sovereign support is possible, it cannot be
relied on. Senior creditors can no longer expect to receive full
extraordinary support from the sovereign in the event that the bank
becomes non-viable. The EU's Bank Recovery and Resolution Directive
and the Single Resolution Mechanism for eurozone banks provide a
framework for resolving banks that requires senior creditors
participating in losses ahead of a bank receiving sovereign
support.

OTHER DEBT AND ISSUER RATINGS: RATING SENSITIVITIES

The deposit ratings are sensitive to changes in the bank's IDRs.
The ratings could be upgraded if Alpha's resolution debt buffers
excluding senior preferred debt issued at the operating company
level exceeds 10% of RWAs on a sustained basis, which Fitch deems
unlikely.

The long-term deposit rating could also be downgraded if Fitch
deems Alpha unable to increase the size of its senior and junior
debt buffers to comply with its final MREL.

An upgrade of the GSR would be contingent on a positive change in
the sovereign's propensity to support the bank. In Fitch's view,
this is highly unlikely, although not impossible.

VR ADJUSTMENTS

The operating environment score of 'bb' is below the 'bbb' implied
category score due to the following adjustment reason: sovereign
rating (negative).

The earnings & profitability score of 'bb-' is above the 'b &
below' implied category score due to the following adjustment
reason: historical and future metrics (positive).

ESG CONSIDERATIONS

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. Fitch's ESG Relevance
Scores are not inputs in the rating process; they are an
observation of the materiality and relevance of ESG factors in the
rating decision.

   Entity/Debt                     Rating           Prior
   -----------                     ------           -----
Alpha Bank S.A.   LT IDR             BB-  Upgrade     B+

                  ST IDR             B    Affirmed    B

                  Viability          bb-  Upgrade     b+

                  Government Support ns   Affirmed    ns

   long-term
   deposits       LT                 BB   Upgrade    BB-

   short-term
   deposits       ST                 B    Affirmed    B

Alpha Services
and Holdings
S.A.              LT IDR             BB-  Upgrade     B+

                  ST IDR             B    Affirmed    B

                  Viability          bb-  Upgrade     b+

                  Government Support ns   Affirmed    ns


EUROBANK SA: Fitch Hikes LongTerm IDR to 'BB', Outlook Stable
-------------------------------------------------------------
Fitch Ratings has upgraded Eurobank S.A.'s (Eurobank; OpCo) and
Eurobank Ergasias Services and Holdings S.A. (HoldCo) Long-Term
Issuer Default Ratings (IDRs) to 'BB' from 'BB-', and Viability
Ratings (VRs) to 'bb' from 'bb-'. The Outlooks on the Long-Term
IDRs are Stable.

The upgrades reflect structural improvement to Eurobank's
profitability from higher interest rates and low deposit rates; on
careful cost management; and normalised loan impairment charges
(LICs) following the bank's successful strategy to reduce
balance-sheet risk. This has allowed the bank to accumulate
capital, strengthening buffers relative to regulatory requirements
and provided greater flexibility to pursue investments and growth
initiatives, which Fitch expects to result in greater
business-model sustainability.

KEY RATING DRIVERS

Capital, Profitability Mitigate Risks: The ratings reflect
Eurobank's adequate capital buffers and satisfactory profitability,
which provide room to absorb losses from its still-moderate stock
of non-performing exposures (NPEs) and unreserved foreclosed
assets. The ratings also reflect its strong market position in
Greece, international diversification, stable customer
deposit-based funding and build-up of resolution debt buffers.

Systemic Domestic Bank, International Diversification: Eurobank's
business profile is underpinned by its strong franchise in Greece
and business diversification in Bulgaria and Cyprus. It also
considers Eurobank's more advanced progress in reducing
balance-sheet risk relative to lower-rated peers', and its focus on
traditional commercial-banking activities, which generate good net
interest income.

Hellenic Bank Acquisition: The planned acquisition of a majority
stake in Cyprus-based Hellenic Bank Public Company Limited
(BB-/Stable) is consistent with Eurobank's strategy to consolidate
its presence in core foreign markets. The full rating impact of the
acquisition is unlikely to be clear until the closing of the
transaction.

If completed, the acquisition would increase geographic
diversification and benefit some key financial metrics, except
capital, which will likely be eroded but by a manageable amount. In
addition, Eurobank will face execution risks given the size of the
acquisition (about 20% of the combined entity's total assets),
albeit counterbalanced by the complementary nature of the two
banks' business and credit profiles, and Eurobank's already good
knowledge of the Cypriot market.

Moderate NPE Ratio, Adequate Coverage: Eurobank's NPE ratio of 5.9%
at end-June 2023 (excluding retained senior notes of impaired loans
securitisations from total loans) was better than the domestic
average but moderate by international standards. Impaired loan
coverage of over 70% is adequate and at the higher end of domestic
peers', providing a cushion to absorb asset-quality deterioration.
Exposure to foreclosed asset is manageable, but is decreasing
slowly.

Satisfactory, Sustainable Profitability: Eurobank's operating
profit/risk-weighted assets (RWAs) improved significantly since
2H22 due to rising interest rates, to a healthy 3.3% in 1H23. Fitch
expects operating profit to remain well above 2.5% of RWAs in the
next two years, supported by sustainable costs and LICs following
the bank's balance-sheet risk reduction and restructuring.
Eurobank's profitability remains sensitive to the interest-rate and
credit cycles, but benefits from international diversification.

Adequate Capital Buffers, Still Vulnerable: Eurobank's common
equity Tier 1 (CET1) ratio of 15.6% at end-June 2023 maintained
adequate buffers over regulatory requirements. CET1 capital
encumbrance by unreserved problem assets (which include NPEs and
unreserved foreclosed assets) has fallen significantly from prior
years and is now manageable at below 20%. Eurobank's capital
remains exposed to Greek sovereign risk, from both investments in
government bonds and large deferred tax credits.

Deposit-Based Funding, Market Access: Eurobank's deposits are
stable, granular and comfortably exceed loans. ECB funding is
material, but is fully covered by available liquidity. Eurobank has
repeatedly issue unsecured wholesale debt in the past two years to
comply with the minimum requirement for own funds and eligible
liabilities (MREL). However, funding diversification remains more
limited and market access less reliable than for higher-rated
international peers.

HoldCo and OpCo Ratings Equalised: HoldCo is the parent holding
company of Eurobank, the group's main operating company and core
bank. The ratings of HoldCo and Eurobank are equalised as Fitch
believes that the risk of default of the two entities is
substantially the same. The equalisation also reflects its
expectation that double leverage will remain below 120%, and
fungible liquidity will be prudently managed at group level.

RATING SENSITIVITIES

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

Negative rating action could arise if the economic environment in
Greece deteriorates sharply. This could be triggered by an
unexpected domestic economic recession and a sharp rise in
unemployment without prospects of a rebound in the short term,
leading to a material deterioration of borrowers' creditworthiness
and reduced business opportunities for banks.

Fitch could downgrade the ratings if Fitch expects the NPE ratio
(excluding senior notes) to rise above 7% on a sustained basis, or
if its CET1 ratio heads towards 13%, causing CET1 capital
encumbrance by unreserved problem assets to rise significantly.

A decline of operating profit/RWAs to below 2% due to structural
weaknesses in Eurobank's business model, or evidence of funding
instability or inability to access wholesale debt markets for a
prolonged period, could also be negative for ratings.

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

Positive rating action is contingent on improvements of the Greek
operating environment. This could follow a positive rating action
on Greece's sovereign rating, as it would likely translate into
better business opportunities for domestic banks, reduced credit
risk in their large sovereign exposures and improved market access
amid greater investor confidence.

An upgrade would also require the NPE ratio (excluding senior
notes) to fall towards 5% on a sustained basis and the CET1 ratio
to remain at least around 16%, while maintaining low CET1 capital
encumbrance by unreserved problem assets.

An upgrade would also require operating profit/RWAs to be sustained
at around 2.5%, without a material deterioration in the bank's risk
profile, and accompanied by stable funding and a continued build-up
of MREL buffers.

OTHER DEBT AND ISSUER RATINGS: KEY RATING DRIVERS

DEPOSITS

Eurobank's long-term deposit rating is one notch above its
Long-Term IDR because of full depositor preference in Greece and
its expectation that Eurobank will comply with its final MREL,
which will be binding from 1 January 2026. Eurobank's resolution
debt buffer is moderate, which Fitch expects to grow as the bank
issues more senior debt. Deposits will therefore benefit from
protection offered by more bank resolution debt and equity,
resulting in a lower probability of default.

The short-term deposit rating of 'B' is in line with the bank's
'BB+' long-term deposit rating under Fitch's rating correspondence
table.

SENIOR PREFERRED DEBT

Eurobank's long-term senior preferred debt is rated in line with
the bank's Long-Term IDR, reflecting its view that the probability
of default on senior preferred obligations is the same as that of
the bank, as expressed by the IDR, and their average recovery
prospects. This is based on its expectation that Eurobank's
resolution buffers will comprise both senior preferred and more
junior debt instruments, as well as equity. The rating also
reflects its expectation that the combined buffer of additional
Tier 1, Tier 2 and senior non-preferred debt is unlikely to exceed
10% of the bank's RWAs on a sustained basis.

Eurobank's short-term senior preferred debt rating of 'B' is
aligned with its Short-Term IDR.

HOLDCO SUBORDINATED DEBT

The rating of HoldCo's subordinated debt is two notches lower than
its VR to reflect poor recovery prospects in a default given its
junior ranking. No notching is applied for incremental
non-performance risk.

GOVERNMENT SUPPORT RATING (GSR)

Eurobank's GSR of 'no support' (ns) reflects Fitch's view that
although extraordinary sovereign support is possible, it cannot be
relied on. Senior creditors can no longer expect to receive full
extraordinary support from the sovereign in the event that the bank
becomes non-viable. The EU's Bank Recovery and Resolution Directive
and the Single Resolution Mechanism for eurozone banks provide a
framework for resolving banks that requires senior creditors
participating in losses ahead of a bank receiving sovereign
support.

OTHER DEBT AND ISSUER RATINGS: RATING SENSITIVITIES

The long-term deposit and senior preferred debt ratings are
primarily sensitive to changes in the bank's Long-Term IDR, from
which they are notched.

The long-term deposit and senior preferred debt ratings could be
upgraded if Eurobank's resolution debt buffer excluding senior
preferred debt issued at the operating company level exceeds 10%
RWAs on a sustained basis, which Fitch deems unlikely.

The long-term deposit rating could be downgraded if Fitch deems
Eurobank unable to increase the size of its senior and junior debt
buffers to comply with its final MREL.

The rating of HoldCo's subordinated debt is sensitive to changes in
its VR, which in turn is sensitive to changes in Eurobank's VR.

An upgrade of the GSR would be contingent on a positive change in
the sovereign's propensity to support the bank. In Fitch's view,
this is highly unlikely, although not impossible.

VR ADJUSTMENTS

The operating environment score of 'bb' is below the 'bbb' implied
category score, due to the following adjustment reason: sovereign
rating (negative).

The earnings & profitability score of 'bb' is above the 'b & below'
implied category score due to the following adjustment reason:
historical and future metrics (positive).

ESG CONSIDERATIONS

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. Fitch's ESG Relevance
Scores are not inputs in the rating process; they are an
observation of the materiality and relevance of ESG factors in the
rating decision.

   Entity/Debt                    Rating           Prior
   -----------                    ------           -----
Eurobank S.A.    LT IDR             BB   Upgrade     BB-

                 ST IDR             B    Affirmed     B

                 Viability          bb   Upgrade     bb-

                 Government Support ns   Affirmed    ns

   long-term
   deposits      LT                 BB+  Upgrade     BB

   Senior
   preferred     LT                 BB   Upgrade     BB-

   Senior
   preferred     ST                 B    Affirmed     B

   short-term
   deposits      ST                 B    Affirmed     B

Eurobank
Ergasias
Services and
Holdings S.A.    LT IDR             BB   Upgrade     BB-

                 ST IDR             B    Affirmed     B

                 Viability          bb   Upgrade     bb-

                 Government Support ns   Affirmed    ns

   subordinated  LT                 B+   Upgrade      B


NATIONAL BANK: Fitch Hikes LongTerm IDR to 'BB', Outlook Stable
---------------------------------------------------------------
Fitch Ratings has upgraded National Bank of Greece S.A.'s (NBG)
Long-Term Issuer Default Rating (IDR) to 'BB' from 'BB-' and
Viability Rating (VR) to 'bb' from 'bb-'. The Outlook on the
Long-Term IDR is Stable.

The upgrades reflect structural improvement to NBG's profitability
from higher interest rates and low deposit rates; on careful cost
management; and normalised loan impairment charges (LICs) following
the bank's successful strategy to reduce risk on its balance sheet.
This has allowed NBG to accumulate capital well above regulatory
requirements and provided strategic flexibility to pursue
investments and growth initiatives, which Fitch expects to result
in greater business model sustainability.

KEY RATING DRIVERS

Franchise, Capital Underpin Ratings: NBG's ratings reflect its
strong position within the Greek domestic market, which supports
its business and profitability prospects; stable deposit-based
funding; and sound liquidity. The ratings also reflect above-sector
average capital ratios and low capital encumbrance from unreserved
problem assets.

Systemic Domestic Bank: NBG is one of four systemically important
banks in Greece, where it has strong market shares in
retail-and-commercial banking. Fitch deems the NBG's business model
more sustainable than lower-rated domestic peers' owing to its more
advanced progress in reducing balance -sheet risk. However, NBG's
activities are less diversified internationally and in
fee-generating activities relative to higher-rated peers'.

Stabilised Risk Profile: NBG's risk profile has improved over the
economic cycle, supported by significant reductions of legacy
problem assets, although these still remain high by European
standards. Fitch expects stable asset quality due to active
management of impaired loans and foreclosed assets, underpinned by
prudent lending growth. The bank has a large exposure to Greek
government bonds, although the majority of these are held at
amortised cost, which reduces capital volatility to price
fluctuations.

Moderate NPE Ratio; Adequate Coverage: NBG's non-performing
exposure (NPE) ratio of 5.8% at end-June 2023 (excluding retained
senior notes of impaired loan securitisations from total loans) has
decreased significantly and is better than the industry average,
but remains moderate by international standards. NBG's NPE reserve
coverage of about 80% is the highest domestically and provides a
buffer to absorb asset-quality deterioration.

Satisfactory, Sustainable Profitability: NBG's operating
profit/risk-weighted assets (RWAs) has benefitted significantly
from higher rates and progress in the bank's restructuring, and
Fitch expects it to stabilise above 2.5% in the medium term on
positive interest rates, manageable LICs and tight cost control.
The bank's domestic focus and limited diversification in fee-based
businesses such as wealth management expose profitability to
interest-rate and economic cycles.

Comfortable Capital Buffers: NBG's common equity Tier 1 (CET1)
ratio of 17.3% at end-June 2023 had ample buffers over regulatory
requirements, while organic capital generation benefits from
improved profitability. However, capital remains exposed to
concentration risk arising from the bank's predominantly domestic
loan book and Greek sovereign exposure.

Deposit-Based Funding; Sound Liquidity: NBG's loans/deposits is
adequate, having fallen to around 60% as a result of the bank's
balance-sheet risk reduction and continued deposit growth. NBG's
deposit base is stable and highly granular. Liquidity buffers are
healthy. NBG is on track to meet its minimum requirement for own
funds and eligible liabilities (MREL) needs following several
wholesale debt issuance over the past year.

RATING SENSITIVITIES

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

Negative rating action could arise if the economic environment in
Greece deteriorates sharply. This could be triggered by an
unexpected domestic economic recession and a sharp rise in
unemployment without prospects of a rebound in the short term,
leading to a material deterioration of borrower creditworthiness
and reduced business opportunities for banks.

Fitch could downgrade the ratings if Fitch expects the NPE ratio
(excluding senior notes) to rise above 7% on a sustained basis, or
if its CET1 ratio heads towards 13%, causing CET1 capital
encumbrance by unreserved problem assets to rise significantly.

A decline of operating profit/RWAs to below 2% due to structural
weaknesses in NBG's business model, or evidence of funding
instability or inability to access wholesale debt markets for a
prolonged period, could also be negative for ratings.

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

Positive rating action is contingent on improvements in the Greek
operating environment. This could follow a positive rating action
on Greece's sovereign rating, as it would likely translate into
better business opportunities for domestic banks, reduced credit
risk from their large sovereign exposures and improved market
access amid greater investor confidence.

An upgrade would also require the NPE ratio (excluding senior
notes) to fall towards 5% on a sustained basis and the CET1 ratio
to remain at least around 16%, while maintaining low CET1 capital
encumbrance by unreserved problem assets.

An upgrade would also require operating profit/RWAs to be sustained
at around 2.5%, without a material deterioration in the bank's risk
profile, and accompanied by stable funding and a continued build-up
of MREL buffers.

OTHER DEBT AND ISSUER RATINGS: KEY RATING DRIVERS

DEPOSITS

NBG's long-term deposit rating is one notch above the Long-Term
IDR, because of full depositor preference in Greece and its
expectation that NBG will comply with its final MREL, which will be
binding from 1 January 2026. NBG's resolution debt buffer is
moderate, which Fitch expects to grow as the bank issues more
senior debt. Deposits will therefore benefit from protection
offered by more bank resolution debt and equity, resulting in a
lower probability of default.

The short-term deposit rating of 'B' is in line with the bank's
'BB+' long-term deposit rating under Fitch's rating criteria.

SENIOR PREFERRED DEBT

The senior preferred debt rating is in line with NBG's Long-Term
IDR, reflecting its view that the default risk of senior preferred
obligations is equivalent to that of the bank as expressed by the
IDR, and their average recovery prospects. This is based on its
expectation that NBG's resolution buffers under the MREL regime
will comprise both senior preferred and more junior debt
instruments, as well as equity. The rating also reflects its
expectation that the combined buffer of additional Tier 1, Tier 2
and senior non-preferred debt is unlikely to exceed 10% of the
bank's RWAs on a sustained basis.

SUBORDINATED DEBT

The rating of the subordinated debt is two notches lower than its
VR to reflect poor recovery prospects in a default given its junior
ranking. No notching is applied for incremental non-performance
risk.

GOVERNMENT SUPPORT RATING (GSR)

NBG's Government Support Rating of 'no support' (ns) reflects
Fitch's view that although extraordinary sovereign support is
possible, it cannot be relied on. Senior creditors can no longer
expect to receive full extraordinary support from the sovereign in
the event that the bank becomes non-viable. The EU's Bank Recovery
and Resolution Directive and the Single Resolution Mechanism for
eurozone banks provide a framework for resolving banks that
requires senior creditors participating in losses ahead of a bank
receiving sovereign support.

OTHER DEBT AND ISSUER RATINGS: RATING SENSITIVITIES

The senior preferred debt and deposit ratings are sensitive to
changes in the bank's Long-Term IDR. The senior preferred debt
rating could be upgraded by one notch if NBG is expected to meet
its resolution buffer requirements only with senior non-preferred
and more junior instruments, or if the size of the combined buffer
of senior non-preferred and junior debt is expected to sustainably
exceed 10% of RWAs, neither of which Fitch expects.

The long-term deposit rating could be downgraded if Fitch deems NBG
unable to increase the size of its senior and junior debt buffers
to comply with its final MREL.

The rating of the subordinated debt is sensitive to changes in the
bank's VR.

An upgrade of the GSR would be contingent on a positive change in
the sovereign's propensity to support the bank. In Fitch's view,
this is highly unlikely, although not impossible.

VR ADJUSTMENTS

The operating environment score of 'bb' is below the 'bbb' implied
category score due to the following adjustment reason: sovereign
rating (negative).

ESG CONSIDERATIONS

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. Fitch's ESG Relevance
Scores are not inputs in the rating process; they are an
observation of the materiality and relevance of ESG factors in the
rating decision.

   Entity/Debt                    Rating           Prior
   -----------                    ------           -----
National Bank
of Greece S.A.   LT IDR             BB  Upgrade      BB-

                 ST IDR             B   Affirmed      B

                 Viability          bb  Upgrade      bb-

                 Government Support ns  Affirmed     ns

   Subordinated  LT                 B+  Upgrade       B

   long-term
   deposits      LT                 BB+ Upgrade      BB

   Senior
   preferred     LT                 BB  Upgrade      BB-

   Senior
   preferred     ST                 B   Affirmed      B
  
   short-term
   deposits      ST                 B   Affirmed      B


PIRAEUS BANK: Fitch Hikes LongTerm IDR to 'BB-', Outlook Stable
---------------------------------------------------------------
Fitch Ratings has upgraded Piraeus Bank S.A.'s Long-Term Issuer
Default Rating (IDR) to 'BB-' from 'B' and Viability Rating (VR) to
'bb-' from 'b'. The Outlook on the Long-Term IDR is Stable.

The upgrade reflects the acceleration of Piraeus's strategy to
reduce risk on its balance sheet, which led to a marked reduction
of its non-performing exposure (NPE) ratio to levels more closely
in line with higher-rated peers.

It also reflects the strengthening of its regulatory capital ratios
and the resulting reduction in capital encumbrance by unreserved
problem assets (which include NPEs and foreclosed assets). The
upgrade further considers Piraeus's structurally improved
profitability, which will drive further capital accumulation;
stable funding; and improved access to the wholesale debt market to
meet minimum requirements for own funds and eligible liabilities
(MREL).

KEY RATING DRIVERS

Capital Generation, Stable Deposit Franchise: Piraeus's ratings
reflect its structurally improved profitability on higher rates and
successful restructuring, which allowed the bank to build up
sufficient buffers over regulatory capital requirements. The
ratings also reflect that its NPE ratio is now closer to domestic
peers', although it is still high by international standards. The
bank's customer deposit-based funding remains a rating strength.

Systemic Domestic Bank, Positive Execution: Piraeus's business
profile is underpinned by its strong domestic franchise, which
remains weighted towards traditional commercial-banking activities.
Its long-term business model's sustainability has improved in line
with the bank's successful risk reduction and restructuring,
including cost-cutting and increased digitisation.

Above-Average Impaired Loans: Piraeus's NPE ratio (excluding
retained senior notes of impaired loans securitisations from total
loans) of 6.6% at end-June 2023 has been reduced significantly from
a year ago as the bank brought forward some NPE sales planned for
2024 while continuing to experience modest new NPE inflows and
adequate recoveries and cures. However, the ratio remains above
higher-rated Greek systemic banks' and European averages.

Further Risk Reduction: Piraeus also owns a sizeable portfolio of
foreclosed assets, resulting in a problem asset ratio of about 10%
at end-June 2023. Fitch believes that reducing problem assets will
remain a strategic priority of the bank. This, and sizeable
expected cures, should lead to a reduction of the problem assets
ratio to mid-single digits by end-2025. Asset quality should be
supported by continued economic growth in Greece, although risks
from increased debt-servicing costs remain.

Interest-Driven Profitability, Limited Diversification: Piraeus's
profitability is driven by net interest income, which has grown
significantly since 2H22 on higher interest rates. Non-interest
income is also growing but remains less relevant than at
higher-rated peers, exposing Piraeus to the interest-rate and
economic cycle. Fitch expects profitability to remain satisfactory
in the next two years despite slightly falling interest rates, due
to normalising loan impairment charges following Piraeus's risk
reduction, careful cost management and continued organic growth.

Sufficient Capital Buffers, Reducing Encumbrance: Piraeus's common
equity Tier 1 (CET1) ratio 12.2% at end-June 2023 had sufficient
buffers over regulatory minimum requirement, although they remain
lower than domestic peers'. Buffers have improved in the past 12
months on a fully-loaded basis as retained profits more than offset
the impact from the phasing-in of transitional arrangements, the
risk reduction and organic growth. Fitch expects capitalisation to
strengthen further over the next two years due to the bank's
improved profitability and prudent dividend targets.

Capitalisation remains exposed to significant amounts of unreserved
problem assets, which accounted for about 60% of CET1 capital at
end-June 2023 (end-2021: 174%). However, encumbrance has reduced
significantly in the last four years due to Piraeus's efforts to
reduce risk, and Fitch expects it to fall further on continued
clean-up and improved capital generation.

Deposit-Based Funding: Piraeus's deposit base is stable and
granular, as it benefits from large domestic market shares in
retail banking. Piraeus has repaid significant amounts of
central-bank funding, and its robust cash holdings are well in
excess of remaining maturities. The bank has repeatedly tapped the
institutional unsecured debt markets in the past two years,
although funding diversification remains more limited and market
access less reliable than for higher-rated international peers.

RATING SENSITIVITIES

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

Negative rating action could arise if the economic environment in
Greece deteriorates sharply. This could be triggered by an
unexpected domestic economic recession and a sharp rise in
unemployment without prospects of a rebound in the short term,
leading to a material deterioration of borrowers' creditworthiness
and reduced business opportunities for banks.

Fitch could downgrade the ratings if Fitch expects Piraeus's NPE
ratio (excluding senior notes) to rise above 8% on a sustained
basis, or if its CET1 ratio falls below 12%, causing CET1 capital
encumbrance by unreserved problem assets to rise significantly.

A decline of operating profit to below 1% of risk-weighted assets
(RWAs) due to structural weaknesses in Piraeus's business model, or
evidence of funding instability or inability to access wholesale
debt markets for a prolonged period, could also be
rating-negative.

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

Positive rating action could arise if Piraeus's business model
strengthens further, resulting in stronger revenue generation and
diversification. The operating profit/RWAs stabilising above 2%
without a material deterioration in the bank's risk profile, and
the CET1 ratio strengthening above 15% would be positive for
ratings.

The problem asset ratio falling towards 7% with strengthened NPE
coverage and resulting low CET1 capital encumbrance by unreserved
problem assets, coupled with stable funding and a continued
build-up of MREL buffers, could also lead to an upgrade.

Rating upside could also arise if its assessment of Greek banks'
operating environment improves. This could follow a positive rating
action on Greece's sovereign rating if Fitch believes that it has
the potential to benefit banks by means of increased business
opportunities, stronger borrower creditworthiness and easier or
cheaper access to the wholesale debt capital markets.

OTHER DEBT AND ISSUER RATINGS: KEY RATING DRIVERS

DEPOSITS

Piraeus's long-term deposit rating is one notch above its Long-Term
IDR because of full depositor preference in Greece and its
expectation that Piraeus will comply with its final MREL, which
will be binding from 1 January 2026. Piraeus's resolution debt
buffer is moderate, which Fitch expects to grow as the bank issues
more senior debt. Deposits will therefore benefit from protection
offered by more bank resolution debt and equity, resulting in a
lower probability of default.

The short-term deposit rating of 'B' is in line with the bank's
'BB' long-term deposit rating under Fitch's rating correspondence
table.

SENIOR PREFERRED DEBT

Piraeus's long-term senior preferred debt is rated in line with the
bank's Long-Term IDR, reflecting its view that the probability of
default on senior preferred obligations is the same as that of the
bank, as expressed by the IDR, and their average recovery
prospects. This is based on its expectation that Piraeus's
resolution buffers will comprise both senior preferred and more
junior debt instruments, as well as equity. The rating also
reflects its expectation that the combined buffer of additional
Tier 1, Tier 2 and senior non-preferred debt is unlikely to exceed
10% of the bank's RWAs on a sustained basis.

Piraeus's short-term senior preferred debt rating of 'B' is aligned
with its Short-Term IDR.

GOVERNMENT SUPPORT RATING (GSR)

Piraeus's 'no support' GSR reflects Fitch's view that although
extraordinary sovereign support is possible it cannot be relied on.
Senior creditors can no longer expect to receive full extraordinary
support from the sovereign in the event that the bank becomes
non-viable.

The EU's Bank Recovery and Resolution Directive and the Single
Resolution Mechanism for eurozone banks provide a framework for
resolving banks that requires senior creditors participating in
losses ahead of a bank receiving sovereign support.

OTHER DEBT AND ISSUER RATINGS: RATING SENSITIVITIES

The long-term deposit and senior preferred debt ratings are
primarily sensitive to changes in the bank's Long-Term IDR, from
which they are notched.

The long-term deposit and senior preferred debt ratings could be
upgraded if Piraeus's resolution debt buffer excluding senior
preferred debt issued at the operating company level exceeds 10% of
RWAs on a sustained basis, which Fitch deems unlikely.

The long-term deposit rating could be downgraded if Fitch deems
Piraeus unable to increase the size of its senior and junior debt
buffers to comply with its final MREL.

An upgrade of the GSR would be contingent on a positive change in
the sovereign's propensity to support the bank. In Fitch's view,
this is highly unlikely, although not impossible.

VR ADJUSTMENTS

The operating environment score of 'bb' is below the 'bbb' implied
category score, due to the following adjustment reason: sovereign
rating (negative).

The earnings & profitability score of 'bb-' is above the 'b &
below' implied category score, due to the following adjustment
reason: historical and future metrics (positive).

ESG CONSIDERATIONS

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. Fitch's ESG Relevance
Scores are not inputs in the rating process; they are an
observation of the materiality and relevance of ESG factors in the
rating decision.

   Entity/Debt                        Rating           Prior
   -----------                        ------           -----
Piraeus Bank S.A.    LT IDR             BB-  Upgrade     B

                     ST IDR             B    Affirmed    B

                     Viability          bb-  Upgrade     b

                     Government Support ns   Affirmed    ns

   long-term
   deposits          LT                 BB   Upgrade     B+

   Senior
   preferred         LT                 BB-  Upgrade     B

   short-term
   deposits          ST                 B    Affirmed    B

   Senior
   preferred         ST                 B    Affirmed    B


[*] Moody's Hikes Longterm Deposit Ratings of 6 Greek Banks
-----------------------------------------------------------
Moody's Investors Service has upgraded the long-term deposit
ratings of six Greek banks that it rates (Alpha Bank S.A., Attica
Bank S.A., Eurobank S.A., National Bank of Greece S.A., Pancreta
Bank S.A. and Piraeus Bank S.A.), by either one or two notches, as
well as the standalone Baseline Credit Assessment (BCA) of those
banks. The outlook for the long-term deposit ratings for all six
banks is positive following their rating upgrades.

RATINGS RATIONALE

The rating action was driven by structural improvements in the
Greek economy, as well as significant enhancements in banks'
financial fundamentals. It also captures the rating agency's view
of the good prospects for Greek banks to sustain their relatively
strong financial performance in the next two years, which will also
enhance their tangible capital base and loss absorbing capacity.

MACRO PROFILE FOR GREECE IMPROVES TO 'MODERATE+' FROM 'MODERATE-'

The principal rating driver is the better operating and credit
conditions in Greece, providing a more supportive operating
environment for the country's banks. Structural improvements and
reforms have improved the economy's resilience to shocks,
triggering a recent sovereign rating upgrade to Ba1 (stable) from
Ba3 (positive). As a result, Moody's has raised the Macro Profile
it assigns to Greece to 'Moderate+' from 'Moderate-', which in turn
exerts upward pressure to all six rated banks' standalone credit
profiles.

Moody's projects 2.2% average annual real GDP growth for 2023-27,
with investment and consumption being the main drivers of growth,
outperforming the euro area average growth. Over the coming three
to four years public and private investment will be strongly
supported by funds under the European Recovery and Resilience
Facility (RRF), while the rating agency also expects the positive
trend in foreign direct investment inflows to continue on the back
of better economic prospects, ongoing privatizations and further
structural reforms.

Taken these trends together, they will support the implementation
of new projects creating a more conducive environment for banks to
sustain their lending growth in the coming years. Somewhat
counterbalancing these dynamics will be the high energy prices
feeding through to broader price pressures and weakening household
purchasing power, and the rising interest rates that could weigh on
investment and borrowers' affordability, although it strongly
supports banks' net interest income.

Concurrently, credit conditions in the country have improved
significantly in recent years, with a material drop in system
nonperforming exposures (NPEs) in Greece to around EUR12.8 billion
(or 8.6% of gross loans) as of June 2023 from EUR47.2 billion (or
30% of gross loans) in December 2020. This has also improved banks'
lending capacity to the real economy and clients' repayment
ability. The significant reduction of problem loans in the banking
system was mainly driven by the sizeable NPE securitisations that
banks carried out in the last few years through the state-sponsored
asset protection scheme under the name of 'Hercules'.

Accordingly, Moody's believes that Greek banks are now better
prepared to face new headwinds and challenges, resulting from
inflationary pressures and increasing interest rates that will
likely impact more vulnerable borrowers.

BANK-SPECIFIC RATING DRIVERS

Alpha Bank S.A. (Alpha Bank)

The BCA of Alpha Bank was upgraded to ba3 from b1, its long-term
deposit ratings were upgraded to Ba1 from Ba2 and its senior
unsecured debt rating was upgraded to Ba2 from Ba3. The rating
upgrade considers Alpha Bank's substantial progress in reducing its
problem loans in recent years, achieving a single-digit
nonperforming exposures (NPE) ratio of 7.6% in June 2023 (pro-forma
7.4% incorporating a recent portfolio sale of unsecured NPEs),
although marginally higher than some of its local peers. Moody's
notes that around half of Alpha Bank's stock of legacy NPEs are
residential mortgages, with a higher proportion of paying
customers. The bank has plans to further improve its asset quality
by decreasing its NPE ratio to around 6.5% by the end of 2023 and
to approximately 4% by the end of 2025, although this could prove
challenging in the current interest rate cycle.

Concurrently, the bank's rating upgrade also captures its stronger
recurring earnings profile and its efforts to contain its cost
base. The significant tailwind from higher interest rates has
increased net interest income during the first half (H1) 2023 by
49% year-on-year, while core pre-provision income was higher by 79%
year-on-year. This performance has improved the bank's
profitability metrics and solvency with its common equity Tier 1
(CET1) ratio at 13.6% in June 2023, which will likely end up at
approximately 14% by the end of 2023 in anticipation of some
additional capital enhancing actions.

Attica Bank S.A. (Attica Bank)

Attica Bank's BCA was upgraded to caa2 from caa3, and its long-term
deposit ratings were upgraded to B3 from Caa1. The upgrade of
Attica Bank's ratings considers its capital increase in April 2023
raising EUR473 million, but also the new CEO's efforts to
restructure the bank and implement its new business plan to clean
up the balance sheet and operate with a more modern, flexible and
efficient management model. The bank's pro-forma CET1 and capital
adequacy ratio (CAR) was 13.4% and 17.8% respectively as of March
2023, incorporating the share capital increase.

Nonetheless, the bank's still low BCA considers its still high
level of NPEs (66% of gross loans) on its balance sheet as of March
2023 and weak earnings profile, although gradually improving, with
pre-provision income of around EUR0.5 million in the first quarter
of 2023 compared to losses in the past. A recent sale agreement for
a portion of its nonperforming securitized notes (Astir I of EUR312
million) will likely reduce its pro-forma stock of NPEs to around
EUR2 billion as of September 2023. Moreover, the bank is planning
to offload more problematic assets and achieve an NPE ratio closer
to 35% by the end of 2025, while in case it utilizes an expected
new round of Hercules scheme the ratio could potentially drop
further to single-digit. The potential for merger with another
small domestic bank (Pancreta Bank S.A.) to form a bigger and
healthier mid-size bank in the market, is also a factor driving
Moody's rating action.

Eurobank S.A. (Eurobank)

Eurobank's BCA was upgraded to ba2 from b1, its long-term deposit
ratings were upgraded to Baa3 from Ba2 and its senior unsecured
debt rating was upgraded to Ba1 from Ba3. The upgrade of Eurobank's
ratings by two notches incorporates its proven ability to
organically generate capital in recent quarters, and significantly
boost its loss absorbing capacity. The bank boasts a pro-forma CET1
ratio of 16.3% as of June 2023 (incorporating a potential buy-back
of its shares owned by the Hellenic Financial Stability Fund),
adding around 230 basis points of capital over the last 12 months.
The bank's rating upgrade also considers its contained NPE ratio at
5.2% in June 2023, and its robust financial performance in H1 2023,
with its core pre-provision income increasing by 76% year-on-year.

Eurobank has the most diversified earnings generation among Greek
banks, both geographically and by line of business, supporting its
credit profile. Its recent agreement to acquire an additional stake
in the Cyprus-based Hellenic Bank Public Company Ltd (Ba1/Ba3
positive, ba3), raising its shareholding to majority of 55.3%,
further enhances its group geographical diversification by reducing
its Greek-based assets to just below 60% of the total consolidated
assets. Moody's considers Hellenic Bank's strong retail franchise
would provide a complementary business model to Eurobank's existing
subsidiary in Cyprus that is geared towards corporate lending and
private banking. The rating agency expects this transaction to have
a minimal impact on Eurobank's capital, while the relevant
regulatory approvals will likely be granted in the next 12 months.

National Bank of Greece S.A. (NBG)

The BCA of NBG was upgraded to ba2 from b1, triggering its
long-term deposit ratings upgrade to Baa3 from Ba2 and its senior
unsecured debt rating upgrade to Ba1 from Ba3. The upgrade of NBG's
ratings takes into consideration its strongest capital metrics in
the market with a CET1 ratio of 17.3% in June 2023, which confers
the bank with the highest loss absorbing capacity among its local
peers. This was reaffirmed recently with the EBA stress-test
results, in which NBG achieved the highest CET1 of 21.6% under the
baseline scenario and 14.5% under the adverse scenario by the end
of 2025. The high capital buffers provide NBG with the capacity to
grow its loan book robustly supporting its earnings, and also
invest where needed based on its digitalization and transformation
plan.

Concurrently, NBG has good asset quality among its local peers with
an NPE ratio of 5.3% (aiming to reduce it to around 3% by the of
2025) combined with the highest provisioning coverage of 82% as of
June 2023. An improving profitability is also a driver of the
bank's ratings upgrade, with a 116% year-on-year increase of its
core pre-provision income in H1 2023 supporting its credit profile.
The bank's BCA also captures challenges to diversify its earnings
profile and fee income, with its operations and assets constrained
solely within Greece.

Pancreta Bank S.A. (Pancreta Bank)

The BCA of Pancreta Bank was upgraded to caa1 from caa2, and its
long-term deposit ratings were upgraded to B2 from B3. The upgrade
of Pancreta Bank's ratings reflects the gradual implementation of
its strategic plan, following a EUR98.7 million capital increase in
October 2022, including the recent take-over of HSBC Continental
Europe's (A1/A1 stable, ba1) operations in Greece. Moody's expects
this transaction will enhance the bank's capital metrics, which
will likely increase to a pro-forma CET1 of around 13% and CAR of
approximately 15.5% from a reported 9.1% and 11.8% respectively as
of June 2023. The HSBC operations will also provide the bank with a
country-wide presence, while the assets and the relevant staff will
be complementary to the bank's existing business model geared
towards SME lending.

The bank's still relatively low BCA reflects the need to proceed
with cleaning up its balance sheet from NPEs, which stood at a high
64.5% of gross loans in June 2023. This will inevitably involve a
capital hit in view of the relatively low provisioning coverage
(35%) of the bank's high NPEs (EUR1.1 billion). The bank's BCA also
takes into account its relatively weak core income profile and the
need to expand and diversify its earnings, which are highly
dependent on net interest income and on the local tourism sector.
Concurrently, the rating upgrade captures the potential of merging
with Attica Bank to form a mid-sized player in the market, with the
bank's strategic shareholder (Thrivest) and Pancreta Bank S.A.
itself partly subscribing to Attica Bank's recent capital
increase.

Piraeus Bank S.A. (Piraeus Bank)

The BCA of Piraeus Bank was upgraded to ba3 from b2, its long-term
deposit ratings were upgraded to Ba1 from Ba3 and its senior
unsecured debt rating was upgraded to Ba2 from B1. The bank's
higher BCA takes into consideration the NPE derisking of its
balance sheet combined with strong core operating profitability in
2023. The bank has reduced its NPE ratio to 5.5% in June 2023 from
9.3% in June 2022, following the implementation and front-loading
of a number of actions as part of its clean-up plan. According to
Moody's, the rating upgrade also recognises the bank's successful
track record so far in executing its transformation plan and
achieving an asset quality that is commensurate to its local peers,
unlike its positioning in past years.

Another factor driving Piraeus Bank's ratings upgrade is its strong
underlying profitability, with its core pre-provision income in H1
2023 increasing by 81% year-on-year, which combined with tight
management of operating expenses lead to a cost-to-core income
ratio of 34% in June 2023. The bank has also been able to
strengthen its capital metrics with a pro-forma CET1 ratio of 12.3%
in June 2023 compared to 10.2% in June 2022, bringing it closer to
the corresponding ratios of its local peers.

POSTIVE RATING OUTLOOK FOR ALL GREEK BANKS

The positive outlook for the six banks' various long-term deposit,
issuer and senior unsecured ratings, signals the rating agency's
expectation for potential further improvements in the country's
operating environment, as well in the banks' standalone credit
profiles in the next 12-18 months despite the challenges that lie
ahead. Moody's expects that all banks will be in a position to
further strengthen their capital base through robust retained
earnings, and that any downside credit risks stemming from
inflationary pressures and high interest rates will remain
manageable with no immediate material risk to their asset quality.

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

Over time, upward deposit and senior unsecured debt rating pressure
could arise for these banks following further improvements of the
country's macro-economic environment, which could underpin better
asset quality and profitability combined with stable capital
metrics comfortably above requirements.

Conversely, Greek banks' long-term ratings could be downgraded in
the event that there is any significant deterioration in NPE levels
or recurring profitability. Any material weakening in the operating
environment and in funding conditions from inflationary pressures
and the increase in interest rates, could also have a negative
effect on the banks' ratings.

LIST OF AFFECTED RATINGS

Issuer: Alpha Services and Holdings S.A.

Outlook Actions:

Outlook, Changed To Positive From Stable

Upgrades:

LT Issuer Rating (Local Currency), Upgraded to Ba3 POS from B1
STA

LT Issuer Rating (Foreign Currency), Upgraded to Ba3 POS from B1
STA

Subordinate Medium-Term Note Program (Local Currency), Upgraded to
(P)B1 from (P)B2

Subordinate Medium-Term Note Program (Foreign Currency), Upgraded
to (P)B1 from (P)B2

Junior Senior Unsecured Medium-Term Note Program (Local Currency),
Upgraded to (P)Ba3 from (P)B1

Junior Senior Unsecured Medium-Term Note Program (Foreign
Currency), Upgraded to (P)Ba3 from (P)B1

Senior Unsecured Medium-Term Note Program (Local Currency),
Upgraded to (P)Ba3 from (P)B1

Senior Unsecured Medium-Term Note Program (Foreign Currency),
Upgraded to (P)Ba3 from (P)B1

Pref. Stock Non-cumulative Preferred Stock (Local Currency),
Upgraded to B3 (hyb) from Caa1 (hyb)

Subordinate Regular Bond/Debenture (Local Currency), Upgraded to
B1 from B2

Issuer: Alpha Bank S.A.

Outlook Actions:

Outlook, Changed To Positive From Stable

Upgrades:

Adjusted Baseline Credit Assessment, Upgraded to ba3 from b1

Baseline Credit Assessment, Upgraded to ba3 from b1

ST Counterparty Risk Assessment, Upgraded to P-3(cr) from NP(cr)

LT Counterparty Risk Assessment, Upgraded to Baa3(cr) from
Ba2(cr)

ST Counterparty Risk Rating (Local Currency), Upgraded to P-3 from
NP

ST Counterparty Risk Rating (Foreign Currency), Upgraded to P-3
from NP

LT Counterparty Risk Rating (Local Currency), Upgraded to Baa3
from Ba1

LT Counterparty Risk Rating (Foreign Currency), Upgraded to Baa3
from Ba1

Subordinate Medium-Term Note Program (Local Currency), Upgraded to
(P)B1 from (P)B2

Subordinate Medium-Term Note Program (Foreign Currency), Upgraded
to (P)B1 from (P)B2

Junior Senior Unsecured Medium-Term Note Program (Local Currency),
Upgraded to (P)Ba3 from (P)B1

Junior Senior Unsecured Medium-Term Note Program (Foreign
Currency), Upgraded to (P)Ba3 from (P)B1

Senior Unsecured Medium-Term Note Program (Local Currency),
Upgraded to (P)Ba2 from (P)Ba3

Senior Unsecured Medium-Term Note Program (Foreign Currency),
Upgraded to (P)Ba2 from (P)Ba3

Senior Unsecured Regular Bond/Debenture (Local Currency), Upgraded
to Ba2 POS from Ba3 STA

LT Bank Deposits (Local Currency), Upgraded to Ba1 POS from Ba2
STA

LT Bank Deposits (Foreign Currency), Upgraded to Ba1 POS from Ba2
STA

Affirmations:

ST Bank Deposits (Local Currency), Affirmed NP

ST Bank Deposits (Foreign Currency), Affirmed NP

Issuer: Attica Bank S.A.

Outlook Actions:

Outlook, Remains Positive

Upgrades:

Adjusted Baseline Credit Assessment, Upgraded to caa2 from caa3

Baseline Credit Assessment, Upgraded to caa2 from caa3

LT Counterparty Risk Assessment, Upgraded to B2(cr) from B3(cr)

LT Counterparty Risk Rating (Local Currency), Upgraded to B2 from
B3

LT Counterparty Risk Rating (Foreign Currency), Upgraded to B2
from B3

LT Bank Deposits (Local Currency), Upgraded to B3 POS from Caa1
POS

LT Bank Deposits (Foreign Currency), Upgraded to B3 POS from Caa1
POS

Affirmations:

ST Counterparty Risk Assessment, Affirmed NP(cr)

ST Counterparty Risk Rating (Local Currency), Affirmed NP

ST Counterparty Risk Rating (Foreign Currency), Affirmed NP

ST Bank Deposits (Local Currency), Affirmed NP

ST Bank Deposits (Foreign Currency), Affirmed NP

Issuer: Eurobank Ergasias Services and Holdings S.A.

Outlook Actions:

Outlook, No Outlook

Upgrades:

Subordinate Medium-Term Note Program (Local Currency), Upgraded to
(P)Ba3 from (P)B2

Subordinate Medium-Term Note Program (Foreign Currency), Upgraded
to (P)Ba3 from (P)B2

Subordinate Regular Bond/Debenture (Local Currency), Upgraded to
Ba3 from B2

Issuer: Eurobank S.A.

Outlook Actions:

Outlook, Remains Positive

Upgrades:

Adjusted Baseline Credit Assessment, Upgraded to ba2 from b1

Baseline Credit Assessment, Upgraded to ba2 from b1

ST Counterparty Risk Assessment, Upgraded to P-3(cr) from NP(cr)

LT Counterparty Risk Assessment, Upgraded to Baa3(cr) from
Ba2(cr)

ST Counterparty Risk Rating (Local Currency), Upgraded to P-2 from
NP

ST Counterparty Risk Rating (Foreign Currency), Upgraded to P-2
from NP

LT Counterparty Risk Rating (Local Currency), Upgraded to Baa2
from Ba1

LT Counterparty Risk Rating (Foreign Currency), Upgraded to Baa2
from Ba1

ST Bank Deposits (Local Currency), Upgraded to P-3 from NP

ST Bank Deposits (Foreign Currency), Upgraded to P-3 from NP

Junior Senior Unsecured Medium-Term Note Program (Local Currency),
Upgraded to (P)Ba2 from (P)B1

Junior Senior Unsecured Medium-Term Note Program (Foreign
Currency), Upgraded to (P)Ba2 from (P)B1

Senior Unsecured Medium-Term Note Program (Local Currency),
Upgraded to (P)Ba1 from (P)Ba3

Senior Unsecured Medium-Term Note Program (Foreign Currency),
Upgraded to (P)Ba1 from (P)Ba3

Senior Unsecured Regular Bond/Debenture (Local Currency), Upgraded
to Ba1 POS from Ba3 POS

LT Bank Deposits (Local Currency), Upgraded to Baa3 POS from Ba2
POS

LT Bank Deposits (Foreign Currency), Upgraded to Baa3 POS from Ba2
POS

Issuer: National Bank of Greece S.A.

Outlook Actions:

Outlook, Remains Positive

Upgrades:

Adjusted Baseline Credit Assessment, Upgraded to ba2 from b1

Baseline Credit Assessment, Upgraded to ba2 from b1

ST Counterparty Risk Assessment, Upgraded to P-3(cr) from NP(cr)

LT Counterparty Risk Assessment, Upgraded to Baa3(cr) from
Ba2(cr)

ST Counterparty Risk Rating (Local Currency), Upgraded to P-2 from
NP

ST Counterparty Risk Rating (Foreign Currency), Upgraded to P-2
from NP

LT Counterparty Risk Rating (Local Currency), Upgraded to Baa2
from Ba1

LT Counterparty Risk Rating (Foreign Currency), Upgraded to Baa2
from Ba1

ST Bank Deposits (Local Currency), Upgraded to P-3 from NP

ST Bank Deposits (Foreign Currency), Upgraded to P-3 from NP

Subordinate Medium-Term Note Program (Local Currency), Upgraded to
(P)Ba3 from (P)B2

Subordinate Medium-Term Note Program (Foreign Currency), Upgraded
to (P)Ba3 from (P)B2

Junior Senior Unsecured Medium-Term Note Program (Local Currency),
Upgraded to (P)Ba2 from (P)B1

Junior Senior Unsecured Medium-Term Note Program (Foreign
Currency), Upgraded to (P)Ba2 from (P)B1

Senior Unsecured Medium-Term Note Program (Local Currency),
Upgraded to (P)Ba1 from (P)Ba3

Senior Unsecured Medium-Term Note Program (Foreign Currency),
Upgraded to (P)Ba1 from (P)Ba3

Subordinate Regular Bond/Debenture (Local Currency), Upgraded to
Ba3 from B2

Senior Unsecured Regular Bond/Debenture (Local Currency), Upgraded
to Ba1 POS from Ba3 POS

Senior Unsecured Regular Bond/Debenture (Foreign Currency),
Upgraded to Ba1 POS from Ba3 POS

LT Bank Deposits (Local Currency), Upgraded to Baa3 POS from Ba2
POS

LT Bank Deposits (Foreign Currency), Upgraded to Baa3 POS from Ba2
POS

Issuer: Pancreta Bank S.A.

Outlook Actions:

Outlook, Remains Positive

Upgrades:

Adjusted Baseline Credit Assessment, Upgraded to caa1 from caa2

Baseline Credit Assessment, Upgraded to caa1 from caa2

LT Counterparty Risk Assessment, Upgraded to B1(cr) from B2(cr)

LT Counterparty Risk Rating (Local Currency), Upgraded to B1 from
B2

LT Counterparty Risk Rating (Foreign Currency), Upgraded to B1
from B2

LT Bank Deposits (Local Currency), Upgraded to B2 POS from B3 POS

LT Bank Deposits (Foreing Currency), Upgraded to B2 POS from B3
POS

Affirmations:

ST Counterparty Risk Assessment, Affirmed NP(cr)

ST Counterparty Risk Rating (Local Currency), Affirmed NP

ST Counterparty Risk Rating (Foreign Currency), Affirmed NP

ST Bank Deposits (Local Currency), Affirmed NP

ST Bank Deposits (Foreign Currency), Affirmed NP

Issuer: Piraeus Financial Holdings S.A.

Outlook Actions:

Outlook, Changed To Positive From Stable

Upgrades:

LT Issuer Rating (Local Currency), Upgraded to Ba3 POS from B2
STA

LT Issuer Rating (Foreign Currency), Upgraded to Ba3 POS from B2
STA

Subordinate Medium-Term Note Program (Local Currency), Upgraded to
(P)B1 from (P)B3

Subordinate Medium-Term Note Program (Foreign Currency), Upgraded
to (P)B1 from (P)B3

Senior Unsecured Medium-Term Note Program (Local Currency),
Upgraded to (P)Ba3 from (P)B2

Senior Unsecured Medium-Term Note Program (Foreign Currency),
Upgraded to (P)Ba3 from (P)B2

Pref. Stock Non-cumulative Preferred Stock (Local Currency),
Upgraded to B3 (hyb) from Caa2 (hyb)

Subordinate Regular Bond/Debenture (Local Currency), Upgraded to
B1 from B3

Affirmations:

ST Issuer Rating (Local Currency), Affirmed NP

ST Issuer Rating (Foreign Currency), Affirmed NP

Issuer: Piraeus Bank S.A.

Outlook Actions:

Outlook, Changed To Positive From Stable

Upgrades:

Adjusted Baseline Credit Assessment, Upgraded to ba3 from b2

Baseline Credit Assessment, Upgraded to ba3 from b2

ST Counterparty Risk Assessment, Upgraded to P-3(cr) from NP(cr)

LT Counterparty Risk Assessment, Upgraded to Baa3(cr) from
Ba2(cr)

ST Counterparty Risk Rating (Local Currency), Upgraded to P-3 from
NP

ST Counterparty Risk Rating (Foreign Currency), Upgraded to P-3
from NP

LT Counterparty Risk Rating (Local Currency), Upgraded to Baa3
from Ba2

LT Counterparty Risk Rating (Foreign Currency), Upgraded to Baa3
from Ba2

Subordinate Medium-Term Note Program (Local Currency), Upgraded to
(P)B1 from (P)B3

Subordinate Medium-Term Note Program (Foreign Currency), Upgraded
to (P)B1 from (P)B3

Senior Unsecured Medium-Term Note Program (Local Currency),
Upgraded to (P)Ba2 from (P)B1

Senior Unsecured Medium-Term Note Program (Foreign Currency),
Upgraded to (P)Ba2 from (P)B1

Senior Unsecured Regular Bond/Debenture (Local Currency), Upgraded
to Ba2 POS from B1 STA

LT Bank Deposits (Local Currency), Upgraded to Ba1 POS from Ba3
STA

LT Bank Deposits (Foreign Currency), Upgraded to Ba1 POS from Ba3
STA

Affirmations:

ST Bank Deposits (Local Currency), Affirmed NP

ST Bank Deposits (Foreign Currency), Affirmed NP

PRINCIPAL METHODOLOGY

The principal methodology used in these ratings was Banks
Methodology published in July 2021.




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

AVOCA CLO XXI: Fitch Affirms Bsf Rating on Class F Notes
--------------------------------------------------------
Fitch Ratings has revised the Outlooks on Avoca CLO XXI DAC's class
B to F notes to Positive from Stable and affirmed all ratings.

   Entity/Debt            Rating          Prior
   -----------            ------          -----
Avoca CLO XXI DAC

   A-1 XS2126166722   LT   AAAsf  Affirmed   AAAsf
   A-2 XS2126167027   LT   AAAsf  Affirmed   AAAsf
   B-1 XS2126167373   LT   AAsf   Affirmed   AAsf
   B-2 XS2126167530   LT   AAsf   Affirmed   AAsf
   C XS2126167886     LT   Asf    Affirmed   Asf
   D XS2126167969     LT   BBBsf  Affirmed   BBBsf
   E XS2126168009     LT   BBsf   Affirmed   BBsf
   F XS2126168421     LT   B-sf   Affirmed   B-sf

TRANSACTION SUMMARY

The transaction is a cash flow CLO mostly comprising senior secured
obligations. It is actively managed by KKR Credit Advisors and will
exit its reinvestment period in October 2024.

KEY RATING DRIVERS

Reinvesting Transaction: The manager can continue to reinvest
unscheduled principal proceeds and sale proceeds from
credit-impaired and credit-improved obligations after the
transaction exits its reinvestment period in October 2024, subject
to compliance with the reinvestment criteria.

Given the manager's ability to reinvest, its analysis is based on a
stressed portfolio. Fitch has applied a haircut of 1.5% to the
weighted average recovery rate (WARR) as the calculation in the
transaction documentation is not in line with the agency's current
CLO Criteria.

Stable Asset Performance: The transaction's metrics indicate stable
asset performance. The transaction is currently 0.07% above par. It
is passing all collateral quality tests, portfolio profile tests
and coverage tests. Exposure to assets with a Fitch-derived rating
of 'CCC+' and below is 3.30%, according to the latest trustee
report, versus a limit of 7.5%. There are no defaulted assets in
the portfolio.

The Positive Outlook on the class B to F notes reflect the
shortening weighted average life (WAL) of the transaction as well
as limited refinancing risk, with 1.99% of the portfolio maturing
during 2024, and 8.79% in 2025.

'B'/'B-' Portfolio: Fitch assesses the average credit quality of
the transaction's underlying obligors at 'B'/ 'B-'. The weighted
average rating factor, as calculated by Fitch under its latest
criteria, is 25.08.

High Recovery Expectations: Senior secured obligations comprise
98.40% of the portfolio. Fitch views the recovery prospects for
these assets as more favourable than for second-lien, unsecured and
mezzanine assets. The WARR, as calculated by Fitch, is 62.67%.

Diversified Portfolio: The portfolio is well-diversified across
obligors, countries and industries. The top 10 obligor
concentration, as calculated by Fitch, is 11.93%, and no obligor
represents more than 1.56% of the portfolio balance. The exposure
to the three-largest Fitch-defined industries is 31.36% as
calculated by Fitch. The transaction includes two Fitch matrices
corresponding to top 10 obligor concentration limits at 15% and 23%
and minimum and maximum fixed-rate asset limits at 0% and 10%,
respectively.

Deviation from MIRs: The class B to E notes are one notch below
their model-implied ratings (MIR) and the class F notes are two
notches below their MIR. The class A notes are in line with their
MIR. The deviations reflect the current uncertain macroeconomic
conditions.

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 of the current portfolio would not result in
downgrades. While not Fitch's base case, downgrades may occur if
build-up of the notes' credit enhancement following amortisation
does not compensate for a larger loss expectation than assumed due
to unexpectedly high levels of defaults and portfolio
deterioration.

Based on the identified portfolio, downgrades may occur if the loss
expectation is larger than initially assumed, due to unexpectedly
high levels of default and portfolio deterioration. Due to the
better metrics and shorter life of the identified portfolio than
the Fitch-stressed portfolio, the class B, C, E and F notes display
a rating cushion of three notches, the class D notes two notches
and the class F notes three notches. The class A notes display no
rating cushion.

Should the cushion between the identified portfolio and the
Fitch-stressed portfolio be eroded, either due to manager trading
or negative portfolio credit migration, a 25% increase of the mean
RDR and a 25% decrease of the RRR across all ratings of the
stressed portfolio would lead to downgrades of two notches for the
class B to D notes, three notches for the class E notes, to below
'B-(sf)' for the class F notes and would have no impact on the
class A notes.

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

A 25% reduction of the mean RDR and a 25% increase in the RRR
across all ratings of the Fitch-stressed portfolio would lead to
upgrades of up to four notches for the rated notes, except for the
'AAAsf' rated notes, which are at the highest level on Fitch's
scale and cannot be upgraded.

During the reinvestment period, based on the Fitch-stressed
portfolio, upgrades may occur on better-than-expected portfolio
credit quality and a shorter remaining WAL test, allowing the notes
to withstand larger-than-expected losses for the transaction's
remaining life. After the end of the reinvestment period, upgrades
may occur on stable portfolio credit quality and deleveraging,
leading to higher credit enhancement and excess spread available to
cover losses in the remaining portfolio.

DATA ADEQUACY

Avoca CLO XXI 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.

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.

CARLYLE EURO 2018-2: Fitch Affirms B-sf Rating on Class E Notes
---------------------------------------------------------------
Fitch Ratings has revised Carlyle Euro CLO 2018-2 DAC's class D
notes Outlook to Negative from Stable and affirmed all notes.

   Entity/Debt             Rating            Prior
   -----------             ------            -----
Carlyle Euro CLO
2018-2 DAC

   A-1A XS1852487559   LT  AAAsf  Affirmed    AAAsf
   A-1B XS1852487807   LT  AAAsf  Affirmed    AAAsf
   A-2A XS1852488102   LT  AA+sf  Affirmed    AA+sf
   A-2B XS1852488441   LT  AA+sf  Affirmed    AA+sf
   A-2C XS1856085813   LT  AA+sf  Affirmed    AA+sf
   B-1 XS1852488870    LT  A+sf   Affirmed    A+sf
   B-2 XS1856094997    LT  A+sf   Affirmed    A+sf
   C XS1852489092      LT  BBB+sf Affirmed    BBB+sf
   D XS1852486742      LT  BB+sf  Affirmed    BB+sf
   E XS1852486312      LT  B-sf   Affirmed    B-sf

TRANSACTION SUMMARY

Carlyle Euro CLO 2018-2 DAC is a cash flow-collateralised loan
obligation (CLO). The underlying portfolio of assets mainly
consists of leveraged loans and is managed by CELF Advisors LLP.
The deal exited its reinvestment period in November 2022.

KEY RATING DRIVERS

Par Erosion; High Refinancing Risk: Since Fitch's last rating
action in September 2022, the portfolio has seen further erosion of
85bp of par value. As per the last trustee report on 14 August
2023, the transaction was below par by 3%. Reported defaults stand
at EUR7 million, or 1.75% of the target par.

The Negative Outlook on the class D notes reflects a limited
default-rate cushion against credit quality deterioration. In
addition, the notes are vulnerable to near- and medium-term
refinancing risk, with approximately 2.23% of the portfolio
maturing before the end of 2024, and 14.55% in 2025. In Fitch's
opinion, this could lead to further deterioration of the portfolio
with an increase in defaults. The Negative Outlook indicates
potential for a downgrade but Fitch expects the ratings to remain
within the current rating category.

Sufficient Cushion for Senior Notes: Although the par erosion has
reduced the default-rate cushion for all notes, the senior classes
have retained sufficient buffer to support their current ratings
and should be capable of withstanding further defaults in the
portfolio. This supports the Stable Outlook on the class A to C
notes.

'B'/'B-' Portfolio: Fitch assesses the average credit quality of
the obligors at 'B'/'B-'. The Fitch-calculated weighted average
rating factor (WARF) of the current portfolio is 25.97. For the
portfolio including entities with Negative Outlooks that are
notched down one level as per its criteria, it was 27.2 as of 11
September 2023.

High Recovery Expectations: Senior secured obligations comprise
98.8% of the portfolio. Fitch views the recovery prospects for
these assets as more favourable than for second-lien, unsecured and
mezzanine assets. The Fitch-calculated weighted average recovery
rate (WARR) of the current portfolio as reported by the trustee was
65.1%, based on outdated criteria. Under the current criteria, the
Fitch-calculated WARR is 62.9%.

Diversified Portfolio: The top 10 obligor concentration as
calculated by the trustee is 16.4%, which is below the limit of
20%, and no obligor represents more than 1.7% of the portfolio
balance.

Deviation from Model-implied Ratings: The class A-2A, A-2B, A-2C
and E notes' ratings are one notch below their model-implied
ratings (MIR). The deviation reflects limited cushion on the
Fitch-stressed portfolio at their MIRs.

Transaction Outside Reinvestment Period: The transaction exited its
reinvestment period in November 2022 and is failing another
agency's WARF test. The manager did not invest in the last two
months. Fitch's analysis is based on the Negative Outlook portfolio
with the weighted average life stressed to four years to account
for the refinancing risk.

RATING SENSITIVITIES

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

A 25% increase of the mean default rate (RDR) across all ratings
and a 25% decrease of the recovery rate (RRR) across all ratings of
the current portfolio would have no impact on the class A-1 notes,
two notches for the class A-2 and B notes and one notch for the
class C, D and E notes, which would be downgraded by no more than
one or two notches.

Based on the current portfolio, downgrades may occur if the loss
expectation is larger than initially assumed, due to unexpectedly
high levels of default and portfolio deterioration. Due to the
better metrics and shorter life of the current portfolio than the
Fitch-stressed portfolio, the class A-2 and C notes display a
rating cushion of one notch and the class E notes two notches.

Should the cushion between the current portfolio and the
Fitch-adjusted Negative Outlook portfolio be eroded either due to
manager trading or negative portfolio credit migration, a 25%
increase of the mean RDR across all ratings and a 25% decrease of
the RRR across all ratings of the stressed portfolio would lead to
downgrades of up to five notches.

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

A 25% reduction of the mean RDR across all ratings and a 25%
increase in the RRR across all ratings of the Fitch-stressed
portfolio would lead to upgrades of up to five notches, except for
the 'AAAsf' rated notes, which are at the highest level on Fitch's
scale and cannot be upgraded.

After the end of the reinvestment period, upgrades may occur on
stable portfolio credit quality and deleveraging, leading to higher
credit enhancement and excess spread available to cover losses in
the remaining portfolio.

DATA ADEQUACY

Carlyle Euro CLO 2018-2 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.


FINANCE IRELAND 4: DBRS Confirms BB(high) Rating on Class F Notes
-----------------------------------------------------------------
DBRS Ratings GmbH took the following credit rating actions on the
notes issued by Finance Ireland RMBS No. 4 DAC (Finance Ireland 4)
and Finance Ireland RMBS No. 5 DAC (Finance Ireland 5):

Finance Ireland 4:

-- Class A confirmed at AAA (sf)
-- Class B confirmed at AA (high) (sf)
-- Class C upgraded to AA (high) (sf) from AA (low) (sf)
-- Class D upgraded to A (high) (sf) from A (low) (sf)
-- Class E upgraded to BBB (sf) from BBB (low) (sf)
-- Class F confirmed at BB (high) (sf)
-- Class X upgraded to BBB (low) (sf) from BB (high) (sf)

The credit rating on the Class A notes addresses the timely payment
of interest and the ultimate payment of principal on or before the
legal final maturity date in December 2061. The credit ratings on
the Class B, Class C, and Class D notes address the ultimate
payment of interest and principal on or before the legal final
maturity date while junior, and timely payment of interest while
the senior-most class outstanding. The credit ratings on the Class
E, Class F, and Class X notes address the ultimate payment of
interest and principal on or before the legal final maturity date.

Finance Ireland 5:

-- Class A confirmed at AAA (sf)
-- Class B upgraded to AA (high) (sf) from AA (sf)
-- Class C upgraded to A (high) (sf) from A (sf)
-- Class D upgraded to BBB (high) (sf) from BBB (low) (sf)
-- Class E upgraded to BB (high) (sf) from BB (low) (sf)

The credit rating on the Class A notes addresses the timely payment
of interest and the ultimate payment of principal on or before the
legal final maturity date in September 2062. The credit ratings on
the Class B and Class C notes address the ultimate payment of
interest and principal on or before the legal final maturity date
while junior, and timely payment of interest while the senior-most
class outstanding. The credit ratings on the Class D and Class E
notes address the ultimate payment of interest and principal on or
before the legal final maturity date.

Additionally, DBRS Morningstar removed the ratings on the Class C,
D, E, F, and X notes in Finance Ireland 4 and the ratings on the
Class B, C, D, and E notes in Finance Ireland 5 from Under Review
with Positive Implications (UR-Pos.), where they were placed on
June 9, 2023.

The credit rating actions are the result of an annual review of the
transactions following DBRS Morningstar's finalization of its
"European RMBS Insight: Irish Addendum" (the Methodology) and
corresponding European RMBS Insight Model (the Model) on June 5,
2023, and the end of the review period for the transactions, which
began on June 9, 2023.

The Methodology presents the criteria for which Irish residential
mortgage-backed securities (RMBS) credit ratings, and, where
relevant, Irish covered bonds credit ratings, are assigned and/or
monitored. The Methodology superseded DBRS Morningstar's "Irish
Residential Mortgage Addendum" to its "Master European Residential
Mortgage-Backed Securities Rating Methodology and Jurisdictional
Addenda" published on November 28, 2022, and introduced a new
proprietary credit model to forecast the expected default rates and
losses for portfolios of Irish residential mortgages. The model
combines a loan scoring approach (LSA) and dynamic delinquency
migration matrices (DMM) to calculate loan-level defaults and
losses. The LSA and DMM were developed using jurisdictional
specific data on loans, borrowers, and collateral types. In
addition, the Model uses a house price approach to generate market
value decline assumptions.

Along with the material changes introduced in the Methodology, the
credit rating actions are based on the following analytical
considerations:

-- Portfolio performance, in terms of delinquencies, defaults, and
losses, as of the June 2023 payment date;

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

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

Finance Ireland 4 is a static securitization of Irish first-lien
residential mortgages originated primarily by Finance Ireland
Credit Solutions DAC (Finance Ireland) as well as Pepper Finance
Corporation (Ireland) DAC, which also acts as the servicer of the
mortgage portfolio. The transaction closed in February 2022 with an
initial portfolio balance of EUR 339.3 million, of which 98% were
mortgages originated by Finance Ireland between May and December
2021.

Finance Ireland 5 is a static securitization of Irish first-lien
residential mortgages originated primarily by Finance Ireland
Credit Solutions DAC (Finance Ireland) as well as Pepper Finance
Corporation (Ireland) DAC, which also acts as the servicer of the
mortgage portfolio. The transaction closed in October 2022 with an
initial portfolio balance of EUR 413.0 million, of which 69% were
mortgages originated by Finance Ireland in 2022.

PORTFOLIO PERFORMANCE

Finance Ireland 4:

As of the June 2023 payment date, loans one to two months and two
to three months in arrears represented 0.2% and 0.1% of the
outstanding portfolio balance, respectively, while loans more than
three months in arrears amounted to 0.1%. There have not been any
repossessions or cumulative losses reported to date.

Finance Ireland 5:

As of the June 2023 payment date, loans one to two months and two
to three months in arrears represented 0.2% and 0.1% of the
outstanding portfolio balance, respectively, while loans more than
three months in arrears amounted to 0.1%. There have not been any
repossessions or cumulative losses reported to date.

PORTFOLIO ASSUMPTIONS AND KEY DRIVERS

For Finance Ireland 4, DBRS Morningstar conducted a loan-by-loan
analysis of the remaining pool of receivables and updated its
base-case PD and LGD assumptions to 2.2% and 10.0%, respectively.
For Finance Ireland 5, DBRS Morningstar updated its base-case PD
and LGD assumptions to 2.3% and 10.1%, respectively.

CREDIT ENHANCEMENT

Credit enhancement to the rated notes is provided by subordination
of the respective junior classes and the general reserve fund. For
Finance Ireland 4, as of the June 2023 payment date, credit
enhancement available to the Class A, Class B, Class C, Class D,
Class E, Class F, and Class X notes was 19.1%, 12.1%, 8.5%, 5.2%,
3.3%, 2.2%, and 0.0%, respectively, up from 17.6%, 10.9%, 7.4%,
4.2%, 2.4%, 1.3%, and 0.0%, respectively, at the time of the last
annual review in February 2023. For Finance Ireland 5, as of the
June 2023 payment date, credit enhancement available to the Class
A, Class B, Class C, Class D, and Class E notes was 16.2%, 10.7%,
7.6%, 5.7%, and 4.0%, respectively, up from 14.7%, 9.7%, 7.0%,
5.2%, and 3.7%, respectively, at the time of DBRS Morningstar's
initial credit rating in October 2022.

The transactions benefit from a liquidity reserve fund and a
general reserve fund providing liquidity support and credit support
to the structures, respectively.

The liquidity reserve fund is available to cover senior fees and
interest on the Class A notes. In Finance Ireland 4, it is
currently at its target level of EUR 1.93 million as of the June
2023 payment date, equal to 0.75% of the outstanding principal
balance of the Class A notes, subject to a floor of EUR 1.0
million. In Finance Ireland 5, it is currently at its target of EUR
2.45 million as of the June 2023 payment date, equal to 0.75% of
the outstanding principal balance of the Class A notes, subject to
a floor of EUR 1.35 million.

The general reserve fund is available to cover senior fees,
interest, and principal (via the principal deficiency ledgers) on
the rated notes. In Finance Ireland 4, the general reserve fund is
currently at its target level of EUR 387,825 as of the June 2023
payment date, equal to 0.75% of the outstanding principal balance
of the rated notes minus the liquidity reserve target amount. In
Finance Ireland 5, the general reserve fund is currently funded to
EUR 20,460 as of the June 2023 payment date, below its target
balance of EUR 340,500 (equal to 0.75% of the outstanding principal
balance of the Class B to Class E notes) as a result of the
significantly increased interest rates.

Elavon Financial Services DAC (Elavon) acts as the account bank for
the transactions. Based on DBRS Morningstar's private credit rating
on Elavon, the downgrade provisions outlined in the transaction
documents, and other mitigating factors inherent in the transaction
structures, DBRS Morningstar considers the risk arising from the
exposure to the account bank to be consistent with the credit
ratings assigned to the respective notes, as described in DBRS
Morningstar's "Legal Criteria for European Structured Finance
Transactions" methodology.

BNP Paribas SA acts as the swap provider for Finance Ireland 4,
while BofA Securities Europe SA (BofA Europe) acts as the swap
provider for Finance Ireland 5. DBRS Morningstar's public Long Term
Critical Obligations Rating of AA (high) on BNP Paribas SA and the
private credit rating assigned to BofA Europe are above the first
rating threshold as described in DBRS Morningstar's "Derivative
Criteria for European Structured Finance Transactions"
methodology.

DBRS Morningstar's credit ratings on the notes address the credit
risk associated with the identified financial obligations in
accordance with the relevant transaction documents.

DBRS Morningstar's credit ratings on the notes also address the
credit risk associated with the increased rate of interest
applicable to the notes if the notes are not redeemed on the
Optional Redemption Date (as defined in and) in accordance with the
applicable transaction documents.

DBRS Morningstar's credit ratings do not address non-payment risk
associated with contractual payment obligations contemplated in the
applicable transaction documents that are not financial
obligations.

DBRS Morningstar's long-term credit ratings provide opinions on
risk of default. DBRS Morningstar considers risk of default to be
the risk that an issuer will fail to satisfy the financial
obligations in accordance with the terms under which a long-term
obligation has been issued.

Notes: All figures are in euros unless otherwise noted.


FINANCE IRELAND 6: DBRS Gives Prov. BB Rating on Class E Notes
--------------------------------------------------------------
DBRS Ratings GmbH assigned provisional credit ratings to the
residential mortgage-backed notes to be issued by Finance Ireland
RMBS No. 6 DAC (the Issuer) as follows:

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

The credit rating on the Class A notes addresses the timely payment
of interest and the ultimate repayment of principal. The credit
ratings on the Class B and Class C notes address the timely payment
of interest once they are the senior most class of notes
outstanding and the ultimate repayment of principal on or before
the final maturity date. The credit ratings on the Class D and
Class E notes address the ultimate payment of interest and
principal.

DBRS Morningstar does not rate the Class X, Class Y, and Class Z
notes also expected to be issued in this transaction.

CREDIT RATING RATIONALE

The Issuer is a bankruptcy-remote special-purpose vehicle
incorporated in the Republic of Ireland. The Issuer will use the
proceeds of the notes to fund the purchase of prime and performing
Irish owner-occupied (OO) mortgage loans secured over properties
located in Ireland. The majority of the mortgage loans included in
the portfolio were originated by Finance Ireland Credit Solutions
DAC (Finance Ireland; the originator), however, a subset of these
have been originated by Pepper Finance Corporation (Ireland) DAC
(Pepper; the servicer) and have been subsequently sold to Finance
Ireland on December 2018 together with the corresponding legal
titles.

This is the sixth securitization from Finance Ireland, following
Finance Ireland RMBS No. 5 (Finance Ireland 5), which closed in
October 2022. The initial mortgage portfolio consists of EUR 241
million of first-lien mortgage loans collateralized by OO
residential properties in Ireland. The mortgages were mostly
granted between 2019 and 2023, with a few cases dating back to
2016.

The mortgage loans will be serviced by Pepper. DBRS Morningstar
reviewed both the originator and the servicer via an online meeting
in July 2023. Underwriting guidelines are in accordance with market
practices observed in Ireland and are subject to the Central Bank
of Ireland's macroprudential mortgage regulations, which specify
restrictions on certain lending criteria. Intertrust Management
Ireland Limited will act as the back-up servicer facilitator.

As of August 31, 2023, all of the loans in the portfolio repay on
an annuity basis. Only 1.9% of the loans in the mortgage portfolio
were in arrears at closing with a portion of 0.3% being more than
one month in arrears.

Liquidity in the transaction is provided by the general reserve
fund (GRF), which the Issuer can use to cover any shortfalls in
interest payments for the rated notes (as long as no debit balance
remains on principal deficiency ledgers). Liquidity for the Class A
notes will be further supported by a liquidity reserve fund (LRF),
to be fully funded at closing and then amortizing in line with the
referred class of notes, which shall also feature a floor of EUR
1.4 million. The notes' terms and conditions allow interest
payments, other than on the Class A, Class B, and Class C notes
when they are the most senior notes outstanding, to be deferred if
the available funds are insufficient.

Credit enhancement for the Class A notes is calculated at 8.74% and
is provided by the subordination of the Class B to Class E notes,
the Class Z notes, and the reserve funds. Credit enhancement for
the Class B notes is calculated at 5.49% and is provided by the
subordination of the Class C to Class E notes, the Class Z notes,
and the reserve funds. Credit enhancement for the Class C notes is
calculated at 3.74% and is provided by the subordination of the
Class D to Class E notes, the Class Z notes, and the reserve funds.
Credit enhancement for the Class D notes is calculated at 2.49% and
is provided by the subordination of the Class E notes, the Class Z
notes, and the reserve funds. Credit enhancement for the Class E
notes is calculated at 1.49% and is provided by the subordination
of the Class Z notes, and the reserve funds.

A key structural feature is the provisioning mechanism in the
transaction that is linked to the arrears status of a loan besides
the usual provisioning based on losses. The degree of provisioning
increases in line with increases in the number of months in a
loan's arrears status. This is positive for the transaction as
provisioning based on the arrears status traps any excess spread
much earlier for a loan that may ultimately end up in foreclosure.

In order to hedge against the possible variance between the fixed
rates of interest payable on the fixed-rate loans in the portfolio
and the interest rate under the notes calculated by reference to
the three-month Euribor, the Issuer will enter into a
fixed-to-floating interest rate swap transaction with BofA
Securities Europe SA (privately rated by DBRS Morningstar). The
Issuer can restructure the hedging agreement to increase the
notional of the original swap agreement in order to hedge the
exposure to additional fixed-rate loans resulting from product
switches and further advances before the step-up date. For the
increased portion of the notional, the Issuer will pay the
prevailing mid-market swap rate on the swap determination date
following the collection period during which the switch to the
fixed rate occurred. The fixed-rate loans are subject to a floor of
1.5% margin over the prevailing mid-market swap rate at the time of
switch/reset, less any applicable swap adjustment charges. DBRS
Morningstar modelled a locked-in post-swap margin of 1.5% minus a
swap adjustment charge for all loans that reset to a new fixed rate
or switch to a fixed rate before the step-up date. To hedge the
floating-rate portion of the portfolio, the loans that are
currently paying a standard variable rate (SVR) rate, revert to
SVR, or switch to SVR are subject to a minimum rate of one-month
Euribor (floored at zero) plus 2.4%.

Borrower collections are held with the Governor and Company of the
Bank of Ireland and The Allied Irish Banks, p.l.c. (both rated by
DBRS Morningstar with a long-term Critical Obligations Rating of A
(high), Stable trend) and are deposited on the next business day
into the Issuer transaction account held with Elavon Financial
Services DAC, UK Branch (Elavon). DBRS Morningstar's private rating
on Elavon in its role as the Issuer Account Bank is consistent with
the threshold for the account bank outlined in DBRS Morningstar's
"Legal Criteria for European Structured Finance Transactions"
methodology, given the ratings assigned to the notes.

DBRS Morningstar based its credit ratings on a review of the
following analytical considerations:

-- The transaction capital structure and form and sufficiency of
available credit enhancement.

-- The credit quality of the mortgage portfolio and the ability of
the servicer to perform collection and resolution activities. DBRS
Morningstar calculated probability of default (PD), loss given
default (LGD), and expected loss (EL) outputs on the mortgage
portfolio. DBRS Morningstar uses the PD, LGD, and ELs as inputs
into the cash flow tool. DBRS Morningstar analyzed the mortgage
portfolio in accordance with DBRS Morningstar's "European RMBS
Insight Methodology: Irish Addendum".

-- The ability of the transaction to withstand stressed cash flow
assumptions and repay the Class A, Class B, Class C, Class D, and
Class E notes according to the terms of the transaction documents.
DBRS Morningstar analyzed the transaction structure using Intex
DealMaker.

-- The sovereign rating of AA (low) with a Stable trend (as of the
date of this press release) on the Republic of Ireland.

-- The consistency of the legal structure with DBRS Morningstar's
"Legal Criteria for European Structured Finance Transactions"
methodology and the presence of legal opinions addressing the
assignment of the assets to the Issuer.

DBRS Morningstar's credit rating on the rated notes addresses the
credit risk associated with the identified financial obligations in
accordance with the relevant transaction documents. The associated
financial obligations for each of the rated notes are the related
Interest Amounts and the related Class Balances.
DBRS Morningstar's credit rating does not address non-payment risk
associated with contractual payment obligations contemplated in the
applicable transaction document(s) that are not financial
obligations.

DBRS Morningstar's long-term credit ratings provide opinions on
risk of default. DBRS Morningstar considers risk of default to be
the risk that an issuer will fail to satisfy the financial
obligations in accordance with the terms under which a long-term
obligation has been issued.

Notes: All figures are in euros unless otherwise noted.


MALLINCKRODT PLC: High Court Appoints Interim Examiner
------------------------------------------------------
Aodhan O'Faolain at Irish Independent reports that the High Court
has appointed an interim examiner to Dublin-based but US-run
pharmaceutical company Mallinckrodt for the second time in 15
months.

Last year, the company successfully exited the examinership
process, following the implementation of an extensive restructuring
plan that saw it reduce its debts by USUS$1.3 billion, Irish
Independent recounts.

It had got into financial difficulty after it settled legal actions
brought against it in the United States, Irish Independent notes.

The company had settled a large number of lawsuits for US$1.7
billion where it was alleged it had used deceptive and misleading
marketing tactics to boost its sales of highly addictive opioid
drugs, Irish Independent discloses.

It had hoped that the initial restructuring process would resolve
its difficulties, given the level of debt it had reduced and that
new management and directors on board, Irish Independent relays.

However, its lawyers told Mr Justice Michael Quinn at the High
Court on Sept. 20 that it has been unable to achieve its goals, due
to difficulties that were not foreseeable in 2022, Irish
Independent states.

These include a setback in its bid to launch a device used to
administer a medication called "Acthar", which is used to prevent
seizures, as well as in the treatment of MS, lupus, eye conditions,
and arthritis, Irish Independent discloses.

Other issues include a slower than expected sales of a medication
used to treat skin conditions called "Therakos" and adverse
economic conditions caused by the rise in interest rates, according
to Irish Independent.

These and other factors had adversely effected the companies
financial performance and have left it insolvent, Irish Independent
states.

However, Mr Justice Quinn was told that despite these issues the
company and its subsidiaries are confident that the business has a
reasonable prospect of survival if a fresh scheme of arrangement
can be agreed with its creditors, Irish Independent relates.

As a result, the company has again sought the appointment of an
examiner before the Irish courts, Irish Independent notes.

The Dublin-registered company has no direct employees in Ireland,
but its subsidiaries employ over 110 people at its facility in
Blanchardstown, as well as over 2,500 others worldwide.

According to Irish Independent, Mr Justice Quinn following an
application by Brian Kennedy SC, appearing with Stephen Walsh Bl.
for the company agreed to appoint experienced insolvency
practitioner Michael McAteer of Grant Thornton as interim examiner
to the firm.

In its petition to the Dublin Court, the company says that after
the filing of the Chapter 11 proceedings in the US it has made
proposals to its creditors aimed at saving the business, Irish
Independent discloses.

Those proposals include a US$1 billion reduction of the monies it
agreed to pay out as part of the settlement of the opioid and other
claims against it, Irish Independent states.

In addition, a draft scheme of arrangement, which if approved by
the creditors and the court would allow the company to survive as a
going concern, was submitted to the court, Irish Independent
notes.

The court was also told by counsel that there is no legal
impediment to the court allowing a company to seek the appointment
of an examiner for the second time in a relatively short period of
time, Irish Independent recounts.

                    About Mallinckrodt PLC

Mallinckrodt -- http://www.mallinckrodt.com/-- is a global
business consisting of multiple wholly-owned subsidiaries that
develop, manufacture, market and distribute specialty
pharmaceutical products and therapies.  The company's Specialty
Brands reportable segment's areas of focus include autoimmune and
rare diseases in specialty areas like neurology, rheumatology,
nephrology, pulmonology and ophthalmology; immunotherapy and
neonatal respiratory critical care therapies; analgesics; and
gastrointestinal products.  Its Specialty Generics reportable
segment includes specialty generic drugs and active pharmaceutical
ingredients.

On Oct. 12, 2020, Mallinckrodt plc and certain of its affiliates
sought Chapter 11 protection in Delaware (Bankr. D. Del. Lead Case
No. 20-12522) to seek approval of a restructuring that would reduce
total debt by $1.3 billion and resolve opioid-related claims
against them.  Mallinckrodt in mid-June 2022 successfully completed
its reorganization process, emerged from Chapter 11 and completed
the Irish Examinership proceedings.  

Mallinckrodt Plc said in a regulatory filing in early June 2023
that it was considering a second bankruptcy filing and other
options after its lenders raised concerns over an upcoming $200
million payment related to opioid-related litigation.

Mallinckrodt plc and certain of its affiliates again sought Chapter
11 protection (Bankr. D. Del. Lead Case No. 23-11258) on Aug. 28,
2023.

Mallinckrodt plc disclosed $5,106,900,000 in assets and
$3,512,000,000 in liabilities as of June 30, 2023.

Judge John T. Dorsey oversees the new cases.

In the prior Chapter 11 cases, the Debtors tapped Latham & Watkins,
LLP and Richards, Layton & Finger, P.A. as their bankruptcy
counsel; Arthur Cox and Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz as corporate
and finance counsel; Ropes & Gray, LLP as litigation counsel;
Torys, LLP as CCAA counsel; Guggenheim Securities, LLC as
investment banker; and AlixPartners, LLP, as restructuring
advisor.

In the new Chapter 11 cases, The Debtors tapped Latham & Watkins,
LLP and Richards, Layton & Finger, P.A., as their bankruptcy
counsel; Arthur Cox and Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz as
corporate
and finance counsel; Guggenheim Securities, LLC as investment
banker; and AlixPartners, LLP, as restructuring advisor.  Kroll is
the claims agent.



ROCKFORD TOWER 2019-1: Fitch Affirms Bsf Rating on Class F Notes
----------------------------------------------------------------
Fitch Ratings has upgraded Rockford Tower Europe CLO 2019-1 DAC´s
class B to D notes and revised the Outlook on the class E and F
notes to Positive from Stable. The rest of the notes have been
affirmed.

   Entity/Debt            Rating           Prior
   -----------            ------           -----
Rockford Tower
Europe CLO
2019-1 DAC

   A XS2064431625     LT  AAAsf  Affirmed   AAAsf
   B-1 XS2064432433   LT  AA+sf  Upgrade    AAsf
   B-2 XS2064433084   LT  AA+sf  Upgrade    AAsf
   C XS2064433837     LT  A+sf   Upgrade    Asf
   D XS2064434488     LT  BBB+sf Upgrade    BBBsf
   E XS2064435022     LT  BBsf   Affirmed   BBsf
   F XS2064435295     LT  Bsf    Affirmed   Bsf

TRANSACTION SUMMARY

Rockford Tower Europe CLO 2019-1 DAC is a cash flow-collateralised
loan obligation (CLO). The underlying portfolio of assets mainly
consists of leveraged loans and is managed by Rockford Tower
Capital Management, L.L.C. The deal will exit its reinvestment
period in July 2024.

KEY RATING DRIVERS

Stable Performance; Low Refinancing Risk: Since Fitch's last rating
action in October 2022, the portfolio continued to see stable
performance. As per the last trustee report dated 15 August 2023,
the transaction was above par by approximately 1% with no reported
defaults. The transaction is passing all of its tests. The par
value tests have slightly improved on last year´s review.

In addition, the notes are not vulnerable to near- and medium-term
refinancing risk, with none of the assets in the portfolio maturing
before 2024, and only 2.4% in 2025. The stable performance of the
transaction, combined with a shortened weighted average life (WAL)
covenant, has resulted in larger break-even default-rate cushions
versus the last review in October 2022. This results in the upgrade
of the class B to D notes and affirmation of the class A, E and F
notes.

Large Cushion for All Notes: All notes have large default-rate
buffers to support their current ratings and should be capable of
absorbing further defaults in the portfolio. This supports the
Stable Outlook of the class A to D notes and the Positive Outlook
of the class E and F notes.

The Stable Outlook of the class A to D notes also reflect the
ratings either at 'AAAsf' or at the highest rating in their
respective rating category, rendering an upgrade to the next rating
category less likely due to limited scheduled repayment in the next
12-18 months. The Positive Outlook reflects the possibility of
upgrade should portfolio performance remain stable and the
decreasing WAL of the portfolio contribute to a higher default-rate
cushion.

'B+'/'B' Portfolio: Fitch assesses the average credit quality of
the underlying obligors at 'B+'/'B'. The Fitch-calculated weighted
average rating factor (WARF) of the current portfolio is 31.4 as
reported by the trustee based on the old criteria and 23.2 as
calculated by Fitch under its latest criteria. Entities with
Negative Outlook that have been notched down one rating level as
per its criteria represented 15.5% of the portfolio, as of 9
September 2023.

High Recovery Expectations: Senior secured obligations comprise
95.1% of the portfolio. Fitch views the recovery prospects for
these assets as more favourable than for second-lien, unsecured and
mezzanine assets. The Fitch-calculated weighted average recovery
rate (WARR) of the current portfolio as reported by the trustee was
67.0%, based on outdated criteria.

Diversified Portfolio: The top-10 obligor concentration as
calculated by the trustee is 15.7%, which is below the limit of
17%, and no obligor represents more than 2.2% of the portfolio
balance.

Deviation from Model-implied Ratings: The class E and F notes´
modelled-implied ratings (MIRs) are one notch above their
respective current ratings. Such deviations reflect Fitch's view
that the default-rate cushions of these notes are not yet
commensurate with the MIRs given current uncertain macroeconomic
conditions and their junior position in the capital structure.

Transaction in Reinvestment Period: Given the manager's ability to
reinvest post-reinvestment exit, Fitch's analysis is based on a
stressed portfolio and tested the notes' achievable ratings across
all Fitch test matrices, since the portfolio can still migrate to
different collateral quality tests and the level of fixed-rate
assets could change. Fitch has modelled the target par balance as
the transaction allows up to 1% of the portfolio to be transferred
from the principal account as trading gains. Fitch also applied a
haircut of 1.5% to the WARR as the calculation of the WARR in the
transaction documentation is not in line with the agency's current
CLO Criteria.

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 in the
current portfolio by 25% of the mean RDR and a decrease of the
recovery rate (RRR) by 25% at all rating levels will have no impact
in any of the rated notes. Downgrades may occur if build-up of the
notes' credit enhancement following amortisation does not
compensate for a larger loss expectation than initially assumed due
to unexpectedly high levels of defaults and portfolio
deterioration.

Due to the better metrics and shorter life of the current portfolio
than the Fitch-stressed portfolio as well as the MIR deviation, the
class B notes display a rating cushion of one notch, the class D
notes of three notches, the class E notes of two notches, the class
F notes of four notches and no rating cushion for the class A and C
notes.

Should the cushion between the current portfolio and the
Fitch-stressed portfolio be eroded either due to manager trading or
negative portfolio credit migration, a 25% increase of the mean RDR
and a 25% decrease of the RRR across all ratings of the stressed
portfolio would lead to downgrades of no more than one notch on the
class B notes, two notches on the class C and D notes, three
notches on the class E notes, to below 'B-sf' for the class F notes
and no impact on the class A notes.

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

A reduction of the RDR at all rating levels in the stressed
portfolio by 25% of the mean RDR and an increase in the RRR by 25%
at all rating levels would result in no impact on the class A and C
notes, upgrades of no more than one notch on the class B notes,
three notches on the class D notes and up to four notches for the
class E and F notes. Further upgrades except for the 'AAAsf' notes
may occur if the portfolio's quality remains stable and the notes
start to amortise, leading to higher credit enhancement across the
structure.

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.




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

BELVEDERE SPV: DBRS Cuts Rating on Class A Notes to CCC
-------------------------------------------------------
DBRS Ratings GmbH downgraded its rating on the Class A notes issued
by Belvedere SPV S.r.l. (the Issuer) to CCC (sf) from CCC (high)
(sf) and maintained its Negative trend on the rating.

The transaction represents the issuance of Class A, Class B, and
Class J notes (collectively, the Notes). The rating on the Class A
notes addresses the timely payment of interest and the ultimate
repayment of principal on or before the final maturity date in
December 2038. DBRS Morningstar does not rate the Class B and Class
J notes.

At issuance, the Notes were backed by a EUR 2.5 billion by gross
book value (GBV) portfolio consisting of a mixed pool of Italian
nonperforming loans sold by Gemini SPV S.r.l., Sirius SPV S.r.l.,
Antares SPV S.r.l., SPV Project 1702 S.r.l., and Adige SPV S.r.l.
to the Issuer. Bayview Global Opportunities Fund S.C.S. SICAV-RAIF
operates as sponsor and indemnity provider in the transaction. As
of May 2023, the portfolio's GBV totalled EUR 2.2 billion.

The receivables are serviced by Prelios Credit Servicing S.p.A.
(Prelios) and Bayview Italia S.r.l. (Bayview), which act as the
special servicers. Prelios also operates as the master servicer in
the transaction while Banca Finanziaria Internazionale S.p.A.
(formerly Securitization Services S.p.A.) operates as the backup
servicer.

CREDIT RATING RATIONALE

The downgrade follows an annual review of the transaction and is
based on the following analytical considerations:

-- Transaction performance: assessment of portfolio recoveries as
of 31 May 2023, focusing on: (1) a comparison between actual
collections and the special servicer's initial business plan
forecast; (2) the collection performance observed over recent
months; and (3) a comparison between the current performance and
DBRS Morningstar's expectations.

-- Portfolio characteristics: loan pool composition as of May 2023
and the evolution of its core features since issuance.

-- Transaction liquidating structure: the payment order of
priority entails a fully sequential amortization of the Notes
(i.e., the Class B notes will begin to amortize following the full
repayment of the Class A notes and the Class J notes will amortize
following the full repayment of the Class B notes). Additionally,
the repayment of interest on the Class B notes is fully
subordinated to the repayment of both interest and principal on the
Class A notes.

-- Performance ratios and underperformance events: first-level and
second-level underperformance events may occur if the cumulative
collection ratio (CCR) and the present value cumulative
profitability ratio (PVCPR) are both lower than 90% and 75%,
respectively. If the SPV, after 24 months from the execution date,
has received from the Monitoring Agent two consecutive first-level
or second-level underperformance event notices, each special
servicer may be terminated by the Issuer. These events had not
occurred on the June 2023 interest payment date, and the actual
figures were a CCR of 26.8% and a PVCPR of 117.5% for Prelios and a
CCR of 60.5% and a PVPCR of 91.4% for Bayview, according to the
latest information from the special servicers.

-- Liquidity support: the transaction benefits from an amortizing
cash reserve providing liquidity to the structure, covering against
potential interest shortfall on the Class A notes and senior fees.
The cash reserve target amount is equal to 4.0% of the Class A
notes' principal outstanding and is currently fully funded.
However, DBRS Morningstar notes that, in the absence of a trigger
notice, the amortizing mechanism for the reserve defined as the
Class J Notes Early amortization Amount creates a leakage of funds
toward the junior notes.

-- Interest rate risk: The transaction is exposed to interest rate
risk in a rising interest rate environment due to the under-hedging
of the Class A notes, which is a result of the underperformance in
terms of collections.

TRANSACTION AND PERFORMANCE

According to the latest investor report from June 2023, the
outstanding principal amounts of the Class A, Class B, and Class J
notes were EUR 220.6 million, EUR 70.0 million, and EUR 95.0
million, respectively. The balance of the Class A notes has
amortized by approximately 31.1% since issuance. The current
aggregated transaction balance is EUR 385.6 million.

As of May 2023, the transaction was performing significantly below
the special servicers' initial business plan expectations. The
actual cumulative gross collections equalled EUR 183.8 million
whereas the special servicers' initial business plan estimated
cumulative gross collections of EUR 379.1 million for the same
period. Therefore, as of May 2023, the transaction was
underperforming by EUR 195.3 million (-51.5%) compared with the
initial business plan. By special servicer, the performance split
would be as follows: Prelios is underperforming by EUR 119.7
million (-71.5%) compared with its initial expectations and Bayview
is underperforming by EUR 75.6 million (-35.7%) compared with its
initial expectations.

At issuance, DBRS Morningstar estimated cumulative gross
collections for the same period of EUR 234.9 million at the BBB
(low) (sf) stressed scenario. Therefore, as of May 2023, the
transaction was performing below DBRS Morningstar's stressed
expectations at issuance.

In November 2022, Bayview provided DBRS Morningstar with a revised
business plan as of December 2021. In this updated business plan,
Bayview assumed lower recoveries compared with initial
expectations. The total cumulative gross collections from the
updated business plan account for EUR 242.0 million, which is 20.7%
lower than the EUR 305.1 million expected in the initial business
plan. DBRS Morningstar notes that also based on the updated
business plan, the portfolio has underperformed during 2022 and the
first semester of 2023. Prelios provided the required updated
business plan to the monitoring agent, but it has not been released
yet as the monitoring agent's approval and the authorization for
release have not been received so far.

The special servicers' total expected collections, considering the
latest officially approved business plans (the executed business
plan and 2022 updated business with regards to the pool managed by
Prelios and Bayview, respectively), are now EUR 470.5 million.
Excluding actual collections, the special servicers' expected
future collections from June 2023 account for EUR 131.1 million,
which is less than the current aggregated outstanding balance of
the Class A notes. In DBRS Morningstar's CCC (sf) scenario, the
special servicers' updated forecast was only adjusted in terms of
the actual collections to date and the timing of future expected
collections. Considering senior costs and interest due on the
notes, DBRS Morningstar believes the full repayment of the Class A
principal is increasingly unlikely, but considering the transaction
structure, a payment default on the bonds would likely only occur
in a few years from now.

The final maturity of the transaction is in December 2038.

DBRS Morningstar's credit rating on the Class A notes addresses the
credit risk associated with the identified financial obligations in
accordance with the relevant transaction documents. The associated
financial obligations are the related Interest Payment Amounts and
the related Class Balance.

DBRS Morningstar's credit rating does not address non-payment risk
associated with contractual payment obligations contemplated in the
applicable transaction documents that are not financial
obligations.

DBRS Morningstar's long-term credit ratings provide opinions on
risk of default. DBRS Morningstar considers risk of default to be
the risk that an issuer will fail to satisfy the financial
obligations in accordance with the terms under which a long-term
obligation has been issued.

Notes: All figures are in euros unless otherwise noted.


RED & BLACK: DBRS Gives Prov. B(high) Rating on Class E Notes
-------------------------------------------------------------
DBRS Ratings GmbH assigned provisional credit ratings to the
following classes of notes (the Rated Notes) to be issued by Red &
Black Auto Italy S.r.l. – Compartment 2 (the Issuer):

-- Class A1 Notes at AA (high) (sf)
-- Class B Notes at AA (low) (sf)
-- Class C Notes at A (low) (sf)
-- Class D Notes at BBB (sf)
-- Class E Notes at B (high) (sf)

DBRS Morningstar did not assign credit ratings to the Class A2
Notes (together with the Rated Notes, the Collateralized Notes) and
the Class J Notes (together with the Collateralized Notes, the
Notes) to be issued in this transaction.

The Notes are issued in the context of a securitization transaction
designed to follow the standard structure under Italian
securitization law. The securitization is fully segregated from the
Issuer's previous securitization in September 2021, which was also
carried out in accordance with Italian securitization law.

The credit rating on the Class A1 Notes addresses the timely
payment of scheduled interest and ultimate repayment of principal
by the final maturity date. The credit ratings on the Class B
Notes, Class C Notes, Class D Notes, and Class E Notes address the
ultimate repayment of interest (timely when most senior) and the
ultimate repayment of principal by the final maturity date.

The provisional credit ratings are based on information provided to
DBRS Morningstar by the Issuer and its agents as of the date of
this press release. These credit ratings will be finalized upon
review of the final version of the transaction documents and of the
relevant legal opinions.

CREDIT RATING RATIONALE

The Collateralized Notes are backed by a portfolio selected from a
pool of approximately EUR 550 million of receivables related to
auto loans granted by Fiditalia S.p.A. (Fiditalia; the Originator,
the Seller), to individuals residing in Italy. The collateral
portfolio will be serviced by Banca Finanziaria Internazionale
S.p.A. (Banca Finint) as master servicer that delegates to
Fiditalia (the Sub-Servicer) the management, collection, and
recovery of the receivables. The proceeds of the Class J Notes will
fund the cash reserve.

DBRS Morningstar based its credit ratings on a review of the
following analytical considerations:

-- The transaction capital structure, including form and
sufficiency of available credit enhancement.

-- Credit enhancement levels that are sufficient to support DBRS
Morningstar's projected expected net losses under various stress
scenarios.

-- The ability of the transaction to withstand stressed cash flow
assumptions and repay investors according to the terms under which
they have invested.

-- Fiditalia's capabilities with respect to originations,
underwriting, servicing, and financial strength.

-- The appointment of a backup subservecer at closing.

-- The transaction parties' financial strength with regard to
their respective roles.

-- The credit quality, diversification of the collateral, and
historical and projected performance of the Seller's portfolio.

-- The sovereign rating on the Republic of Italy, currently rated
BBB (high) with a Stable trend by DBRS Morningstar.

-- The expected consistency of the transactions legal structure
with DBRS Morningstar's "Legal Criteria for European Structured
Finance Transactions" methodology, and the presence of legal
opinions that are expected to address the true sale of the assets
to the Issuer.

TRANSACTION STRUCTURE

The transaction has a mixed sequential/pro rata amortization
structure. Initially, all collections from the receivables will pay
down the Class A1 Notes and Class A2 Notes in accordance with the
relevant priority of payments. Once the Class A1 Notes and Class A2
Notes support ratio reaches 12%, principal payments on the
Collateralized Notes will be allocated on a pro rata basis, unless
a sequential redemption event occurs as outlined in the transaction
documents. Sequential redemption events include, among others, the
breach of performance related triggers, the termination of the
Servicer, the Seller's default or the Seller not exercising the
call option

The transaction benefits from liquidity support provided by a cash
reserve, with an initial balance of EUR 6.1 million (equal to 1.1%
of the initial outstanding receivables balance). The balance of the
reserve will not amortize in line with the Collateralized Notes
until the amortization of the Class A1 Notes and Class A2 Notes
reaches 50% since issuance. After that date the balance of the
reserve will be replenished to a target equal to the maximum of (1)
1.1% of the aggregate of the principal amount of the Collateralized
Notes at the relevant period; (2) 0.25% of the initial balance of
the Collateralized Notes (up to the date when the Rated Notes are
fully repaid or a trigger notice is served).

The reserve is available to cover the payment of senior expenses,
swap payments, and interest on the Collateralized Notes prior to
being replenished. The reserve also provides credit enhancement to
the Collateralized Notes and is available to repay principal on the
Collateralized Notes when the portfolio's aggregate discounted
receivables balance reaches zero.

All underlying contracts are fixed rate, while the Collateralized
Notes pay a floating rate. The Collateralized Notes are indexed to
one-month Euribor. Interest rate risk is mitigated through
balance-guaranteed fixed-floating interest rate swaps for the
Collateralized Notes.

COUNTERPARTIES

The Bank of New York Mellon SA/NV–Milan Branch (BNYM) has been
appointed as the Issuer's account bank for the transaction. DBRS
Morningstar has a Long-Term Senior Debt rating of AA (high) and a
Long Term Deposits Rating of AA (high) on BNYM and considers BNYM
to meet the relevant criteria to act in this capacity. The
transaction documents are expected to contain downgrade provisions
related to the account bank consistent with DBRS Morningstar's
criteria.

DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschaftsbank, Frankfurt am Main
(DZ Bank) has been appointed as the swap counterparty. DBRS
Morningstar has a Long-Term Senior Debt rating of AA (low) and a
Long Term Critical Obligations Rating of AA on DZ Bank. The hedging
documents are expected to contain downgrade provisions consistent
with DBRS Morningstar's criteria.

DBRS Morningstar's credit ratings on the Rated Notes address the
credit risk associated with the identified financial obligations in
accordance with the relevant transaction documents. For the Rated
Notes the associated financial obligations are the related interest
amounts and the related principal amounts outstanding.

DBRS Morningstar's credit ratings do not address non-payment risk
associated with contractual payment obligations contemplated in the
applicable transaction document(s) that are not financial
obligations.

DBRS Morningstar's long-term credit ratings provide opinions on
risk of default. DBRS Morningstar considers risk of default to be
the risk that an issuer will fail to satisfy the financial
obligations in accordance with the terms under which a long-term
obligation has been issued.

Notes: All figures are in euros unless otherwise noted.


WEBUILD SPA: Fitch Gives 'BB(EXP)' Rating on EUR500MM Unsec. Notes
------------------------------------------------------------------
Fitch Ratings has assigned Webuild S.p.A.'s planned maximum EUR500
million five-year notes an expected senior unsecured rating of
'BB(EXP)'. The rating is aligned with Webuild's Long-Term Issuer
Default Rating (IDR) and existing senior unsecured notes' rating.

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

KEY RATING DRIVERS

Proposed Structure: The proposed notes will constitute direct,
general and unconditional obligations of Webuild, and rank at least
pari passu with all its present or future senior unsecured
obligations. The net proceeds from the new notes will be used to
refinance existing indebtedness and for general corporate
purposes.

Adequate Net Leverage: Fitch expects net leverage to remain
adequate in 2023-2026 following significant deleveraging in 2021-22
to 1.0-1.5x total net debt/EBITDA. Fitch forecasts net leverage of
1.5-1.6x over 2023-2026, mainly due to assumed high capex and
increased working-capital requirements over the rating horizon.

Gross Leverage Remains High: Fitch expects total debt/EBITDA to
remain temporarily high at around 3.5x in 2023. Fitch considers the
ratio high for the rating and compared with 'BB' rated peers, which
limits rating headroom. Nevertheless, Fitch expects gross leverage
to decrease to around 3x by 2024, driven by improving operating
profitability and some further gross debt reduction driven by the
current ample cash balance.

Strong Revenue Visibility: Webuild's improved revenue visibility is
supported by its strong current order book and healthy pipeline of
opportunities. The company is well positioned to continue
benefiting from increasing government investment in infrastructure
across core markets, especially in Italy where it has a leading
market position and high project win rates. Its rating case
excludes backlog contribution from a high-speed rail line
construction project in Texas and Messina Bridge project in Italy,
which are pending financing approval. In 2022, the company's total
construction order backlog increased by around 18% to about EUR53.4
billion. The company maintained strong activity level in 1H23 with
around EUR17.7 billion of new orders and over EUR 13 billion orders
to be finalised. Fitch expects that the company will continue to
deliver a large share of projects under the Italian Recovery Plan,
with a stable book-to-bill of 1.0x-1.1x over the four-year rating
horizon.

Solid Business Profile: The business profile is mainly underpinned
by leading market positions in niche markets, a solid order backlog
and sound geographical diversification. Webuild is the global
leader in the water infrastructure sub-segment and has leading
positions in civil buildings and transportation. However, the group
has significant project concentration, albeit improving. The top 10
projects contributed 42% of the overall order book in 2022 (2018:
53%). Structural working-capital requirements are in line with
global engineering & construction players

DERIVATION SUMMARY

In contrast to other Fitch-rated engineering & construction
entities, Webuild has a limited presence in concessions. Its
strategy focuses on large, complex, value-added infrastructure
projects with high engineering content. While its business profile
is solid, net leverage exceeds that of higher-rated peers such as
Ferrovial, SE (BBB/Stable), which generates stable dividend streams
from its concession business.

KEY ASSUMPTIONS

- Revenue in 2023 is forecast to grow by 16-17% and then expected
to grow by 5.5-6.5% in 2024-25.

- EBITDA margins to stabilise at 7.5%-8.2% between 2023-26.

- Working capital outflow of around 1-2% of revenue during
2023-2026.

- Capex at 3.5%-3.7% of revenue during 2023-2025.

- Annual dividend of around EUR55 million-EUR60 million during
2023-2026

RATING SENSITIVITIES

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

- Total debt/EBITDA below 2.5x on a sustained basis

- Total net debt/EBITDA below 1.5x on a sustained basis

- Reduced concentration of 10 largest contracts to below 40%

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

- Total debt/EBITDA above 3.5x on a sustained basis

- Total net debt/EBITDA above 2.5x on a sustained basis

- Inability to generate at least neutral FCF on a sustained basis

- Weak performance on major contracts with a material impact on
profitability

- Increasing share of high-risk countries

LIQUIDITY AND DEBT STRUCTURE

Sufficient Liquidity: At end-2022 Webuild's liquidity was supported
by about EUR1,661 million of readily available cash (excluding
around EUR0.3 billion considered not readily available by Fitch
mainly restricted cash for working capital purposes) and access to
EUR920 million undrawn revolving credit facilities.

In 2H23, Webuild is planning to issue up to EUR500 million
additional notes that will be used to refinance some of the
existing debt. This would provide sufficient headroom to cover debt
maturities and any other requirements in 2023. Fitch views the
company's good relationships with local banks and access to capital
markets as positive for the credit profile.

ESG CONSIDERATIONS

The highest level of ESG credit relevance is a score of '3', unless
otherwise disclosed in this section. A score of '3' 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. Fitch's ESG Relevance Scores are not
inputs in the rating process; they are an observation on the
relevance and materiality of ESG factors in the rating decision.

   Entity/Debt            Rating           
   -----------            ------           
Webuild S.p.A.

   senior unsecured   LT BB(EXP)  Expected Rating




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

E-MAC DE 2006-II: Moody's Hikes Rating on EUR24.5MM C Notes to Ba1
------------------------------------------------------------------
Moody's Investors Service has upgraded the rating of Class C in
E-MAC DE 2006-II B.V. The rating action reflects the increased
level of credit enhancement for Class C and better than expected
collateral performance.

EUR24.5M Class C Notes, Upgraded to Ba1 (sf); previously on Jul
16, 2021 Upgraded to B1 (sf)

RATINGS RATIONALE

The rating action is prompted by the increase in credit enhancement
for the Class C and decreased key collateral assumption, namely the
portfolio Expected Loss (EL) assumption in E-MAC DE 2006-II B.V.
due to better than expected collateral performance.

Increase in Available Credit Enhancement:

The sequential amortization led to the increase in the credit
enhancement available in this transaction. The credit enhancement
for the Class C increased to 25.7% from 15.4% since the last rating
action. Following the repayment of Class B notes in August 2023,
Class C has become the most senior note in this transaction.

Revision of Key Collateral Assumptions:

As part of the rating action, Moody's reassessed its lifetime loss
expectation for the portfolio reflecting the collateral performance
to date.

The performance of the transaction has continued to be stable in
the past year, 90 days plus arrears have remained stable at high
levels, at around 13.9% of current pool balance. Cumulative losses
currently stand at 9.0% of original pool balance, same level as a
year earlier.

Moody's decreased the expected loss assumption to 9.68% as a
percentage of original pool balance from 9.90% due to the improving
performance. The revised expected loss assumption corresponds to
12.78% as a percentage of current pool balance. The low pool factor
explains the relatively small difference between cumulative losses
and the expected loss assumption as a percentage of original pool
balance.

Moody's has also assessed loan-by-loan information as a part of its
detailed transaction review to determine the credit support
consistent with target rating levels and the volatility of future
losses. As a result, Moody's has maintained the MILAN CE assumption
at 35%.

Moody's notes senior fees remain elevated both in relative and
absolute values.  Potential volatility of income revenues which
include recoveries post foreclosure coupled with uncertainties on
the senior fees levels may lead to insufficient available funds to
pay interest on the notes as principal proceeds cannot be used to
pay interest. Despite availability of a EUR4.2 million liquidity
facility, these factors put a risk on the payment of interest for
Class C on the medium term.

The principal methodology used in this rating was "Moody's Approach
to Rating RMBS Using the MILAN Framework" published in July 2023.

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

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

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

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


NIBC BANK: Moody's Ups Rating on Perpetual Securities to Ba1(hyb)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Moody's Investors Service upgraded the foreign and local currency
ratings of two perpetual debt securities issued by NIBC Bank N.V.'s
on March 24, 2005 and on March 30, 2006 respectively, to Ba1(hyb)
from Ba2(hyb). The amount of securities currently outstanding is
$90.5 million for the securities issued in 2005 and EUR50 million
for those issued in 2006.

The rating action was driven by a change in the legal insolvency
rank of these instruments under Dutch law, and NIBC's subsequent
decision not to call them, following the end of their
grandfathering as regulatory capital effective January 1, 2022,
which prompted a reassessment of the loss severity for these hybrid
instruments under Moody's Advanced Loss Given Failure (LGF)
analysis applied to NIBC. NIBC's other ratings were unaffected by
the rating action.

RATINGS RATIONALE

The upgrade of NIBC's two specific perpetual debt securities to
Ba1(hyb) from Ba2(hyb) reflects the fact that these securities are
no longer part of NIBC's own funds and are now senior to Tier 2
subordinated debt. As a result, the two specific perpetual debt
securities benefit from increased subordination brought by Tier 2
debt and Additional Tier 1 (AT1) securities under Moody's Advanced
LGF analysis, which explains the upgrade. In Moody's opinion, the
perpetual debt securities also rank junior to junior senior
unsecured debt (also referred to as senior non-preferred debt).

The perpetual debt securities do not comply anymore with all the
requirements of the European Union's Capital Requirements
Regulation (CRR) for eligibility as AT1 capital and, as a result,
were gradually phased-out from regulatory capital until
end-December 2021, at which date they were fully removed from
capital. In addition, the second Bank Recovery and Resolution
Directive (BRRD 2), introduced in June 2019, sets out in a new
article (Article 48.7) that all claims resulting from regulatory
capital instruments should be junior to claims that result from
instruments which are not included in regulatory capital. BRRD 2
was translated into Dutch law on December 15, 2021. As a result,
the perpetual debt securities are now senior to Tier 2 debt. Unlike
most European peers having issued similar instruments, NIBC decided
not to call them for the time being, which prompted Moody's to
revisit its approach for their ratings.

With the instruments benefitting from higher subordination at
failure, Moody's Advanced LGF analysis now indicates a moderate
loss given failure, leading to no notching uplift from NIBC's baa3
Adjusted Baseline Credit Assessment (BCA). Previously, the rating
agency's Advanced LGF analysis indicated a high loss given failure
for these instruments, which yielded a one notch deduction from the
bank's baa3 Adjusted BCA. The Ba1(hyb) rating also incorporates an
unchanged additional negative notch, reflecting the instruments'
cumulative optional coupon skip mechanism.

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

An upgrade of NIBC's BCA would trigger an upgrade of the bank's
perpetual debt securities. Conversely, a downgrade of the BCA would
trigger a downgrade of the perpetual debt securities.

A downgrade of the perpetual debt securities could be triggered by
the redemption of AT1 securities or Tier 2 debt resulting in lower
subordination benefiting these securities.

PRINCIPAL METHODOLOGY

The principal methodology used in these ratings was Banks
Methodology published in July 2021.


SPRINT BIDCO: Fitch Lowers LongTerm IDR to 'B-', Outlook Stable
---------------------------------------------------------------
Fitch Ratings has downgraded Sprint Bidco B.V.'s (Accell Group
B.V.) Long-Term Issuer Default Rating (IDR) to 'B-' from 'B'. The
Outlook on the IDR is Stable. Fitch has also downgraded Accell's
senior secured debt rating to 'B-' from 'B+' and revised its
Recovery Rating to 'RR4' from 'RR3'.

The downgrade follows limited progress on addressing supply chain
challenges, which has eroded liquidity headroom and led to deeply
negative free cash flow (FCF) in 2023, as well as weaker
deleveraging prospects versus its prior expectations. Accell
continues to undertake corrective actions; however, these are with
meaningful execution risks that cast substantial uncertainty over
the near-term restoration of its credit profile.

The Stable Outlook reflects its view that trade working-capital
outflows (TWC) should gradually ease as Accell reduces inventories,
which should improve liquidity headroom and return FCF to mildly
positive territory from 2024. An attractive product offering,
strong underlying demand and supportive public policies underpin
its view of Accell's ability to stablise its operating profile with
recovery in profitability and cash flow generation.

KEY RATING DRIVERS

Stretched Liquidity: Accell's FCF and liquidity headroom have been
materially eroded by persisting supply chain challenges, leading to
large TWC outflows in 1H23. This led to a fully drawdown revolving
credit facility (RCF) of EUR180 million, in addition to utilising a
EUR75 million asset-based loan (ABL) and a EUR70 million
shareholder loan (SHL), which Fitch views as debt in accordance
with Fitch's criteria.

Accell is taking steps to increase control over procurement and
improve operational processes, which along with a recently
introduced discount policy, should ease liquidity pressure coming
from increased inventories and receivables. Fitch projects about
EUR90 million in TWC outflows in 2023, and estimate some TWC
reversal from 2024, although its magnitude remains uncertain.

Highly Volatile FCF: The 'B-' IDR reflects Accell's highly volatile
FCF, in contrast to its previous estimates of sustained positive
FCF. Fitch expects the company to report deeply negative FCF
margins in 2023 in the mid-to-high single digits as sharply reduced
EBITDA and slow working-capital normalisation are only partially
offset by lower capex. From 2024, Fitch estimates a gradual
unwinding of high inventories following Accell's rigorous TWC
management, with FCF margins turning positive to low single
digits.

Sharply Increased Leverage: Continued supply chain disruptions have
weighed on Accell's cash flow generation and caused additional debt
drawdown to fund working-capital needs, further delaying
deleveraging prospects. Fitch now forecasts a spike in EBITDA
leverage to 15x in 2023 and 6.9x in 2024, which in combination with
very tight liquidity, is no longer commensurate with a 'B' IDR.

Weakened Operating Performance: Sprint's operating performance in
1H23 was eroded by a selective discounting commercial policy that
is partially offset by improved pricing and product mix. Fitch
views the discounting as a temporary corrective action aimed at
reducing slow-moving and older inventory. Consequently, Fitch
projects 2023 EBITDA to halve from 2022's, and view a return
towards at least EUR120 million by end-2024 as critical to its
rating trajectory.

Low-Margin Assembler & Marketer: As a consumer products company,
Accell is characterised by a low EBITDA margins of around 8%-9%,
driven by its focus on designing and marketing bicycles assembled
in its own factories with parts produced by dedicated suppliers.
This leaves part of the added value with suppliers, to which Accell
is exposed given its high concentration. However, management
initiatives on cost reduction and optimisation of operating
processes should support EBITDA margin stabilisation from 2024.

Wide Bicycle Products Portfolio: The rating reflects Accell's wide
portfolio of bicycles, spanning from traditional bikes to electric,
including a good presence in the newest category of cargo bikes for
family and business use, and sold across western Europe. The
portfolio is complemented by the lower-ticket-per purchase business
of distributing parts and accessories, which provides
diversification benefits. Profits are mostly concentrated on
e-bikes (57% of 2022 sales). Moreover, Accell relies more on the
German market (40%), which benefits from strong purchasing power
and one of the highest penetrations of bike ownership on the
continent.

Resilient Demand: Fitch projects demand for bikes to rise by high
single digits per year over 2023-2026 in the UK, Holland, France
and Germany in value terms, mostly driven by e-bikes, while demand
for traditional bikes declines.

Favourable demand trends include a generalised increase in sporting
activity, easier access to cycling for senior users in
part-electric mode, commuting use of e-bikes facilitated by new
infrastructure (cycling lanes; possibility to carry bikes on public
transport) and fiscal incentives for purchases. In line with its
expectations, demand drivers have been unaffected by the current
weaker consumer spending environment, as bicycles and e-bikes
provide a cheaper transportation option.

DERIVATION SUMMARY

Fitch rates Accell under its Consumer Products Navigator. Accell
has very high leverage and material cash outflows, which make its
credit profile incompatible with a 'B' rating. Once the current
supply chain disruptions and TWC tightness have abated, Fitch
estimates Accell's EBITDA leverage to be slightly lower than that
of the skincare company Sunshine Luxembourg VII Sarl's (B/Positive)
7.0x, although the latter benefits from better FCF visibility. Both
companies enjoy good growth fundamentals and product complexity,
albeit the latter to a lesser degree at Accell. Accell is also
smaller in size.

Another comparable is luxury branded footwear manufacturer and
distributor Golden Goose S.p.A. (B+/Stable), which Fitch rates
under the Non-Food Retail Navigator. Golden Goose has materially
stronger EBITDA margins (25%) and Fitch does not see high execution
risks in its strategy but it has a narrow brand and product
portfolio and is slightly smaller. Golden Goose's credit benefits
from stronger projected FCF and liquidity headroom.

The upgrade of Golden Goose to 'B+' in June 2023 reflects continued
strong performance with successful execution of its business plan,
leading to an almost doubling of EBITDA in 2022 compared with
2020's. This has, in turn, led to a material reduction in leverage,
while allowing the company to protect the high quality and
exclusive reputation of its products.

KEY ASSUMPTIONS

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

- Organic revenues to grow moderately by 4.7% in 2023, and 5.7% to
2026 on strong sector trends and shift to e-bikes

- EBITDA margin to improve to 8%-9% by end-2026 after a sharp
reduction to 4.5% in 2023 on its discounting policy

- Large net working-capital outflow in 2023 of EUR92 million before
reversing to inflows of EUR20million-EUR50 million in the following
three years as working capital gradually normalises

- Maintenance capex of EUR12 million in 2023 and around EUR35
million a year in 2024-2026

- No bolt-on acquisitions or shareholder distributions to 2026

- Voluntary debt repayments of around EUR60 million p.a. for
2024-2026, subject to working-capital normalisation

Key Recovery Assumptions

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

Fitch estimates Accell's GC EBITDA at EUR100 million, which is
based on an unattractive or uncompetitive product proposition,
impaired brand perception and supply chain challenges resulting in
pressures on its liquidity. The GC EBITDA reflects Fitch's view of
a sustainable, post-reorganisation EBITDA level upon which Fitch
bases the valuation of the company.

Fitch uses an enterprise value (EV)/EBITDA multiple of 6.0x to
calculate a post-reorganisation valuation, which is aligned with
that of peer consumer companies Sunshine Luxembourg VII Sarl and
International Design Group. It takes into accounts the company's
position as industry leader, which should allow it to benefit from
positive market trends, despite some challenges in its supply
chain.

Fitch views Accell's ABL facility as super senior to its term loan
B (TLB) and RCF. Accell's RCF of EUR180 million is assumed to be
fully drawn on default and ranks equally with its senior secured
TLB of EUR705 million. Fitch treats the new SHL of EUR70 million as
debt, which ranks equally with other senior secured debt.

The waterfall analysis generated a ranked recovery for the EUR705
million TLB and EUR180 million RCF in the 'RR4' band, indicating a
'B-' rating. The waterfall generated recovery computation output
percentage is 50% based on current metrics and assumptions.

The downgrade of the senior secured debt instrument to 'B-' from
'B+' with a revised Recovery Rating of 'RR4' from 'RR3' reflects
the addition of the EUR70 million SHL.

RATING SENSITIVITIES

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

- EBITDA leverage below 6.0x and EBITDA interest cover approaching
2.5x or above

- Successful execution of its growth and cost-reduction strategy,
as reflected in improving EBITDA towards EUR140 million or EBITDA
margin of close to 8%

- Evidence of limited working-capital volatility, and consequently
positive FCF generation

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

- Persisting negative FCF as a result of higher-than-anticipated
restructuring costs or working-capital volatility resulting in
reduced liquidity headroom with all committed debt funding largely
exhausted and lack of clarity over funding alternatives

- EBITDA leverage rising above 7.5x and EBITDA interest cover
falling below 1.5x on a sustained basis

- Failure to recover EBITDA towards EUR120 million as a result of
higher costs or weak implementation of the company's strategy or
inability to effectively manage input cost inflation

LIQUIDITY AND DEBT STRUCTURE

Minimal Liquidity Headroom: Fitch views Accell's liquidity headroom
as minimal with EUR10 million on-balance sheet cash at end-June
2023. It is heavily constrained by high TWC cash absorption with
limited visibility over the pace of its normalisation, leading to
deeply negative FCF of around EUR120 million in 2023.

More Loan Facilities: Accell has fully drawn down its RCF of EUR180
million. In addition, the company raised a EUR75million ABL
facility in February 2023 and received a EUR70 million SHL. Fitch
estimates that the current TWC management measures should support
some working-capital improvement from the discount-induced
inventory reduction, leading to an available cash balance of around
EUR50 million by end-2023.

Accell benefits from medium-term debt maturity headroom with no
significant debt repayment before 2028.

ISSUER PROFILE

Sprint Bidco B.V. is a special purpose vehicle that owns the
Dutch-based bicycle company Accell.

ESG CONSIDERATIONS

Accell has an ESG Relevance Score of '4' [+] for GHG Emissions &
Air Quality due to the company's products contributing to reducing
GHG emissions and benefitting from a supportive regulatory
environment, which has a positive impact on the credit profile, and
is relevant to the ratings in conjunction with other factors.

The highest level of ESG credit relevance is a score of '3', unless
otherwise disclosed in this section. A score of '3' 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. Fitch's ESG Relevance Scores are not
inputs in the rating process; they are an observation on the
relevance and materiality of ESG factors in the rating decision.

   Entity/Debt            Rating         Recovery   Prior
   -----------            ------         --------   -----
Sprint BidCo B.V.   LT IDR B-  Downgrade               B

   senior secured   LT     B-  Downgrade    RR4        B+



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

CAIXABANK LEASINGS 3: DBRS Confirms BB(low) Rating on B Notes
-------------------------------------------------------------
DBRS Ratings GmbH took the following credit rating actions on the
notes issued by Caixabank Leasings 3, FT (the Issuer):

-- Series A Notes upgraded to AAA (sf) from AA (high) (sf)

-- Series B Notes confirmed at BB (low) (sf)

The credit rating on the Series A Notes addresses the timely
payment of interest and the ultimate payment of principal on or
before the legal final maturity date in December 2039. The credit
rating on the Series B Notes addresses the ultimate payment of
interest and principal on or before the legal final maturity date
in December 2039.

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

-- Portfolio performance, in terms of delinquencies, defaults, and
losses, as of the June 2023 payment date;

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

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

The transaction is a static securitization of Spanish lease
contracts granted by CaixaBank, S.A. (CaixaBank) to enterprises and
self-employed individuals based in Spain. CaixaBank also acts as
the servicer of the portfolio. At closing, the EUR 1,830.0 million
portfolio consisted of equipment leases (38.9%), vehicle leases
(36.5%), and real estate leases (24.6%). The transaction closed in
June 2019.

PORTFOLIO PERFORMANCE

As of 31 May 2023, loans that were 0 to 30 days and 30 to 60 days
delinquent represented 0.2% and 0.1% of the outstanding collateral
balance, respectively, with no loans 60 to 90 days delinquent.
Loans more than 90 days delinquent amounted to 1.4%. Gross
cumulative defaults, defined as receivables in 12 or more months of
arrears, amounted to 0.6% of the original portfolio balance, with
cumulative recoveries of 26.3% to date.

PORTFOLIO ASSUMPTIONS AND KEY DRIVERS

DBRS Morningstar conducted a loan-by-loan analysis of the remaining
pool of receivables and updated its base case PD and LGD
assumptions to 6.3% and 55.5%, respectively.

CREDIT ENHANCEMENT

The subordination of the Series B Notes and the cash reserve
provide credit enhancement to the Series A Notes, while the Series
B Notes receive credit enhancement from the cash reserve only once
the Series A Notes have been repaid in full. As of the June 2023
payment date, credit enhancement to the Series A Notes increased to
82.5% from 52.3% at the time of last credit rating action 12 months
ago, while credit enhancement to the Series B Notes remained stable
at 5.5% over the last 12 months.

The transaction benefits from an amortizing cash reserve available
to cover senior expenses and all payments due on the senior-most
class of notes outstanding at the time. The reserve was funded to
EUR 89.7 million at closing through a subordinated loan granted by
CaixaBank, and, starting from the September 2020 payment date, has
been amortizing to its target level of 4.9% of the outstanding
principal balance of the notes. As of the June 2023 payment date,
the reserve was at its target balance of EUR 18.4 million.

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

DBRS Morningstar's credit ratings on the rated notes address the
credit risk associated with the identified financial obligations in
accordance with the relevant transaction documents.

DBRS Morningstar's credit ratings do not address non-payment risk
associated with contractual payment obligations contemplated in the
applicable transaction documents that are not financial
obligations.

DBRS Morningstar's long-term credit ratings provide opinions on
risk of default. DBRS Morningstar considers risk of default to be
the risk that an issuer will fail to satisfy the financial
obligations in accordance with the term under which a long-term
obligation has been issued.

Notes: All figures are in euros unless otherwise noted.




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

MERSIN ULUSLARARASI: Fitch Alters Outlook on 'B' Rating to Stable
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Fitch Ratings has revised the Outlook on Mersin Uluslararasi Liman
Isletmeciligi A.S.'s (MIP) USD600 million senior unsecured debt
rating to Stable from Negative, and affirmed the rating at 'B'.

RATING RATIONALE

The rating action follows the recent revision of Outlook on
Turkiye's Long-Term Foreign-Currency Issuer Default Rating (IDR) to
Stable from Negative and the affirmation of the IDR at 'B' dated 8
September 2023 (see 'Fitch Revises Turkiye's Outlook to Stable;
Affirms at 'B').

MIP's rating remains capped by Turkey's Country Ceiling at 'B' and
aligned with Turkiye sovereign rating due to the port's linkages to
the country's economic and regulatory environment.

KEY RATING DRIVERS

This rating action is driven solely by the Outlook revision of
Turkiye's sovereign rating and is therefore not a full review. The
key rating drivers are as follow:

Revenue Risk (Volume): 'Midrange'

Revenue Risk (Price): 'Midrange'

Infrastructure Development and Renewal: 'Midrange'

Debt Structure: 'Weaker'

RATING SENSITIVITIES

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

- A significant adverse change to the current capital structure due
to a debt-funded financial policy

- Negative action on Turkiye's sovereign rating and Country
Ceiling

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

- Positive action on Turkiye's sovereign rating and Country
Ceiling

ESG CONSIDERATIONS

The highest level of ESG credit relevance is a score of '3', unless
otherwise disclosed in this section. A score of '3' 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. Fitch's ESG Relevance Scores are not
inputs in the rating process; they are an observation on the
relevance and materiality of ESG factors in the rating decision.

   Entity/Debt               Rating      Prior
   -----------               ------      -----
Mersin Uluslararasi
Liman Isletmeciligi
A.S.

   Mersin Uluslararasi
   Liman Isletmeciligi
   A.S./Debt/1 LT         LT B  Affirmed    B


TURKIYE WEALTH: Fitch Alters Outlook on 'B' LongTerm IDRs to Stable
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Fitch Ratings has revised Turkiye Wealth Fund's (TWF) Outlook to
Stable from Negative, while affirming its Long-Term Foreign- and
Local-Currency Issuer Default Ratings (IDR) at 'B'.

KEY RATING DRIVERS

The rating actions follow the revision of the Outlook on Turkiye's
Long-Term IDRs to Stable from Negative (see "Fitch Revises
Turkiye's Outlook to Stable; Affirms at 'B", dated September 8,
2023), as TWF's ratings are equalised with those of the Turkish
sovereign. and hence sensitive to any action on the sovereign
ratings.

DERIVATION SUMMARY

Under its Government-Related Entities (GRE) Rating Criteria, Fitch
classifies TWF as a credit-linked entity to the Turkish government
and equalises its ratings with the sovereign's ratings, based on
its assessment of the strength of linkage with and incentive to
support by Turkiye.

Fitch's assessment of 'Very Strong' status, ownership and control,
support track record and financial implications of default, and
'Strong' socio-political implications of default leads to an
overall government support score of 50 out of a maximum 60. This
warrants an equalisation of TWF's IDRs with that of Turkiye,
irrespective of its 'b' Standalone Credit Profile (SCP). Excluding
the state linkages, TWF's rating would also be equalised with the
sovereign's as TWF's SCP of 'b' is on a par with the sovereign
ratings (B/Stable).

RATING SENSITIVITIES

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

- An upgrade of the sovereign would lead to a similar rating action
on TWF, provided that overall support factors remain unchanged

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

- A downgrade of the sovereign would lead to a similar rating
action for TWF as Fitch does not deem the latter to have financial
autonomy to warrant a rating above the state's

- Weaker overall support factors leading to a support score below
45 under its GRE criteria could lead to a downgrade

ISSUER PROFILE

TWF is the sole sovereign wealth fund of Turkiye and manages key
state-owned companies on behalf of the government in promoting the
national economy in line with the national strategic agenda. Its
portfolio includes 30 companies, two licenses and 46 real estate
properties in seven sectors. Its 30 companies operate mainly in
financial services, telecommunications and technology,
transportation and aviation, energy and mining, and agriculture and
food.

PUBLIC RATINGS WITH CREDIT LINKAGE TO OTHER RATINGS

TWF's IDRs are credit-linked to the Turkish sovereign ratings.

ESG CONSIDERATIONS

The highest level of ESG credit relevance is a score of '3', unless
otherwise disclosed in this section. A score of '3' 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. Fitch's ESG Relevance Scores are not
inputs in the rating process; they are an observation on the
relevance and materiality of ESG factors in the rating decision.

   Entity/Debt            Rating                 Prior
   -----------            ------                 -----
Turkiye Wealth
Fund             LT IDR     B       Affirmed        B
                 ST IDR     B       Affirmed        B
                 LC LT IDR  B       Affirmed        B
                 LC ST IDR  B       Affirmed        B
                 Natl LT    AAA(tur)Affirmed   AAA(tur)


[*] Fitch Alters 11 Turkish Corp Issuers' FC IDR Outlooks to Stable
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Fitch Ratings has revised 11 Turkish corporates' Outlooks on their
Long-Term Foreign-Currency (FC) Issuer Default Ratings (IDRs) to
Stable from Negative and affirmed the ratings.

KEY RATING DRIVERS

The rating actions follow the revision of the Outlook on Turkiye's
Long-Term Foreign-Currency IDR to Stable from Negative and the
affirmation of the IDR at 'B' on September 8, 2023 (see 'Fitch
Revises Turkiye's Outlook to Stable; Affirms at 'B').

The issuers' high exposure to the Turkish economy means their
Foreign-Currency IDRs are influenced by the Turkish Country
Ceiling, which remains at 'B'. The revision of the Outlook reflects
the likely correlation of future rating actions with changes to the
sovereign rating, assuming that the Country Ceiling moves in line
with the sovereign IDR. For Ronesans Gayrimenkul Yatirim A.S., the
Outlook revision also reflects improved liquidity following
repayment of its USD300 million bond in April 2023.

Arcelik A.S. (see 'Fitch Affirms Arcelik A.S. at 'BB-'; Outlook
Negative' dated April 28, 2023)

Aydem Yenilenebilir Enerji Anonim Sirketi (see 'Fitch Affirms Aydem
Renewables at 'B'; Outlook Negative' dated November 24, 2022)

Emlak Konut Gayrimenkul Yatirim Ortakligi A.S. (see 'Fitch Affirms
Emlak Konut's Long-Term IDRs at 'B'/Negative' dated October 11,
2022)

Ordu Yardimlasma Kurumu (OYAK) (see 'Fitch Affirms Ordu Yardimlasma
Kurumu (OYAK) at 'BB-'; Outlook Negative' dated January 10, 2022')

Pegasus Hava Tasimaciligi A.S. (see 'Fitch Upgrades Pegasus to
'BB-'; Outlook Negative' dated April 13, 2023)

Ronesans Gayrimenkul Yatirim A.S. (see 'Fitch Affirms Ronesans
Gayrimenkul Yatirim at 'B'; Outlook Negative' dated October 26,
2022)

Turk Hava Yollari Anonim Ortakligi (Turkish Airlines) (see 'Fitch
Upgrades Turkish Airlines to 'B+'; Negative Outlook' dated February
9, 2023)

Turk Telekomunikasyon A.S. (see 'Fitch Affirms Turk Telekom at 'B';
Negative Outlook' dated November 10, 2022)

Turkcell Iletisim Hizmetleri A.S (see 'Fitch Affirms Turkcell at
'B'; Negative Outlook' dated November 10, 2022)

Turkiye Sise ve Cam Fabrikalari AS (see 'Fitch Affirms Turkiye Sise
ve Cam Fabrikalari AS at 'B'; Outlook Negative' dated May 30,
2023)

Ulker Biskuvi Sanayi A.S. (see 'Fitch Affirms Ulker Biskuvi Sanayi
at 'B'; Outlook Negative' dated January 17, 2023)

DERIVATION SUMMARY

See relevant RACs for each issuer.

KEY ASSUMPTIONS

See relevant RACs for each issuer.

RATING SENSITIVITIES

Arcelik A.S.

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

- The ratings could be upgraded if Turkiye's Country Ceiling were
upgraded.

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

- A lowering of Turkiye's Country Ceiling and/or weakening of FC
debt coverage ratios.

Factors that Could, Individually or Collectively, Lead to Negative
Rating Action on the Local-Currency (LC) IDR:

- Substantial deterioration in liquidity or consistently negative
free cash flow (FCF).

- Increased risk from Whirlpool's subsidiary acquisition leading to
high opex and further deterioration in EBIT margin below 7%.

- Funds from operations (FFO) margin sustainably below 7%.

- Receivables-adjusted FFO net leverage above 3.5x.

- Weakening of the standalone credit profile (SCP) due to increased
funding cost and FFO interest cover below 3x.

Aydem Yenilenebilir Enerji Anonim Sirketi

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

- An upgrade of Turkiye's Country Ceiling, together with the
company maintaining FFO leverage below 5x, FFO net leverage below
4.5x and FFO interest cover above 2.5x on a sustained basis without
significant weakening in revenue visibility.

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

- A downgrade of Turkiye's Country Ceiling.

- Delayed commissioning of new projects, generation volumes well
below current forecasts, a sustained reduction in profitability or
a more aggressive financial policy leading to FFO leverage above
6x, FFO net leverage above 5.5x and FFO interest cover below 1.7x
on a sustained basis. Deterioration of the business mix with
feed-in tariffs (FiT)-linked revenue representing less than 60% on
a structural basis could lead to a tightening of these
sensitivities.

Emlak Konut Gayrimenkul Yatirim Ortakligi A.S.

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

- An upgrade of the Country Ceiling.

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

- Deterioration of the operating environment and a downgrade of the
Country Ceiling.

The following Factors Could Lead to a Negative Rating Action (on a
Standalone Basis):

- Material changes in the relationship with Turkiye's Housing
Development Administration (TOKI), causing deterioration in Emlak
Konut's financial profile and financial flexibility.

- FFO gross and net leverage above 7x and 6.5x (net debt/EBITDA
above 6x), respectively.

- Deterioration in the liquidity profile over a sustained period.

Ordu Yardimlasma Kurumu (OYAK)

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

- An upgrade of Turkiye's Country Ceiling assuming no deterioration
in the company's credit profile.

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

- Fitch-adjusted dividend interest coverage below 3x.

- Weakening in the credit quality of its portfolio.

- Fitch-adjusted loan-to-value ratio sustained above 50%.

- Decreased diversification of cash flow leading to increasing
dependency on a single asset.

Pegasus Hava Tasimaciligi A.S.

Factors that Could, Individually or Collectively, Lead to Positive
Rating Action/Upgrade on the LC IDR:

- Total adjusted net debt/EBITDAR falls below 3.0x and/or total
adjusted gross debt/EBITDAR falls below 3.5x on a sustained basis

Factors that Could, Individually or Collectively, Lead to Negative
Rating Action/Downgrade on the LC IDR:

- Total adjusted net debt/EBITDAR above 3.7x and/or total adjusted
gross debt/EBITDAR above 4.2x on a sustained basis

- FFO fixed-charge cover below 2.0x

Factors that Could, Individually or Collectively, Lead to Positive
Rating Action/Upgrade on the FC IDR:

- An upgrade of the LC IDR along with upgrade of the Country
Ceiling as Fitch is unlikely to have the company's FC IDR more than
two notches above the Country Ceiling

Factors that Could, Individually or Collectively, Lead to Negative
Rating Action/Downgrade on the FC IDR:

- A downgrade of Turkiye's Country Ceiling, especially associated
with weaker operating environment and drivers affecting external
tourism demand

- A downgrade of the LC IDR

Ronesans Gayrimenkul Yatirim A.S.

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

- A positive rating action is limited by Turkiye's Country Ceiling,
assuming the company's credit profile does not materially change.

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

- Further weakening of Turkish economic conditions and/or a further
significant depreciation in the Turkish lira.

- Net debt/EBITDA above 11.5x over a sustained period.

- Reduced headroom in secured debt covenants leading to a breach of
covenants.

- Failure to address refinancing risk ahead of debt maturities,
including clarifying the expected currency, interest rate and tenor
of refinanced debt.

Turk Hava Yollari Anonim Ortakligi (Turkish Airlines or THY)

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

- An upgrade of Turkiye's sovereign rating and Country Ceiling
would be positive for THY's IDRs. A revision of the Outlook on
Turkiye's sovereign rating would be replicated on THY.

- FFO adjusted gross leverage and EBITDAR leverage below 3.5x, FFO
fixed charge over 2.5x, all on a sustained basis could lead to an
upward revision of the SCP.

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

- A downgrade of Turkiye's sovereign rating and Country Ceiling.

- Tighter links with the government.

- FFO gross adjusted leverage and EBITDAR leverage above 4.5x, FFO
fixed-charge cover below 2x, all on a sustained basis may lead to a
downward revision of the SCP.

Turk Telekomunikasyon A.S. (TT)

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

- Positive rating action on Turkiye, would lead to a corresponding
action on TT, provided TT's SCP is at the same level or higher than
the sovereign rating, and the links between the government and TT
remain strong.

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

- FFO net leverage above 5x on a sustained basis (equivalent to net
debt/EBITDA of 5x).

- Material deterioration in pre-dividend FCF margin, or in the
regulatory or operating environments.

- Negative action on Turkiye's Country Ceiling or Long-Term LC IDRs
could lead to a corresponding action on TT's Long-Term FC or LC
IDRs, respectively.

- Sustained increase in foreign-exchange mismatch between TT's net
debt and cash flows.

- Excessive reliance on short-term funding, without adequate
liquidity over the next 12-18 months.

Turkcell Iletisim Hizmetleri A.S (Tcell)

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

- An upgrade of Turkiye's Country Ceiling, assuming no change in
Tcell's underlying credit quality.

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

- FFO net leverage above 5x on a sustained basis (equivalent to net
debt/EBITDA of 5x).

- Material deterioration in pre-dividend FCF margin, or in the
regulatory or operating environments.

- Sustained increase in foreign-exchange mismatch between net debt
and cash flows.

- A downgrade of Turkiye's Country Ceiling.

- Excessive reliance on short-term funding, without adequate
liquidity over the next 12-18 months.

Turkiye Sise ve Cam Fabrikalari AS (Sisecam)

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

- An upgrade of Turkiye's Country Ceiling assuming no deterioration
in the company's credit profile

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

- A downgrade of Turkiye's Country Ceiling.

- FFO margin below 8%.

- FFO net leverage above 4.5x on a sustained basis.

Ulker Biskuvi Sanayi A.S.

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

- An upgrade of Turkiye's Country Ceiling, assuming maintenance of
FFO net leverage and EBITDA net leverage consistently below 5x and
4.5x, respectively, supported by stabilisation of the Turkish lira
and a consistent financial and cash-management policy.

- Stable market share in Turkiye or internationally.

- Neutral to positive FCF on a consistent basis.

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

- Deteriorated liquidity position with inability to repay or
refinance debt maturing in 2023.

- FFO and EBITDA net leverage remaining above 6x and 5.5x,
respectively, due to M&A, investments in high-risk securities or
related party deals leading to large cash leakage outside Ulker's
scope of consolidation.

- Increased competition or consumers trading down, eroding Ulker's
market share in Turkiye or internationally.

- FCF remaining permanently negative.

- Downgrade of Turkiye's Country Ceiling to below 'B'.

For the sovereign rating of Turkiye, Fitch outlined the following
sensitivities in its rating action commentary of 8 September 2023:

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

- Macro: A return to unconventional policy mix or an incomplete
policy rebalancing that increases macroeconomic and financial
stability risks, for example, an inflation exchange-rate
depreciation spiral, weaker depositor confidence and/or increased
vulnerabilities in banks' balance sheets.

- External Finances: Increased balance of payments pressures,
including sustained reduction in international reserves, for
example, due to reduced access to external financing for the
sovereign or the private sector and/or sustained widening of the
current account deficit.

- Structural Features: Serious deterioration of the domestic
political or security situation or international relations that
severely affects the economy and external finances.

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

- Macro: Greater confidence in the sustainability of the current
policy normalisation and rebalancing process resulting in improved
macroeconomic stability, including a sustained reduction in
inflation.

- External Financing: A reduction in external vulnerabilities, for
example, due to sustained narrowing of the current account deficit,
increased capital inflows, improvements in the level and
composition of international reserves and reduced dollarisation.

LIQUIDITY AND DEBT STRUCTURE

See relevant RACs for each issuer.

ISSUER PROFILE

See relevant RACs for each issuer.

SUMMARY OF FINANCIAL ADJUSTMENTS

See relevant RACs for each issuer.

PUBLIC RATINGS WITH CREDIT LINKAGE TO OTHER RATINGS

See relevant RACs for each issuer.

ESG CONSIDERATIONS

Ulker has an ESG Relevance Score of '4' for group structure due to
the complexity of the structure of the wider Yildiz group and
material related-party transactions. This has a negative impact on
the credit profile, and is relevant to the rating in conjunction
with other factors.

Unless otherwise disclosed in this section, the highest level of
ESG credit relevance is a score of '3'. This means ESG issues are
credit neutral or have only a minimal credit impact on the entity,
either due to their nature or the way in which they are being
managed by the entity. Fitch's ESG Relevance Scores are not inputs
in the rating process; they are an observation on the relevance and
materiality of ESG factors in the rating decision.

   Entity/Debt             Rating            Recovery   Prior
   -----------             ------            --------   -----
Emlak Konut
Gayrimenkul
Yatirim Ortakligi
A.S.               LT IDR    B      Affirmed               B
                   LC LT IDR B      Affirmed               B
                   Natl LT   AA(tur)Affirmed           AA(tur)

Turk
Telekomunikasyon
A.S.               LT IDR    B      Affirmed               B
                   LC LT IDR B      Affirmed               B
                   Natl LT   AAA(tur)Affirmed         AAA(tur)

   senior
   unsecured       LT        B      Affirmed    RR4        B

Turkiye Sise ve
Cam Fabrikalari  
AS                 LT IDR    B      Affirmed               B

   senior
   unsecured       LT        B      Affirmed    RR4        B

Ronesans
Gayrimenkul
Yatirim A.S.       LT IDR    B      Affirmed               B

   senior
   unsecured       LT        B      Affirmed    RR4        B

Turkcell
Iletisim
Hizmetleri A.S     LT IDR    B      Affirmed               B

                   Natl LT   AAA(tur)Affirmed         AAA(tur)

   senior
   unsecured       LT        B      Affirmed    RR4        B

Pegasus Hava
Tasimaciligi A.S.  LT IDR    BB-    Affirmed              BB-
                   LC LT IDR BB-    Affirmed              BB-
                   Natl LT   AAA(tur)Affirmed         AAA(tur)

   senior
   unsecured       LT        BB-    Affirmed    RR4       BB-

Ulker Biskuvi
Sanayi A.S.        LT IDR    B      Affirmed               B

   senior
   unsecured       LT        B      Affirmed    RR4        B

Arcelik A.S.       LT IDR    BB-    Affirmed              BB-
                   LC LT IDR BB+    Affirmed              BB+
                   Natl LT   AAA(tur)Affirmed         AAA(tur)

   senior
   unsecured       LT        BB-    Affirmed    RR4       BB-

Ordu
Yardimlasma
Kurumu (Oyak)      LT IDR    B      Affirmed               B

Aydem
Yenilenebilir
Enerji Anonim
Sirketi            LT IDR    B      Affirmed               B

   senior secured  LT        B      Affirmed    RR4        B

Turk Hava
Yollari Anonim
Ortakligi
(Turkish Airlines) LT IDR    B+     Affirmed               B+

                   LC LT IDR B+     Affirmed               B+




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

ALPHA TOPCO: Moody's Raises CFR to Ba2 & Alters Outlook to Stable
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Moody's Investors Service has upgraded the corporate family rating
of Alpha Topco Limited (Formula One or the company) to Ba2 from Ba3
and upgraded the company's probability of default rating to Ba2-PD
from Ba3-PD. The outlook has been changed to stable from positive.

Moody's decision to upgrade the CFR to Ba2 with a stable outlook is
driven by (1) Formula One's (F1) exceptionally strong revenue
growth prospects in the second half of 2023 led by the launch of
the Las Vegas Grand Prix (GP) in November, with at least mid-single
revenue digit growth expected in 2024 and steady growth thereafter;
(2) improvement in Moody's adjusted gross leverage for the last
twelve months ending June 30, 2023 to 3.6x down from 3.9x as of
year-end 2022, with further de-leveraging expected over the rest of
2023 and 2024.

"Moody's expect F1's Moody's adjusted gross leverage to rapidly
reduce to 3.0x by the end of 2023 primarily driven by the strong
EBITDA growth in the second half of the year. The company benefits
from strong revenue visibility underpinned by new contract wins as
well as contract renewals with promoters, broadcasters and sponsors
and the expansion of the race calendar in 2024 from 22 to 24 races,
which should support further improvement in F1's credit metrics
over the next 12-18 months", says Gunjan Dixit, Vice President –
Senior Credit Officer and lead analyst of F1.

RATINGS RATIONALE

After growing by 20% in 2022, F1's revenues remained stable at
USD1.1 billion in the first six months ending June 30, 2023
compared to the same period last year, albeit with one less race
having taken place year to date, following the cancellation of the
Emilia Romagna Grand Prix (Imola) after severe flooding in the
Italian region.  The lost revenues were only partly offset by cost
savings, as cancellation immediately prior to the start of the
event meant nearly all costs had already been incurred. Affected by
the direct economics of the lost Imola race and recognition of a
smaller proportion of season based revenues with one less event
having taken place, F1's reported EBITDA (company adjusted) saw a
modest year-on-year decline of 1% for the six months ending June
30, 2023. With it also not being possible to include the Chinese
Grand Prix (Shanghai) on the 2023 calendar, as assurances could not
be given that the government would not cancel the race due to
COVID-related issues, the 2023 season will now consist of 22 races,
as in 2022.  The already-published calendar for 2024 features a 24
race season, with both Imola and China included.

Nevertheless, for 2023, Moody's currently expects F1 to achieve
revenues of USD3.3 billion and signaling strong growth of just
under 30% over 2022 underpinned by the new Las Vegas GP scheduled
for November 2023, with the event on track to deliver USD500
million in revenue. The ticket sales for the Las Vegas event are
seeing strong demand, with a significant proportion of total
inventory already sold and attendance of 100,000 expected per day.

In the first half of 2023, F1 has renewed contracts for 3 races in
Azerbaijan (to 2026), Austria (to 2030) and Hungary (to 2032). With
these renewals, 20 races are now contracted to 2025 and beyond,
whilst 8 races are contracted to 2030 and beyond. The company has
also successfully renewed and secured new contracts with
broadcasters and sponsors, leaving no major contracts up for
renewal before 2025, except for TV rights' contracts in Spain and
the Middle East, and the sponsorship contract with DHL.

For 2024, Moody's expects F1's revenues to continue to grow, albeit
at a lower rate of at least mid-single digit, driven by the fully
contracted 24-race calendar.

F1's reported EBITDA margin has also incrementally improved to 24%
in 2022 (compared to 23% in 2021) and will continue to remain
strong in 2023/24, supported by the favorable 2021 Concorde Prize
Fund mechanism that results in accelerated adjusted EBITDA margin
growth, as the Prize Fund as a percentage of Pre-Team EBITDA will
fall as Pre-Team EBITDA increases.

In 2022, F1 generated strong Moody's-adjusted free cash flow/ debt
of 23% but this ratio is expected to deteriorate in 2023. Before
dividends, Moody's expects the company to generate FCF/Debt of
around 14%, impacted by (1) higher than usual capex  incorporating
some investment in Las Vegas GP and costs of completing a major 2
year refurbishment of F1's Motorsport & Technology Centre, from
where much of its broadcast production activities take place, (2) a
large negative working capital movement driven by advanced receipts
in 2022 of early 2023 season race fees.  However, the USD300
million dividend upstreamed to Liberty Media Corporation (LMC) in
July 2023 will consume F1's free cash flow meaningfully. Moody's
understands that this dividend is one-off in nature. Moody's
currently expects F1 to generate robust free cash flow in 2024 and
beyond assuming no material future dividends to shareholders.

In the context of expected strengthening of financial metrics, the
company's financial policy is an important factor in Moody's
assessment. F1 does not have a recently stated leverage target that
corresponds with the rapid deleveraging that it is on track to
achieve. Moody's rating of F1 is based on the expectation that
going forward the company's leverage will remain substantially
below the previously stated maximum target of 5.0x net leverage set
by its ultimate shareholder, LMC.  Following the one-off dividend
upstream in 2023, Moody's understands that LMC has no current
intention to re-lever the F1 balance sheet with material
shareholder distributions in the next 12-18 months.

LIQUIDITY

F1's liquidity profile is strong. As of June 30, 2023, the company
had a strong cash balance of USD1.06 billion on balance sheet,
which is expected to fall to around USD750 million by year-end 2023
following the USD300 million dividend upstream to F1 Group in July
2023. The company also has access to an undrawn committed USD500
million revolving credit facility and Moody's expects the company
to generate strong cash flows over the next 12-18 months.

It has no material debt maturities until 2028 and 2030 when the
outstanding balance of Term Loan A  and Term Loan B mature,
respectively. In addition, a further USD 434 million of cash and
cash equivalents as well as USD148 million of marketable securities
was held at the Formula One Group, a tracking stock group of LMC,
as of June 30, 2023, which although outside the restricted group,
could provide further sources of liquidity if required.

OUTLOOK

The stable outlook reflects Moody's expectations that the company
continues to grow revenues and EBITDA in line with its business
plan as well as race viewership and attendances to remain robust.

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

The ratings could be upgraded if (1) the company's Moody's-adjusted
debt/EBITDA falls to around or below 2.5x, with Moody's-adjusted
free cash flow (after capex and dividends) /debt sustainably above
10%, whilst maintaining solid liquidity; (2) the company
articulates a tighter financial policy in the light of the material
de-leveraging achieved; and (3) the renewal of the Concorde
agreement for 2026 is made on overall favourable terms for F1.

The ratings could be downgraded if the company's Moody's-adjusted
debt/EBITDA increases sustainably above 4.0x and Moody's-adjusted
free cash flow weakens meaningfully.

PRINCIPAL METHODOLOGY

The principal methodology used in these ratings was Business and
Consumer Services published in November 2021.

COMPANY PROFILE

Alpha Topco Limited - through its holding companies Delta Debtco
Limited and Delta Topco Limited – is controlled by Liberty Media
Corporation. Delta Topco is the top holding company for the group
of companies that exploit the commercial rights to the FIA Formula
One World Championship. In 2022, Delta Topco generated revenue of
around USD2.6 billion.


AVON FINANCE 4: Fitch Gives Final CCC Rating on Class X Notes
-------------------------------------------------------------
Fitch Ratings has assigned Avon Finance No. 4 PLC final ratings.

   Entity/Debt                Rating           
   -----------                ------           
Avon Finance
No.4 PLC

   Class A XS2683120211   LT AAAsf  New Rating
   Class B XS2683133891   LT AAsf   New Rating
   Class C XS2683152339   LT A+sf   New Rating
   Class D XS2683170158   LT BBB+sf New Rating
   Class E XS2683196468   LT BBsf   New Rating
   Class F XS2683221324   LT CCCsf  New Rating
   Class G XS2683222728   LT CCsf   New Rating
   Class X XS2683225663   LT CCCsf  New Rating
   Class Z XS2683223379   LT NRsf   New Rating

TRANSACTION SUMMARY

Avon Finance No.4 PLC is a securitisation of UK owner-occupied (OO)
and buy-to-let (BTL) loans originated by GMAC and Platform Home
Loans mainly between 2005 and 2008. The loans were previously
securitised under the Avon Finance No.2 PLC transaction.

KEY RATING DRIVERS

Seasoned Non-prime Loans: The portfolio consists of seasoned loans,
originated primarily between 2005 and 2008. The OO loans (76.2% of
the pool) contain a high proportion of self-certified,
interest-only, county court judgements and restructured loan
arrangements. Consequently, Fitch applied its non-conforming
assumptions to the sub-pool.

When setting the originator adjustment for the portfolio, Fitch
considered factors including the historical performance of the
pool. This resulted in an originator adjustment of 1.0x for the OO
sub-pool and 1.5x for the BTL sub-pool.

Reserves Mitigate Payment Interruption: The transaction features a
liquidity reserve sized at 0.5% of the closing balance of the class
A and B notes. The target amount is the lower of 0.5% of class A
and B notes at closing or 1% of the class A and B notes'
outstanding balance. The general reserve is sized at 0.75% of the
portfolio balance and amortises at this percentage.

If the general reserve is drawn below 0.6% of the current portfolio
balance, the liquidity reserve will step up to a dynamic target of
1.5% of the current class A and B notes' balance. The reserve
step-up provides protection to payment interruption risk while the
general reserve provides credit enhancement (CE).

Rental Income Not Provided: Rental income figures for the pool were
not provided to Fitch for its asset analysis. Fitch has assumed the
minimum permissible rental income for the BTL loans based on the
originators' lending criteria at the time of origination, using
conservative assumptions for the interest rate assessment.

Restructured Loans: Fitch considers 22.4% of the pool to have
undergone a restructuring arrangement. This includes a conversion
to IO, a term extension or a concession. Fitch does not consider an
arrangement to pay as a restructure for the purpose of its
restructuring adjustment.

Weak Representations and Warranties Framework: The seller provides
the majority of representations and warranties Fitch expects in a
UK RMBS transaction, but many are qualified by awareness on the
part of Barclays' securitised products team. In addition, the
seller is only provided with financing to remedy warranty breaches
in the first two years after closing up to a maximum of GBP1.2
million.

Fitch considers this framework weak in comparison with typical UK
RMBS, but the seasoning of the assets and the fact that there have
been no warranty breaches in Avon Finance No.2, makes the
likelihood of the issuer suffering a material loss sufficiently
remote.

RATING SENSITIVITIES

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

The transaction's performance may be affected by changes in market
conditions and the economic environment. Weakening economic
performance is strongly correlated to increasing levels of
delinquencies and defaults that could reduce the CE available to
the notes. In addition, unexpected declines in recoveries could
result in lower net proceeds, which may make certain notes
susceptible to negative rating action depending on the extent of
the decline in recoveries.

Fitch conducts sensitivity analyses by stressing a transaction's
base-case weighted average foreclosure frequency (WAFF) and
weighted average recovery rate (WARR) assumptions. For example, a
15% WAFF increase and 15% WARR decrease would result in
model-implied downgrades of up to three notches for the class A and
B notes, four notches for the class C and D notes and five notches
for the class E notes. The class F, G and X notes are already
assigned distressed ratings.

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

Stable to improved asset performance driven by stable delinquencies
and defaults would lead to increasing CE levels and potential
upgrades. Fitch tested an additional rating sensitivity scenario by
applying a decrease in the WAFF of 15% and an increase in the WARR
of 15%, implying upgrades of up to two notches for the class B
notes, three notches for the class D notes and five notches for the
class E notes. The class A notes are already at the maximum rating
and there is no implied rating increase for the class C, F, G or X
notes.

DATA ADEQUACY

Fitch reviewed the results of a third-party assessment conducted on
the asset portfolio information as of 2020 for static fields, and
as of 2023 for dynamic fields. Fitch concluded that there were no
findings that affected the ratings analysis.

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.

ESG CONSIDERATIONS

Avon Finance No.4 PLC has an ESG Relevance Score of '4' for
Customer Welfare - Fair Messaging, Privacy & Data Security due to
the high proportion of interest-only loans in legacy OO mortgages,
which has a negative impact on the credit profile, and is relevant
to the ratings in conjunction with other factors.

Avon Finance No.4 PLC has an ESG Relevance Score of '4' for Human
Rights, Community Relations, Access & Affordability due to a large
proportion of the pool containing OO loans advanced with limited
affordability checks, which has a negative impact on the credit
profile, and is relevant to the ratings in conjunction with other
factors.

The highest level of ESG credit relevance is a score of '3', unless
otherwise disclosed in this section. A score of '3' 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. Fitch's ESG Relevance Scores are not
inputs in the rating process; they are an observation on the
relevance and materiality of ESG factors in the rating decision.


BROSS BAGELS: Unlikely to Pay GBP970,000 Owed to Creditors
----------------------------------------------------------
Stephen Rafferty at The Edinburgh Reporter reports that
self-proclaimed bagel queen Larah Bross cut and run from her
failing business leaving behind creditors who are due -- and
unlikely to recover -- GBP970,000, according to the initial report
of the interim liquidators.

The largest loser is the UK taxpayer with HM Revenue & Customs
(HMRC) due an estimated GBP635,000 by Bross Bagels Ltd and it is
unlikely there will be sufficient funds to pay the debt, The
Edinburgh Reporter relays, citing liquidators Alistair McAlinden
and Blair Nimmo of Interpath.

Brazen Larah Bross continues to trade in the four Edinburgh Bross
Bagels units after she arranged the sale -- for just GBP18,000 --
of the kitchen equipment, stock, bagels, consumables, and
intellectual property of Bross Bagels to her newly registered
business Hot Mama Bagels Ltd just days before the liquidator was
appointed, The Edinburgh Reporter discloses.

According to The Edinburgh Reporter, the Interim Liquidators'
Report states that their key areas of focus are: "further
investigation of the circumstances leading to the insolvency and
transactions preceding the appointment of the Joint Interim
Liquidators, including the sale to HMB -- reporting on the conduct
of the directors to the Insolvency Service."


BUCKINGHAM GROUP: Main Plant Supplier Continues to Trade
--------------------------------------------------------
Grant Prior at Construction Enquirer reports that the main plant
supplier to Buckingham Group Contracting is still trading
profitably despite the contractor's collapse.

Buckingham Group Contracting went into administration earlier this
month amid fears that suppliers could be owed more than GBP100
million, the Enquirer recounts.

Administrator Grant Thornton has confirmed to the Enquirer that
Buckingham Plant Hire is a separate business and not part of the
administration process.

Latest results for Buckingham Plant Hire show the firm made a
pre-tax profit of GBP2.7 million in 2021 from a turnover of GBP24.3
million, the Enquirer discloses.

The company's main customer was Buckingham Group Contracting and it
is understood that Buckingham Plant Hire is a creditor owed up to
GBP3 million in unpaid hire fees, the Enquirer notes.


DUBLIN BAY 2018-MA1: DBRS Confirms BB(low) Rating on Z1 Notes
-------------------------------------------------------------
DBRS Ratings GmbH confirmed its ratings on the bonds issued by
Dublin Bay Securities 2018-MA1 DAC (the Issuer) as follows:

-- Class A1 at AAA (sf)
-- Class A2A at AAA (sf)
-- Class A2B at AAA (sf)
-- Class S at AAA (sf)
-- Class B at AA (sf)
-- Class C at A (high) (sf)
-- Class D at A (sf)
-- Class E at BBB (high) (sf)
-- Class F at BB (high) (sf)
-- Class Z1 at BB (low) (sf)

DBRS Morningstar also removed the ratings of the rated notes from
Under Review with Negative Implications (UR-Neg.), where they were
placed on June 9, 2023.

The ratings for Classes A1 through S address the timely payment of
interest and ultimate payment of principal by the final legal
maturity date in September 2053. The ratings for the other classes
of notes address the ultimate payment of interest and principal by
the final legal maturity date. The Class B notes were tested for
timely payment of interest once it becomes the most senior class of
notes in this transaction.

The rating actions are the result of the review of the transaction
following DBRS Morningstar's finalization of its "European RMBS
Insight: Irish Addendum" (the Methodology) and corresponding
European RMBS Insight Model (the Model) on June 5, 2023, and the
end of the review period for the transaction, which began on June
9, 2023.

The Methodology presents the criteria for which Irish residential
mortgage-backed securities (RMBS) ratings, and, where relevant,
Irish covered bonds ratings, are assigned and/or monitored. The
Methodology superseded DBRS Morningstar's "Irish Residential
Mortgage Addendum" to its "Master European Residential
Mortgage-Backed Securities Rating Methodology and Jurisdictional
Addenda" published on November 28, 2022, and introduced a new
proprietary credit model to forecast the expected default rates and
losses for portfolios of Irish residential mortgages. The Model
combines a loan scoring approach (LSA) and dynamic delinquency
migration matrices (DMM) to calculate loan-level defaults and
losses. The LSA and DMM were developed using jurisdictional
specific data on loans, borrowers, and collateral types. In
addition, the Model uses a house price approach to generate market
value decline assumptions.

Along with the material changes introduced in the Methodology, the
credit rating actions are based on the following analytical
considerations:

-- Portfolio performance, in terms of delinquencies, defaults, and
losses, as of the June 2023 payment date;

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

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

The Issuer is a bankruptcy-remote special-purpose vehicle (SPV)
incorporated in the Republic of Ireland (Ireland). The Issuer used
the proceeds of the notes to fund the purchase of Irish residential
mortgage loans originated by Bank of Scotland plc (Bank of
Scotland) and secured by properties in Ireland. In September 2018,
the Bank of Scotland sold the mortgage portfolio to Erimon Home
Loans Ireland Limited, a bankruptcy-remote SPV wholly owned by
Barclays Bank PLC. Pepper Finance Corporation acts as the servicer
of the mortgage portfolio during the life of the transaction, while
CSC Capital Markets (Ireland) Limited acts as the replacement
servicer facilitator.

PORTFOLIO PERFORMANCE

As of June 2023, loans two to three months in arrears represented
0.9% of the outstanding portfolio balance, up from 0.3% in
September 2022. The 90+ days delinquency ratio increased to 6.8%
from 4.3% during the same period, and the cumulative default and
loss ratios each remained at 0.0%.

PORTFOLIO ASSUMPTIONS AND KEY DRIVERS

DBRS Morningstar conducted a loan-by-loan analysis of the remaining
pool of receivables and updated its base-case PD and LGD
assumptions to 12.5% and 13.7%, respectively. The increase of the
base-case PD assumptions is driven by the new Irish RMBS Insight
model, which applies an additional penalty on all loans originated
before 2010. The transaction is mostly composed of such loans.

CREDIT ENHANCEMENT

As of June 2023, credit enhancement for the Class A1, Class A2A,
and Class A2B notes was 26.9%, up from 20.8% in September 2022. In
the same period, the credit enhancements for the Class B, Class C,
Class D, Class E, Class F, and Class Z1 notes were 22.2%, 19.1%,
15.4%, 12.9%, 10.4%, and 9.6%, respectively, up from 16.6%, 13.8%,
10.6%, 8.4%, 6.2%, and 5.5%, respectively. The material increases
in credit enhancement from prior year are driven by the switch to
sequential amortization of the notes from pro rata amortization,
upon the occurrence of the sequential amortization trigger event.

The Class S notes are excess spread notes (i.e., they are not
collateralized and do not have any credit enhancement). The Class S
notes are redeemed under the pre-enforcement revenue priority of
payments, but principal receipts can be used to cure shortfalls in
the required payments for the Class S notes.

The protected amortization reserve fund of EUR 8.0 million provided
credit and liquidity support to the Class A2A and Class A2B notes
under the pro rata amortization scenario, to ensure that the
scheduled payments are met. It was fully released after the
occurrence of the sequential amortization trigger event.

The transaction also benefits from a liquidity reserve fund of EUR
2.4 million, which is available to provide liquidity support to the
senior fee and interest payments on the Class A and Class S notes.

Citibank, N.A., London Branch (Citibank) is the Issuer Account
Bank, Paying Agent, and Cash Manager. Based on DBRS Morningstar's
private rating on Citibank, the downgrade provisions outlined in
the transaction documents, and other mitigating factors inherent in
the transaction structure, DBRS Morningstar considers the risk
arising from the exposure to Citibank to be consistent with the
ratings assigned to the notes, as described in DBRS Morningstar's
"Legal Criteria for European Structured Finance Transactions"
methodology.

The ratings on the Class E, Class F, and Class Z1 notes materially
deviate from the higher ratings implied by the quantitative model.
DBRS Morningstar considers a material deviation to be a rating
difference of three or more notches between the assigned rating and
the rating implied by a quantitative model that is a substantial
component of a rating methodology; in this case, the ratings also
reflect qualitative factors that are not precisely captured in the
quantitative model. The Class E, Class F, and Class Z1 notes are
the most junior tranches in the transaction and, as a result, will
be more exposed to any potential performance deterioration.

DBRS Morningstar's credit ratings on the Class A1, Class A2A, Class
A2B, Class S, Class B, Class C, Class D, Class E, Class F, and
Class Z1 notes address the credit risk associated with the
identified financial obligations in accordance with the relevant
transaction documents.

DBRS Morningstar's credit ratings on the Class A1, Class A2A, Class
A2B, Class S, Class B, Class C, Class D, Class E, Class F, and
Class Z1 also addresses the credit risk associated with the
increased rate of interest applicable to the rated notes if the
rated notes are not redeemed on the Optional Redemption Date (as
defined in and) in accordance with the applicable transaction
documents.

DBRS Morningstar's credit ratings do not address nonpayment risk
associated with contractual payment obligations contemplated in the
applicable transaction documents that are not financial
obligations.

DBRS Morningstar's long-term credit ratings provide opinions on
risk of default. DBRS Morningstar considers risk of default to be
the risk that an issuer will fail to satisfy the financial
obligations in accordance with the terms under which a long-term
obligation has been issued.

Notes: All figures are in euros unless otherwise noted.


GRIFONAS FINANCE 1: Moody's Ups Rating on EUR28.5MM C Notes to B1
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Moody's Investors Service has upgraded the ratings of three notes
in Grifonas Finance No. 1 Plc. The rating action reflects:

-- the decrease in country risk as reflected by the increase of
the related Greece local currency country ceiling on September 15,
2023. For additional information on the sovereign action, please
refer to the related rating action published on September 15, 2023:
Moody's upgrades Greece's ratings to Ba1, outlook stable.

-- the increased levels of credit enhancement for the affected
notes,

-- better than expected collateral performance.

Grifonas Finance No. 1 Plc

EUR897.7M Class A Notes, Upgraded to A1 (sf); previously on Nov
10, 2020 Upgraded to Baa1 (sf)

EUR23.8M Class B Notes, Upgraded to Ba2 (sf); previously on Nov
10, 2020 Upgraded to B1 (sf)

EUR28.5M Class C Notes, Upgraded to B1 (sf); previously on Nov 10,
2020 Upgraded to Caa1 (sf)

RATINGS RATIONALE

The rating action is prompted by:

-- the increase in the Greece local-currency country ceiling to
A1,

-- an increase in credit enhancement for the affected tranches,

-- decreased key collateral assumptions, namely the portfolio
Expected Loss (EL) and MILAN CE assumptions due to better than
expected collateral performance.

Decreased Country Risk

Greece's sovereign rating was upgraded to Ba1 on September 15, 2023
which resulted in an increase in the local-currency country ceiling
to A1.

Greece's country ceiling, and therefore the maximum rating that
Moody's can assign to a domestic Greek issuer under its
methodologies, including structured finance transactions backed by
Greek receivables, is A1 (sf). The decrease in sovereign risk is
reflected in Moody's quantitative analysis for mezzanine and junior
tranches. Moody's Individual Loan Analysis Credit Enhancement
(MILAN CE) represents the required credit enhancement under the
senior tranche for it to achieve the country ceiling. By increasing
the maximum achievable rating for a given portfolio credit
enhancement, the methodology alters the loss distribution curve and
implies lower probability of high loss scenarios.

Increase in Available Credit Enhancement

Sequential amortization and a non-amortizing reserve fund led to
the increase in the credit enhancement available in this
transaction.

For instance, the credit enhancement for the most senior tranche
affected by the rating action increased to 36.63% from 24.07% since
the last rating action.

Revision of Key Collateral Assumptions

As part of the rating action, Moody's reassessed its lifetime loss
expectation for the portfolio reflecting the collateral performance
to date.

The performance of the transaction has stabilised since last rating
action. 60 days plus arrears currently stand at 1.06% of current
pool balance compared to 1.38% as of August 2020. Cumulative
defaults currently stand at 5.10% of original pool balance up from
4.29% as of August 2020.

Moody's decreased the expected loss assumption to 4.20% as a
percentage of current pool balance from 6.24% due to the
stabilising performance. The revised expected loss assumption
corresponds to 4.25% as a percentage of original pool balance.

With regards to the credit support consistent with target rating
levels and the volatility of future losses, Moody's has decreased
the MILAN CE assumption to 20%.

The principal methodology used in these ratings was "Moody's
Approach to Rating RMBS Using the MILAN Framework" published in
July 2023.

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

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

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

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


PHARMASERVE: Kroll Completes Part-Sale of Business to Noveayr
-------------------------------------------------------------
Kroll, the leading independent provider of global risk and
financial advisory solutions, has completed the successful
part-sale of Pharmaserve (North West) Limited to Noveayr
Respiratory Services Limited.  Fifty-eight members of staff were
transferred as part of the transaction.  Pharmaserve was part of a
larger group which is unaffected by this process.

Established in 2007 as a contract development and manufacturing
organisation with a focus on respiratory products and applications,
the MHRA regulated Company had a customer base extending around the
globe.

Jimmy Saunders and Michael Lennon were appointed as Joint
Administrators of the Company on 13 September 2023 following an
extensive sale process. The Company's contract development business
and certain assets were sold to Noveayr Respiratory Services
Limited immediately upon appointment.

Jimmy Saunders, Managing Director, Kroll: "We are pleased to have
been able to agree a partial sale of the business with such a
longstanding heritage and reputation in the industry. The sale has
ensured that 58 jobs from a skilled workforce are protected and
will remain in the region. We wish the team at Noveayr all the best
for the future."

                        About Kroll

As the leading independent provider of risk and financial advisory
solutions, Kroll leverages its unique insights, data and technology
to help clients stay ahead of complex demands.  Kroll's team of
more than 6,500 professionals worldwide continues the firm's nearly
100-year history of trusted expertise spanning risk, governance,
transactions and valuation.


PITCH FOODS: Enters Into Creditor's Voluntary Liquidation
---------------------------------------------------------
Patrick Barlow at The Argus reports that MasterChef winner Kenny
Tutt's restaurant business has gone into liquidation owing more
than GBP1 million.

Pitch and Bayside Social in Worthing both folded in recent months
with employees at Pitch saying they were owed a month's wages.

A statement of affairs filed by Pitch Foods Ltd, the business
behind the restaurants, confirmed that employees were owed a total
of GBP35,689.37.

The statement shows that Pitch has less than GBP18,000 available to
pay the debt.

Pitch Foods Ltd is being wound up in a creditor's voluntary
liquidation.  Overall the company has an estimated total deficiency
of GBP1,055,249.06.

Pitch, in Warwick Street, and Bayside Social, in Beach Parade, were
closed within months of each other with the former MasterChef
winner citing the "current economic struggles".


RMAC 3 PLC: Fitch Gives Bsf Final Rating on F Notes, Outlook Stable
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Fitch Ratings has assigned RMAC No. 3 PLC (RMAC3) final ratings.

   Entity/Debt                Rating                 Prior
   -----------                ------                 -----
RMAC No.3 PLC

   Class A XS2666572693   LT AAAsf New Rating   AAA(EXP)sf
   Class B XS2666572776   LT AAsf  New Rating    AA(EXP)sf
   Class C XS2666572933   LT A+sf  New Rating     A(EXP)sf
   Class D XS2666573071   LT Asf   New Rating   BBB(EXP)sf
   Class E XS2666573154   LT BB+sf New Rating   BB-(EXP)sf
   Class F XS2666573238   LT Bsf   New Rating    B-(EXP)sf
   Class Z1 XS2666573584  LT NRsf  New Rating    NR(EXP)sf
   Class Z2 XS2666573667  LT NRsf  New Rating    NR(EXP)sf

TRANSACTION SUMMARY

RMAC3 is a securitisation of UK owner-occupied (OO) and buy-to-let
(BTL) loans originated by GMAC (now Paratus AMC) mainly between
2004 and 2005. The loans were previously securitised under the RMAC
No.1 and RMAC No.2 transactions, not rated by Fitch.

KEY RATING DRIVERS

Seasoned Non-Prime Loans: The portfolio consists of seasoned loans,
originated primarily between 2004 and 2005. The OO loans (89.7% of
the pool) contain a high proportion of self-certified,
interest-only, county court judgements and restructured loan
arrangements. Fitch therefore applied its non-conforming
assumptions to the OO sub-pool.

When setting the originator adjustment for the portfolio, Fitch
considered factors including the historical performance of the
pool. This resulted in an originator adjustment of 1.0x for the OO
sub-pool and 1.5x for the BTL sub-pool.

Low-margin Loans, Short Remaining Term: The asset pool consists
predominantly (93.1%) of low-margin (with a weighted average (WA)
margin of 1.9%) floating-rate assets that track the Bank of England
base rate (BBR). The majority of the loans are bullet loans,
predominantly maturing between 2028 and 2030. The pool's WA
remaining term to maturity is 5.6 years, the shortest among
comparable peer transactions.

Reserves Provide Credit, Liquidity Support: The non-amortising
general reserve was sized at a static 1.5% of the class A to Z1
closing balance, for which the liquidity reserve fund is sized at
1.5% of the outstanding balance of the class A and B notes. As the
liquidity portion decreases, in line with amortisation of the class
A and B notes, the portion that can be used to cover for losses
increases, contributing to the available credit enhancement for the
rated notes.

Limited Excess Spread, Principal Drawings: Given the WA margin on
the notes and senior costs, and the low-yielding assets, limited
excess spread will be available. Rated notes need to meet timely
interest payments when they become the most senior outstanding.
Principal funds are available to cover interest payments on the
class A and B notes (subject to principal deficiency ledger (PDL)
conditions) or the most senior notes outstanding, creating a debit
on the PDL of the unrated class Z1 notes, with funds to clear it in
many, but not all its stressed scenarios.

Unhedged Basis Risk: As the notes pay daily compounded SONIA, the
transaction will be exposed to basis risk between BBR and SONIA.
Fitch stressed the transaction's cash flows for basis risk, in line
with its criteria. Combined with the low asset margins, this
resulted in limited to no excess spread in Fitch's cash flow
analysis, depending on the stress scenarios modelled.

RATING SENSITIVITIES

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

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

Additionally, unanticipated declines in recoveries could result in
lower net proceeds, which may make certain notes susceptible to
negative rating action depending on the extent of the decline in
recoveries. Fitch found that a 15% increase in the WA foreclosure
frequencies (FF) and 15% decrease in the WA recovery rate (RR)
would result in downgrades of up to two categories for all rated
notes.

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

Stable to improved asset performance driven by stable delinquencies
and defaults would lead to increasing credit enhancement and
potentially upgrades. A decrease in the WAFF of 15% and an increase
in the WARR of 15% would result in upgrades of up to two notches
for the class B notes, one notch for the class D notes, six notches
for the class E notes and five notches for class F notes, with no
change for the class C notes.

DATA ADEQUACY

RMAC No.3 PLC

Fitch reviewed the results of a third party assessment conducted on
the asset portfolio information, and concluded that there were no
findings that affected the rating analysis.

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.

ESG CONSIDERATIONS

RMAC3 has an ESG Relevance Score of '4' for 'Customer Welfare -
Fair Messaging, Privacy & Data Security' due to legacy origination
practices that include loans advanced with limited affordability
checks, which has a negative impact on the credit profile and is
relevant to the ratings in conjunction with other factors.

RMAC3 has an ESG Relevance Score of '4' for 'Human Rights,
Community Relations, Access & Affordability' due to legacy
originations with a high concentration of interest-only loans,
which has a negative impact on the credit profile and is relevant
to the ratings in conjunction with other factors.

Unless otherwise disclosed in this section, the highest level of
ESG credit relevance is a score of '3'. This means ESG issues are
credit neutral or have only a minimal credit impact on the entity,
either due to their nature or the way in which they are being
managed by the entity. Fitch's ESG Relevance Scores are not inputs
in the rating process; they are an observation of the materiality
and relevance of ESG factors in the rating decision.

TURBO FINANCE 9: Moody's Hikes Rating on GBP14.6MM E Notes to Ba1
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Moody's Investors Service has upgraded the ratings of three Notes
in Turbo Finance 9 plc. The rating action reflects better than
expected collateral performance and the increased levels of credit
enhancement for the affected Notes.

Moody's affirmed the ratings of the Notes that had sufficient
credit enhancement to maintain their current ratings.

GBP493.3M Class A Notes, Affirmed Aaa (sf); previously on Nov 16,
2022 Affirmed Aaa (sf)

GBP26.3M Class B Notes, Affirmed Aaa (sf); previously on Nov 16,
2022 Upgraded to Aaa (sf)

GBP29.2M Class C Notes, Upgraded to Aa2 (sf); previously on Nov
16, 2022 Upgraded to Aa3 (sf)

GBP11.7M Class D Notes, Upgraded to A2 (sf); previously on Nov 16,
2022 Upgraded to Baa1 (sf)

GBP14.6M Class E Notes, Upgraded to Ba1 (sf); previously on Nov
16, 2022 Affirmed Ba2 (sf)

Turbo Finance 9 plc is cash securitisation of auto lease
receivables extended by MotoNovo Finance Limited. The portfolio
consists of hire purchase (HP) and personal contract purchase (PCP)
agreements extended to mainly private obligors in the UK.

RATINGS RATIONALE

The rating action is prompted by decreased key collateral
assumptions, namely the portfolio default probability assumption,
due to better than expected collateral performance and an increase
in credit enhancement for the affected tranches.

Revision of Key Collateral Assumptions

As part of the rating action, Moody's reassessed its default
probability and recovery rate assumptions for the portfolio
reflecting the collateral performance to date.

The performance of the transaction has continued to be stable since
the last rating action. Total delinquencies have slightly
increased, with 60 days plus arrears currently standing at 0.48% of
current pool balance up from 0.40% at the time of the last rating
action. Cumulative defaults currently stand at 0.75% of original
pool balance up from 0.60% at the time of the last rating action.

The current default probability assumption is 4% of the current
portfolio balance, which translates into a decrease of the default
probability assumption on original balance to 1.62% from 2.35%.
Moody's maintained the assumption for the fixed recovery rate at
40% and the portfolio credit enhancement at 16%.

Increase in Available Credit Enhancement

Sequential amortization led to the increase in the credit
enhancement available in this transaction.

For instance, the credit enhancement for the Class C Notes, the
Class D Notes and the Class E Notes increased to 28.3%, 19.7% and
8.7% from 14.0%, 9.7% and 4.3%, respectively, since the last rating
action.

Moody's considered how the liquidity available in the transaction
and other mitigants support continuity of Note payments in case of
servicer default. Only Class A and B Notes benefit from the cash
reserve. The rating of the Class C Notes is constrained by
operational risk due to lack of liquidity coverage.

The principal methodology used in these ratings was "Moody's Global
Approach to Rating Auto Loan- and Lease-Backed ABS" published in
November 2022.

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

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

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


WILKO LTD: PwC to Review Dividends Paid Out to Wilkinson Family
---------------------------------------------------------------
Georgia Wright at Retail Gazette reports that Wilko's
administrators PwC are set to grill majority shareholder Lisa
Wilkinson on the distribution of GBP77 million in dividends to
investors during the decade leading up to the discount retailer's
demise.

This inquiry comes amid growing demands for the Wilkinson family to
address a GBP56 million deficit in the pension funds of the
company's employees, Retail Gazette notes.

The Times reports that PwC will hold a review into the dividends
paid out to the Wilkinson family and the retailer's other directors
as part of a broad investigation into company transactions in the
years building up to its administration last month, Retail Gazette
relates.

According to the title, the administrators have already kicked off
the process of gathering information from the company's directors,
including Wilkinson, Retail Gazette states.

They plan to conduct interviews and scrutinize bank statements to
investigate the factors contributing to the collapse and determine
whether any legal actions should be pursued, Retail Gazette
discloses.

The family have faced backlash for paying GBP77 million to
themselves and former shareholders in the ten years before the
retailer fell into administration, Retail Gazette recounts.

This includes a GBP3 million dividend last year, which was paid
despite Wilko reporting losses of GBP39 million, while GBP3.2
million was also paid out in 2018 when the discounter recorded a
GBP65 million loss, Retail Gazette notes.

Wilkinson had previously justified the payouts made during the
period of financial losses, citing the company's GBP100 million in
assets and a robust bank balance of GBP58 million, Retail Gazette
discloses.

According to Retail Gazette, pension experts have said its likely
that the scheme will now enter an assessment process for the
Pension Protection Fund (PPF), and during that period, the trustees
will continue to pay pensioners.




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

[*] BOOK REVIEW: The First Junk Bond
------------------------------------
Author: Harlan D. Platt
Publisher: Beard Books
Softcover: 236 pages
List Price: $34.95
http://www.beardbooks.com/beardbooks/the_first_junk_bond.html

Only one in ten failed businesses is equal to the task of
reorganizing itself and satisfying its prior debts in some fashion.
This engrossing book follows the extraordinary journey of Texas
International, Inc. (known by its New York Stock Exchange stock
symbol, TEI), through its corporate growth and decline, debt
exchange offers, and corporate renaissance as Phoenix Resource
Companies, Inc. As Harlan Platt puts it, TEI "flourished for a
brief luminous moment but then crashed to earth and was consumed."
TEI's story features attention-grabbing characters, petroleum
exploration innovations, financial innovations, and lots of risk
taking.

The First Junk Bond was originally published in 1994 and received
solidly favorable reviews. The then-managing director of High Yield
Securities Research and Economics for Merrill Lynch said that the
book "is a richly detailed case study. Platt integrates corporate
history, industry fundamentals, financial analysis and bankruptcy
law on a scale that has rarely, if ever, been attempted." A retired
U.S. Bankruptcy Court judge noted, "[i]t should appeal as
supplementary reading to students in both business schools and law
schools. Even those who practice.in the areas of business law,
accounting and investments can obtain a greater understanding and
perspective of their professional expertise."

"TEI's saga is noteworthy because of the company's resilience and
ingenuity in coping with the changing environment of the 1980s, its
execution of innovative corporate strategies that were widely
imitated and its extraordinary trading history," says the author.
TEI issued the first junk bond. In 1986 it achieved the largest
percentage gain on the NYSE, and in 1987 suffered the largest
percentage loss. It issued one of the first bonds secured by a
physical commodity and then later issued one of the first PIK
(payment in kind) bonds. It was one of the first vulture investors,
to be targeted by vulture investors later on. Its president was
involved in an insider trading scandal. It innovated strip
financing. It engaged in several workouts to sell off operations
and raise cash to reduce debt. It completed three exchange offers
that converted debt in to equity.

In 1977, TEI, primarily an oil production outfit, had had a
reprieve from bankruptcy through Michael Milken's first ever junk
bond. The fresh capital had allowed TEI to acquire a controlling
interest of Phoenix Resources Company, a part of King Resources
Company. TEI purchased creditors' claims against King that were
subsequently converted into stock under the terms of King's
reorganization plan. Only two years later, cash deficiencies forced
Phoenix to sell off its non-energy businesses. Vulture investors
tried to buy up outstanding TEI stock. TEI sold off its own
non-energy businesses, and focused on oil and gas exploration. An
enormous oil discovery in Egypt made the future look grand. The
value of TEI stock soared. Somehow, however, less than two years
later, TEI was in bankruptcy. What a ride!

All told, the book has 63 tables and 32 figures on all aspects of
TEI's rise, fall, and renaissance. Businesspeople will find
especially absorbing the details of how the company's bankruptcy
filing affected various stakeholders, the bankruptcy negotiation
process, and the alternative post-bankruptcy financial structures
that were considered. Those interested in the oil and gas industry
will find the book a primer on the subject, with an appendix
devoted to exploration and drilling, and another on oil and gas
accounting.

Dr. Harlan D. Platt is a professor of Finance at D'Amore-McKim
School of Business at Northeastern University. He is a member of
the Board of Directors of Millennium Chemicals Inc. and is on the
advisory board of the Millennium Liquidating Trust. He served as
the Associate Editor-Finance for the Journal of Business Research.
He received a Ph.D. from the University of Michigan, and holds a
B.A. degree from Northwestern University.

This book may be ordered by calling 888-563-4573 or by visiting
www.beardbooks.com or through your favorite Internet or local
bookseller.



                           *********


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

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

Copyright 2023.  All rights reserved.  ISSN 1529-2754.

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

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

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


                * * * End of Transmission * * *