/raid1/www/Hosts/bankrupt/TCREUR_Public/190628.mbx        T R O U B L E D   C O M P A N Y   R E P O R T E R

                          E U R O P E

          Friday, June 28, 2019, Vol. 20, No. 129

                           Headlines



C Y P R U S

GEOPROMINING INVESTMENT: Fitch Assigns Final 'B+' IDR


G E O R G I A

TBC BANK: Fitch Gives  'B-(EXP)' Rating to New AT1 Notes


G E R M A N Y

COMMERZBANK AG: Moody's Rates $500MM Add'l Tier 1 Debt 'Ba3(hyb)'
COMMERZBANK AG: S&P Rates New Additional Tier 1 Notes 'BB'
LOEWE: To Halt Operations on July 1 Due to Lack of Funds
STEINHOFF INT'L: Seeks to Claw Back ZAR850MM From Ex-CEO


I R E L A N D

WEATHERFORD INT'L: Egan-Jones Lowers Sr. Unsecured Ratings to CC


I T A L Y

SIENA PMI 2016: Fitch Rates EUR248.5MM Class D Notes 'CCCsf'


K A Z A K H S T A N

AMANAT: Fitch Affirms 'BB+(kaz)' Insurer Financial Strength Rating
KAZAKH AGRARIAN: S&P Affirms 'BB/B' ICRs, Outlook Stable


M O N A C O

DYNAGAS LNG: Says Conditions for Going Concern Doubt Still Present


N E T H E R L A N D S

JUBILEE CLO 2015-XVI: Moody's Affirms EUR13MM Class F Notes at B2


P O L A N D

EPP NV: Moody's Withdraws Ba1 CFR for Business Reasons
KORPORACJA BUDOWLANA: Withdraws Bankruptcy Application


R U S S I A

SOLLERS-FINANCE LLC: Fitch Alters Outlook on BB- Rating to Positive


S P A I N

CAIXABANK LEASINGS 3: Moody's Rates EUR256.2M Series B Notes 'B1'
TDA IBERCAJA 3: S&P Affirms 'BB+' Rating on Class C Notes


S W I T Z E R L A N D

SCHMOLZ + BICKENBACH: Moody's Alters Outlook on B2 CFR to Negative


U N I T E D   K I N G D O M

BATHSTORE: Difficult Trading Conditions Prompt Administration
RED'S TRUE BARBECUE: Bought Out of Administration, 200 Jobs Saved
SILVER ARROW 10: Fitch Gives 'BB+(EXP)' Rating on Class D Notes
SPRINGER NATURE: S&P Hikes ICR to 'B+' on Improving Credit Metrics
TESCO PLC: Moody's Withdraws Ba1 CFR

[*] UK: Northern Ireland Sees Spike in Business Insolvencies


X X X X X X X X

[*] BOOK REVIEW: AS WE FORGIVE OUR DEBTORS

                           - - - - -


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GEOPROMINING INVESTMENT: Fitch Assigns Final 'B+' IDR
-----------------------------------------------------
Fitch Ratings has assigned GeoProMining Investment Limited a final
'B+' Issuer Default Rating following the successful placement of
USD300 million senior unsecured notes. The Outlook is Stable.

Fitch has also assigned wholly-owned subsidiary Karlou B.V.'s 7.75%
USD300 million senior unsecured notes due in June 2024 a 'B+'
senior unsecured rating and a 'RR4' Recovery Rating. GeoProMining
intends to use the total notes proceeds to improve its capital
structure by redeeming all of its existing debt and bolster its
cash position.

The senior unsecured notes benefit from guarantees from
GeoProMining Investment (CYP) Limited and all of its operating
subsidiaries. The notes are unsubordinated and unsecured
obligations of the issuer and shall at all times rank pari passu
with present and future unsecured and unsubordinated creditors.

The senior unsecured notes' covenants allow GeoProMining to incur
additional debt not exceeding net debt to EBITDA up to 3x, 7.5% of
the consolidated total assets as defined in the notes documentation
as well as a restriction on incurring any other debt exceeding
USD25 million. A further covenant restricts the payout of
consolidated net income to 50% starting from January 1, 2019.

KEY RATING DRIVERS

The rating reflects GeoProMining's comparatively small scale of
operations (2018 gold production: 148Koz), with the majority of
gold production (87% in 2018) coming from a single mine in Armenia
(Zod). The overall production of the group for all metals in gold
equivalent amounted to 243Koz in 2018. The rating also takes into
account the group's medium to high cost position; concentration of
activities in Russia and Armenia, countries with high risk relative
to mining operations; technological expertise in operating the
Albion technology, resulting in improved gold recovery;
satisfactory product diversification in copper, antimony,
molybdenum, silver and future inclusion of lead and zinc from the
Verkhne-Menkeche project; and a satisfactory long mine life of
15-18 years.

Fitch. forecasts the company's credit profile will remain unchanged
in 2019-2021, with funds from operations (FFO) adjusted gross
leverage near 3.5x, and decreasing below 2.5x from 2022 when
Verkhne-Menkeche production ramps up, which is commensurate with a
high 'B' category rating.

The Stable Outlook reflects its view that Fitch does not expect any
material improvement in GeoProMining's credit profile over the
rating horizon. However, Fitch incorporates in its forecasts the
successful implementation of the company's expansionary strategy at
Verkhne-Menkeche site from 2022.

GeoProMining is a small Russian gold producer with assets in
Armenia and Russia. The company's main gold producing asset is GPM
gold in Armenia (around 60% of total revenue), consisting of Zod
and a recovery processing plant (Ararat). The group also produces
copper and molybdenum at the Agarak mine and a concentrating mill
in Armenia (16% of total revenue). The remaining assets are
concentrated in Eastern Russia and include the Sentachan and
Sarylakh mines and associated concentrating mills, both producing
antimony (16% of total revenue) and some gold. The company has been
developing a new zinc, silver and lead mine (Verkhne-Menkeche) in
the same region. Fitch expects the project to add USD70 million to
the group's EBITDA by 2022 and diversify the company's geographical
dependence on Armenia.

Small Scale but Satisfactory Diversification: With USD117 million
of EBITDA and 148Koz of gold output in 2018, Fitch assess the
group's size of operations as small, compared with Fitch-rated
peers such as Nordgold (BB, 900Koz) or Polyus Gold (BB, 2,440Koz).
Despite satisfactory product diversification the scale of
operations constrains the rating at 'B+'.

GeoProMining is an important player on the global antimony market,
controlling up to 10% of global antimony resources and with high
quality reserves. The antimony segment showed a strong 64% profit
margin in 2018 compared with the company's average of 56% due to
the high grade of the mine's reserves and the presence of gold as a
by-product.

Albion Technology Improves Productivity: The successful
implementation of the gold enrichment Albion technology, which
combines ultrafine grinding and oxidative leaching under
atmospheric pressure, has more than doubled gold recovery rates
since 2014. At present, the Albion technology is used at the Ararat
gold recovery plant processing gold from the Zod mine, covering
most of the company's gold production, and about 60% of its
revenue. The company has acquired significant technology expertise,
and is the first gold miner to utilise this processing technique.

Medium to High Cash Cost Position: The group's main asset, GPM
Gold, sits between the second and the third quartile of the gold
cash cost curve. This position is supported by high-grade reserves
at its GPM Gold site (3.7 g/t), largely above industry averages. As
of end-2018 GPM Gold's total cash cost amounted to USD653/oz,
versus USD712/oz for Nord Gold (BB) and USD786/oz for Petropavlovsk
(CCC).

The group does not provide a cash cost breakdown per metal for its
other assets. Agarak's EBITDA margin was 32% in 2018, versus 58% at
the Sakha segment, which includes Sarylakh and Sentachan, and 69%
at Verkhne-Menkeche (sale of the ore in FY18). Fitch views the
group's overall cash cost position as second to third quartile. The
long life of its mines, with 18 years at GPM Gold and approximately
15 years at both Sarylakh-Surma and Sentachan and the operational
improvements derived from the use of the Albion technology bolster
the group's operational profile.

Consistent Organic Growth: GeoProMining's growth has been largely
driven by the development and rehabilitation of assets. Fitch
expects management to continue focusing on the optimisation of its
existing assets and the development of new ones. In particular, the
group is currently implementing increases in production capacity at
its Ararat (GPM Gold site) and Agarak concentrating mills in
Armenia, as well as launching a new concentrating mill near its
Sentachan site in Russia in 4Q19. These projects would increase
throughput and improve logistics. However, Fitch expects these
projects to have a moderate impact on the group's cash flow
generation.

From 2021, the group will start producing silver (currently a
by-product at GPM Gold), lead and zinc from its Verkhne-Menkeche
site, after completion of a processing facility. Production from
this mine is expected to significantly scale up the company's total
output and improve GeoProMining's product diversification, adding
nearly USD100 million revenues by 2022.

Financial Profile Commensurate With Rating: Fitch expects the
group's revenue to remain at around USD300 million in 2019-2020 and
to increase to USD350 million in 2021 and to USD440 million in 2022
after Verkhne-Menkeche production ramps up. It forecasts EBITDA
margin to average 36% in the next four years.

DERIVATION SUMMARY

GeoPromining's 'B+' rating reflects an operating profile situated
in between Petropavlovsk's and Nord Gold SE. While it is smaller
than its 'B' rated peers, execution risk is lower and its financial
structure and liquidity are strong compared with 'B' rated peers.
Its cost position and reserve life are comparable to Nord Gold SE.
GeoProMining's small scale and dependence on a single mine
constrain its rating to the 'B' category.

KEY ASSUMPTIONS

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

  - Fitch mid-cycle commodity price assumptions for gold, copper
and zinc

  - EBITDA to average 36% over the rating horizon

  - Production in line with management, 20% and 10% haircut applied
to Verkhne-Menkeche output in 2021-2022

  - Capital expenditures of USD56 million in 2019 and USD50 million
in 2020

RATING SENSITIVITIES

Developments That May, Individually or Collectively, Lead to
Positive Rating Action

An upgrade is unlikely without significant improvement in scale

Developments That May, Individually or Collectively, Lead to
Negative Rating Action

  - FFO adjusted leverage sustained above 3.5x

  - Commencement of material dividend payments

  - Inability to sustain positive free cash flow

LIQUIDITY AND DEBT STRUCTURE

Adequate Liquidity: Fitch expects most of the proceeds from the
USD300 million Eurobond to be directed to the repayment of the
outstanding financial debt, which was USD254 million at end-2018.
The outstanding prepayment facility will be repaid by the end of
the year. Fitch projects a cash balance of USD57 million at
end-2019, including USD14 million of cash generation from 2019. No
debt maturities are scheduled before 2024.

Fitch also expects the business profile to continue generating free
cash flow (FCF) of USD10 million to USD20 million per year, until
the launch of Verkhne-Menkeche, when Fitch expects FCF to triple.
In Fitch's view, the resilience of the operating profile will allow
GeoProMining to maintain levels of FFO adjusted leverage below 3.5x
in 2019-2021, and significantly reduce to around 2.2x in 2022

SUMMARY OF FINANCIAL ADJUSTMENTS

Fitch adjusted the total amount of debt as of December 2018 by
including the USD12.5 million prepayment received from VTB
capital.




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TBC BANK: Fitch Gives  'B-(EXP)' Rating to New AT1 Notes
--------------------------------------------------------
Fitch Ratings has assigned JSC TBC Bank's upcoming issue of
USD-denominated perpetual additional Tier 1 (AT1) notes an expected
long-term rating of 'B-(EXP)'. The final rating is contingent upon
receipt of final documents conforming to information already
received.

The expected rating is three notches below the bank's 'bb-'
Viability Rating (VR). According to Fitch's Bank Rating Criteria
(Criteria), this is the highest possible rating that can be
assigned to deeply subordinated notes with fully discretionary
coupon omission issued by banks with a VR anchor of 'bb-'. The
notching reflects the notes' higher loss severity in light of their
deep subordination and additional non-performance risk relative to
the VR given a high write-down trigger and fully discretionary
coupons.

KEY RATING DRIVERS

The notes are perpetual, deeply subordinated, fixed-rate resettable
AT1 debt securities, which are expected to qualify as regulatory
AT1 capital. The notes have a fully discretional coupon omission
feature and are subject to partial or full write-down if TBC's core
equity tier 1 (CET1) ratio falls below 5.125% (versus 4.5%
regulatory minimum, excluding buffers), or in case of regulatory
interventions by the National Bank of Georgia (NBG). Fitch believes
the latter is only possible if TBC breaches minimum regulatory
capital or liquidity requirements, or local regulation in any other
form. This is currently not expected by Fitch, given a Stable
Outlook on TBC's 'BB-' Long-Term Issuer Default Ratings.

Fitch expects the coupon omission to occur before the bank breaches
the notes' 5.125% CET1 trigger, most probably if TBC's capital
ratios fall below minimum capital requirements, including buffers,
established by the NBG. This risk is somewhat mitigated by TBC's
reasonable internal capital generation capacity and the bank's
intention to maintain the combined capital ratios at least 100bp
higher than the minimum required levels.

TBC's regulatory core tier 1 and tier 1 ratios were 13.4% and
13.8%, respectively, at end-1Q19 compared with the statutory
minimums (with Pillar 1 and 2 buffers) of 9.8% and 11.9%,
respectively. TBC's regulatory total capital ratio was 19.1% at
end-1Q19 versus a 16.9% minimum requirement (with buffers).
Moderate headroom over the minimum capital requirements at end-1Q19
is somewhat undermined by planned dividend distribution equal to
25% of net income for 2018 (0.85% of end-1Q19 risk-weighted
assets).

The notes have no established redemption date. However, TBC has an
option to repay the notes after the first coupon reset date (in
2024) and on every subsequent interest payment date, subject to
NBG's approval.

RATING SENSITIVITIES

Fitch may widen the rating notching if non-performance risk
increases. For example, this could arise from TBC failing to
maintain reasonable headroom over the minimum capital adequacy
ratios (including the buffers) or from the instrument becoming
non-performing, i.e. if the bank cancels any coupon payment or at
least partially writes off the principal. In that case, the issue
will be downgraded based on Fitch's expectations about the form and
duration of non-performance.

Upside for the notes is limited as per Fitch's criteria the minimum
notching of deeply subordinated instruments will increase up to
four notches, should the VR be upgraded to 'bb' from 'bb-'.




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COMMERZBANK AG: Moody's Rates $500MM Add'l Tier 1 Debt 'Ba3(hyb)'
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Moody's Investors Service has assigned a Ba2(hyb) rating to the
expected USD500 million low-trigger Additional Tier 1 (AT1)
securities ("Undated Non-Cumulative Fixed to Reset Rate Additional
Tier 1 Notes of 2019 ") to be issued by Commerzbank AG.

Moody's said that Commerzbank's existing ratings and rating inputs
are unaffected by the rating action.

RATINGS RATIONALE

The Ba2(hyb) rating assigned to Commerzbank's "low trigger"
Additional Tier 1 (AT1) securities, or "contractually non-viability
preferred securities", takes into account the instrument's undated
deeply subordinated claim in liquidation, as well as the security's
non-cumulative coupon deferral features, and is positioned three
notches below Commerzbank's baa2 Adjusted Baseline Credit
Assessment (BCA).

According to Moody's framework for rating non-viability securities
under its bank rating methodology, the agency typically positions
the rating of low-trigger AT1 securities three notches below the
bank's Adjusted BCA. One notch reflects the high loss-given-failure
that these securities are likely to face in a resolution scenario,
owing to their deep subordination, relatively small volume and
limited protection from residual equity. Moody's rating for
non-viability securities also incorporates two additional notches
to reflect the higher risk associated with the non-cumulative
coupon skip mechanism, which could take effect prior to the issuer
reaching the point of non-viability.

The AT1 securities are senior only to Commerzbank's ordinary shares
and other capital instruments that qualify as Common Equity Tier 1
(CET1). The instrument's principal is subject to a write-down on a
contractual basis if Commerzbank's CET1 ratio falls below 5.125%.
Furthermore, a write-down or conversion into common equity could
occur if the bank's regulator or the relevant resolution authority
determine that the conditions for a write-down of the instrument
are fulfilled and resolution authorities order such a write-down.

RATING OUTLOOK

Ratings on AT1 instruments do not carry outlooks.

WHAT COULD CHANGE THE RATINGS UP / DOWN

The rating of this instrument could be upgraded in case of an
upgrade of Commerzbank's BCA.

Upward pressure on Commerzbank's BCA could be prompted by a
combination of (1) a significant and sustained improvement in its
risk-weighted capitalization and leverage ratio; (2) an improvement
in its asset quality, in particular if achieved through sustained
lower sector and geographical concentrations; (3) a persistent and
meaningful strengthening of the bank's profitability across
economic cycles; and (4) a material decrease in Commerzbank's
moderate reliance on wholesale funding sources, coupled with a
further buildup of high-quality liquid assets.

The rating could also be upgraded following a massive increase in
its volume of equal-ranking AT1 capital instruments, meaningfully
beyond Moody's current expectations and assumptions. This may lead
to an improved notching result under Moody's Advanced Loss Given
Failure analysis for this debt class.

Downward pressure on the instrument's ratings could be exerted as a
result of a downgrade of Commerzbank's BCA. Downward pressure on
Commerzbank's BCA could be exerted following: (1) a weakening of
the operating environment in Germany; (2) a large increase in
Commerzbank's dependence on confidence-sensitive market funding,
(3) a significant reduction in the volume of its liquid resources;
and (4) a significant deterioration of Commerzbank's solvency
profile, through a weakening of its asset quality and capital
adequacy metrics or materially weaker profitability.

Moody's may also consider a wider notching between Commerzbank's
Adjusted BCA and this instrument, if Commerzbank's capitalisation
and subsequently its available distributable items for instrument
coupon payments were to weaken beyond Moody's expectations.

LIST OF AFFECTED RATINGS

Issuer: Commerzbank AG

Assignment:

Preferred Stock non-cumulative rating (low-trigger AT1) of
Ba2(hyb)


COMMERZBANK AG: S&P Rates New Additional Tier 1 Notes 'BB'
----------------------------------------------------------
S&P Global Ratings said that it assigned its 'BB' long-term issue
rating to the proposed low-trigger additional Tier 1 (AT1)
perpetual capital notes to be issued by Commerzbank AG. The rating
is subject to S&P's review of the notes' final documentation. This
is the bank's first issuance of Basel III-compliant AT1 notes. It
has some legacy tier 1 notes in issuance that are subject to
regulatory grandfathering.

In accordance with S&P's criteria for hybrid capital instruments,
the 'BB' issue rating reflects its analysis of the proposed
instrument and its 'bbb+' assessment of the stand-alone credit
profile (SACP) of Commerzbank. The issue rating stands four notches
below the SACP due to the following deductions:

  -- One notch because the notes are contractually subordinated;

  -- Two notches reflecting the notes' discretionary coupon
payments and regulatory Tier 1 capital status; and

  -- One notch because the notes contain a contractual write-down
clause.

Although the principal is subject to write-down if the bank's
common equity Tier 1 (CET1) ratio falls below 5.125%, S&P sees this
as a gone-concern trigger that does not pose additional default
risk.

As an EU-domiciled bank, Commerzbank's AT1 instruments also face
coupon nonpayment risk if the bank has insufficient additional
distributable items (ADI), or if it breaches its capital
requirements--defined as the sum of the Pillar 1 and Pillar 2
requirements plus combined buffers--known as the minimum
distributable amount (MDA) thresholds.

S&P said, "We see Commerzbank's ADIs of EUR21 billion (under the
updated capital requirements regulation) as comfortable. Its MDA
thresholds in 2019 are CET1 of 10.1%, regulatory Tier 1 capital of
11.6%, and total capital of 13.6%, against which the bank reported
ratios of 12.7%, 13.2%, and 16.0% at end-March. We regard its
regulatory Tier 1 capital ratio headroom of only 1.5% as notable,
although this level is not unusual among European peers and should
be viewed also in the context of the bank's moderate but fairly
predictable earnings. We therefore do not constrain the issue
credit ratings on its deferrable instruments. However, we will
continue to monitor the bank's MDA headroom, not least because its
MDA thresholds could increase in 2020 when it fully phases in its
domestic systemically important bank buffer.

"Once Commerzbank has issued the securities and confirmed them as
part of the bank's regulatory Tier 1 capital base, we would expect
them to qualify as having intermediate equity content under our
criteria. This reflects our understanding that the notes are
perpetual, regulatory Tier 1 capital instruments that have no
step-up. The notes can absorb losses on a going-concern basis
through the nonpayment of coupons, which are fully discretionary."


LOEWE: To Halt Operations on July 1 Due to Lack of Funds
--------------------------------------------------------
Becky Roberts at What Hi Fi reports that German luxury TV
manufacturer Loewe will cease business operations on July 1 due to
insufficient funds.

According to What Hi Fi, German publication Spiegel Online reported
that Loewe was bankrupt and planning to shut down operations this
weekend.

"For reasons of insolvency law, we are therefore obligated to
protect our creditors to provisionally suspend operations on July
1, 2019, with the least possible cost burden," Loewe managing
director Ralf Vogt, as cited by What Hi Fi, as saying.

"The brand was pledged to the holding company Riverrock, which had
given loans to the Loewe owner," What Hi Fi quotes the solicitor
overseeing the insolvency proceedings, Ruediger Weiss, as saying.
But the 96-year-old company was denied a further EUR9 million
investment by the British investor, What Hi Fi states.

While Loewe supposedly had the financial means to last another six
months without finding an investor, according to Telecommpaper, it
seems it didn't want to struggle on, What Hi Fi notes.

Weiss said employees, of which there are approximately 400, had
been informed on the operational shutdown, What Hi Fi relays.

Loewe has been plagued by financial struggles of late, What Hi Fi
discloses.  In 2013, it was saved from the brink of bankruptcy by
Munich-based private equity firm Stargate Capital, What Hi Fi
recounts.

Having focused much of its efforts on luxury TVs -- including its
OLED bild range -- Loewe appears to have, unsurprisingly, lost out
to Far Eastern manufacturers who are offering similar technology at
more affordable prices, according to What Hi Fi.


STEINHOFF INT'L: Seeks to Claw Back ZAR850MM From Ex-CEO
--------------------------------------------------------
Janice Kew at Bloomberg News reports that Steinhoff International
Holdings NV is seeking more than ZAR850 million (US$59 million)
from former Chief Executive Officer Markus Jooste for his role in
the accounting crisis that triggered the global retailer's
near-collapse.

The owner of Poundland in the U.K. and Pep stores throughout Africa
is looking to claw back base salaries, bonuses and other incentives
paid to Mr. Jooste over several years from 2009, Bloomberg relays,
citing legal papers filed to the High Court in Cape Town.  Ex-Chief
Financial Officer Ben la Grange is being sued for about ZAR271
million as part of the same case, Bloomberg discloses.

According to Bloomberg, the lawsuit leaves little doubt that
Steinhoff's current management holds Mr. Jooste chiefly responsible
for the series of dubious third-party transactions and artificially
inflated asset values at the South African company.  The ex-CEO and
La Grange were among eight people named by Steinhoff in March as
being allegedly behind the irregular deals, which ultimately forced
it to restate years of financials, Bloomberg states.

The shares have collapsed by 97% since the crisis erupted in late
2017, while Steinhoff remains locked in talks with creditors about
the restructuring of US$12 billion of debt, Bloomberg notes.  The
company is being investigated by regulators and authorities around
the world, including South Africa's anti-graft police unit known as
the Hawks, Bloomberg relays.

According to Bloomberg, the court papers said the payment of
salaries and bonuses to Messrs. Jooste and La Grange was dependent
on "the sound and successful financial performance" of the
retailer.  Had the company been aware of all the facts, the
remuneration committee would not have recommended any payment, they
said.  Steinhoff was under the "reasonable, but mistaken, belief
that such base salaries were due," the documents, as cited by
Bloomberg, said.

As part of the more than ZAR850 million claim against Mr. Jooste,
Steinhoff is seeking about EUR2.1 million (US$2.4 million) in
bonuses that the ex-CEO received in 2017 without prior approvals,
Bloomberg states.

Steinhoff International Holdings NV is a South African
international retail holding company that is dual listed in
Germany. Steinhoff deals mainly in furniture and household goods,
and operates in Europe, Africa, Asia, the United States, Australia
and New Zealand.




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WEATHERFORD INT'L: Egan-Jones Lowers Sr. Unsecured Ratings to CC
----------------------------------------------------------------
Egan-Jones Ratings Company, on June 17, 2019, downgraded the
foreign currency and local currency senior unsecured ratings on
debt issued by Weatherford International PLC to CC from CCC+.

    About Weatherford

Weatherford (NYSE: WFT), an Irish public limited company and Swiss
tax resident -- http://www.weatherford.com-- is a multinational
oilfield service company providing innovative solutions, technology
and services to the oil and gas industry. The Company operates in
over 80 countries and has a network of approximately 650 locations,
including manufacturing, service, research and development and
training facilities and employs approximately 26,000 people.

Weatherford reported a net loss attributable to the company of
$2.81 billion for the year ended Dec. 31, 2018, compared to a net
loss attributable to the company of $2.81 billion for the year
ended Dec. 31, 2017.  As of Dec. 31, 2018, Weatherford had $6.60
billion in total assets, $10.26 billion in total liabilities, and
a total shareholders' deficiency of $3.66 billion.

Weatherford's credit ratings have been downgraded by multiple
credit rating agencies and these agencies could further downgrade
the Company's credit ratings.  On Dec. 24, 2018, S&P Global Ratings
downgraded the Company's senior unsecured notes to CCC- from CCC+,
with a negative outlook.  Weatherford's issuer credit rating was
lowered to CCC from B-.  On Dec. 20, 2018, Moody's Investors
Services downgraded the Company's credit rating on its senior
unsecured notes to Caa3 from Caa1 and its speculative grade
liquidity rating to SGL-4 from SGL-3, both with a negative outlook.
The Company said its non-investment grade status may limit its
ability to refinance its existing debt, could cause it to refinance
or issue debt with less favorable and more restrictive terms and
conditions, and could increase certain fees and interest rates of
its borrowings.  Suppliers and financial institutions may lower or
eliminate the level of credit provided through payment terms or
intraday funding when dealing with the Company thereby increasing
the need for higher levels of cash on hand, which would decrease
the Company's ability to repay debt balances, negatively affect its
cash flow and impact its access to the inventory and services
needed to operate its business.




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SIENA PMI 2016: Fitch Rates EUR248.5MM Class D Notes 'CCCsf'
------------------------------------------------------------
Fitch Ratings has assigned Siena PMI 2016 S.r.l.'s Series 2 notes
final ratings as follows:

EUR519.4 million Series 2 Class A1: 'AAsf'; Outlook Negative

EUR813 million Series 2 Class A2: 'AAsf'; Outlook Negative

EUR225.8 million Series 2 Class B: 'AA-sf'; Outlook Stable

EUR271 million Series 2 Class C: 'BB+sf'; Outlook Stable

EUR248.5 million Series 2 Class D: 'CCCsf'

EUR180.7 million Series 2 Class J: 'NRsf'

The transaction is a EUR2.3 billion static cash flow securitisation
of secured and unsecured loans granted to Italian small- and
medium-sized businesses (SMEs) by Banca di Monte dei Paschi di
Siena (BMPS;B/Stable/B).

KEY RATING DRIVERS

Positive Selection

Fitch determined an annual average probability of default of 5.5%
for the originator's loan book and 4.2% for the securitisation
portfolio, whose positive selection is mainly driven by eligibility
criteria that do not allow delinquent loans and loans with internal
ratings below a certain threshold.

Granular and Diversified Portfolio

The largest obligor group accounts for 0.6% of the pool balance,
whereas the 10-largest account for 3.9%. Fitch applied its large
obligor stress, as per its SME criteria, to obligor groups in
excess of 50bp, which include the largest obligor group only.
Industry concentration is limited, with the largest sector (real
estate) accounting for no more than 18.4% of the pool.

Long Recovery Lag

Fitch derived a recovery rate expectation of 58.2%; however, half
the recovery proceeds are assumed to be collected linearly over a
10-year lag, and five more years are assumed to be needed to
collect the remainder.

Interest Deferral

The class C and D notes can defer unpaid interest in accordance
with the notes terms and conditions, and Fitch has taken this into
account when conducting its cash flow tests.

Sovereign Cap

The class A1 and A2 notes are capped at 'AAsf', driven by sovereign
dependency, in accordance with Fitch's Structured Finance and
Covered Bonds Country Risk Rating Criteria. The Negative Outlook on
these tranches mirrors that on the Italian sovereign rating.

RATING SENSITIVITIES

Rating sensitivity to a combined stress of default probability and
recovery rate: Multiplier of 125% applied to the mean rating
default rate (RDR), with the increase in mean RDR added to all
other rating level RDRs; combined with recovery rate multiplier of
75% (ie 25% haircut) applied to rating recovery rate (RRR) for all
rating levels:

Class A1 and A2

Current Rating: 'AAsf'

125% x RDR and 75% x RRR: 'BB+sf'

Class B

Current Rating: 'AA-sf'

125% x RDR and 75% x RRR: 'CCCsf'

Class C

Current Rating: 'BB+sf'

125% x RDR and 75% x RRR: lower than 'CCCsf'

The class D notes' rating is already at the distressed level of
'CCCsf' but could be downgraded to 'CCsf' or 'Csf' if Fitch
determines its default to be inevitable based on the evolution of
the transaction.

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

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

DATA ADEQUACY

Fitch 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.

Fitch conducted a review of a small targeted sample of the
originator's origination files and found the information contained
in the reviewed files to be adequately consistent with the
originator's policies and practices and the other information
provided to the agency about the asset portfolio.

Overall, Fitch's assessment of the asset pool information relied
upon for the agency's rating analysis according to its applicable
rating methodologies indicates that it is adequately reliable.




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

AMANAT: Fitch Affirms 'BB+(kaz)' Insurer Financial Strength Rating
------------------------------------------------------------------
Fitch Ratings has affirmed Kazakhstan-based Joint Stock Company
AMANAT's Insurer Financial Strength Rating at 'B' and National IFS
Rating at 'BB+(kaz)'. The Outlooks are Stable.

KEY RATING DRIVERS

The ratings reflect AMANAT's weak business profile, negative
underwriting performance, and uncertainty over the success of the
company's new business strategy implementation, which Fitch views
as challenging. The ratings also reflect AMANAT's strong
risk-adjusted capital position but moderate regulatory capital
position and asset quality.

After a three-month suspension of the license for compulsory lines
in 2017, AMANAT reviewed its strategy and substantially reduced its
participation in commercial property and liability risks, which
required fronting reinsurance, and focused on the growth and
diversification of its net written premiums. Fitch believes that
improving the quality of AMANAT's insurance portfolio (on a net
basis) is challenging as the Kazakh insurance sector mainly
consists of captive commercial risks that are ceded abroad and a
nascent, highly competitive, compulsory motor third-party liability
(MTPL) insurance segment.

The new strategy led to a 33% decline in AMANAT's gross written
premiums (GWP) but a 17% increase in net written premiums (NWP) in
2018. The business mix has become somewhat less diversified with
the weight of MTPL and motor damage in GWP growing to 60% in 2018
from 46% in 2017. The combined ratio deteriorated to 115% from 105%
following a weakening across all key components, including loss,
commission and administrative expense ratios. This marked a return
to the five-year average combined ratio of 112% in 2013-2017.

The restructuring of the portfolio has continued so far in 2019
with the weight of MTPL in the insurer's GWP growing to 52% in 5M19
from 21% in 5M18 and 27% in 2018. AMANAT's MTPL portfolio grew much
faster than the rest of the local MTPL segment. Fitch understands
from management that this fast growth is partially due to AMANAT's
strengthening in the sale of cross-border MTPL policies, which are
associated with low loss ratios and high acquisition costs. As a
result, the insurer managed to improve the combined ratio to 102%
in 5M19 from 113% in 5M18. Fitch believes it might be difficult to
maintain the same improvement in the whole of 2019 due to
competitive pressure.

The recent tightening of the local insurance prudential regulations
from June 2019 have a less pronounced effect on AMANAT's prudential
metrics than other insurers as the company does not have a high
reliance on reinsurance for general third-party liability (GTPL)
and financial risks. Nevertheless, the insurer's available capital
under the regulatory solvency formula is still expected to be
impacted by the requirement to deduct tangible assets. The company
does not yet plan to request capital from shareholders to manage
its solvency margin.

AMANAT's risk-adjusted capital , as measured by Fitch's Prism
Factor-based model (Prism FBM), remained 'Strong' based on 2018
results, in line with 2017's. The score was supported by a series
of capital injections in 2017, which aimed to support the
regulatory solvency margin, calculated based on a Solvency-I like
formula. The margin was a moderate 121% at end-5M19 (end-2018:
144%), as the required capital was driven by a fixed minimum
guaranteed fund for non-life insurers rather than the volume of
premiums or claims experience. This means that the company can
increase its business volumes while keeping its target capital for
some time.

The credit quality of AMANAT's investment portfolio moderately
improved in 2018 as the share of investment-grade bonds grew to 53%
at end-2018 from 47% at end-2017 at the expense of lower-rated bank
deposits.

The insurer also maintains a very strong liquidity position with
Fitch-calculated liquid assets-to-net technical reserves ratio at
235% at end-2018 and a moderate exposure to FX securities with 33%
of investments denominated in US dollars.

RATING SENSITIVITIES

The ratings could be upgraded if AMANAT achieves a significantly
stronger underwriting performance and maintains the asset quality
of its investment portfolio.

The ratings could be downgraded if AMANAT breaches the prudential
requirements without being able to remedy it within a short
timeframe.


KAZAKH AGRARIAN: S&P Affirms 'BB/B' ICRs, Outlook Stable
--------------------------------------------------------
S&P Global Ratings affirmed its 'BB/B' long- and short-term issuer
credit ratings on Kazakh Agrarian Credit Corp. (KACC). The outlook
is stable.

S&P said, "We also affirmed our 'kzA+' Kazakhstan national scale
ratings on KACC.

"The rating affirmation reflects our view that KACC remains a
highly strategically important subsidiary of KazAgro Group, which
essentially implements and oversees key government programs in the
agricultural sector in Kazakhstan. KACC now contributes more than
50% of the group's total consolidated capital, and more than 30% of
the group's assets. KACC's role within the group is essentially to
provide financing to the agricultural sector, which remains one of
the key industries in Kazakhstan. KazAgro group is set to receive
Kazakh tenge (KZT)164 billion (about $440 million) from the
government over 2020-2021 and we expect that most of the funds will
be channeled to KACC in the form of long-term funding from the
parent at below-market-average interest rates." This also indicates
the high strategic importance of KACC for the whole group.

At the same time, the group is currently undergoing a
transformation and strategy review, leading to some uncertainties
regarding KACC's future development. S&P said, "Contrary to our
expectations, the privatization of the group's leasing arm, KazAgro
finance, sister company of KACC, was cancelled. We also see
slower-than-expected progress in KACC's planned re-focus of lending
activities from ultimate borrowers (agro-producers) to credit
unions, banks, leasing companies, and other financial institutions
that finance agriculture. We therefore believe that KACC is highly
strategically important, rather than core, to the group."

S&P said, "We see that KACC's loan book quality remains pressured
by its focus on the high-risk agricultural sector, with problem
loans (stage 3 loans under International Financial Reporting
Standards) staying high at 43% of the total loan book. Loan loss
provisions stood at only 32% of overall problem loans at the end of
2018, which is low, in our view. We also consider that KACC's
expansion plans, with loan book expansion at around 30% or more,
could lead to accumulation of risks. We have therefore revised our
assessment of KACC's risk position to weak from moderate, leading
to a revision of our assessment of the company's stand-alone credit
profile to 'b-' from 'b'.

"Although we expect that KACC will be supported by the parent's
funding, we still consider that projected balance sheet growth will
put additional pressure on the company's capital position. We
expect our risk-adjusted capital (RAC) ratio to fall to 13%-14%
over the next two years, compared with 19% at year-end 2018.
However, the company remains strongly capitalized, with the local
regulatory common equity Tier 1 ratio at 37.8% at year-end 2018,
well above the regulatory minimum of 6%.

"The company's business position benefits from higher consistency
around strategy than most of its domestic peers, and its special
policy role. We believe that KACC has limited ability to diversify
its funding sources, because it cannot attract retail or corporate
depositors, and has very limited track record in dealing with
international financial institutions. Therefore, we assess its
funding as below average. The company's liquidity is moderate, in
our view, due to the highly volatile nature of its cash buffers,
driven by high seasonality of credit demand in the agricultural
sector.

"The stable outlook reflects our view that KACC will maintain its
business focus within the next 12-18 months, and remain highly
strategically important for KazAgro group.

"We could raise the ratings over the next 12-18 months if we saw
that KazAgro group had finalized its new strategy, which would
indicate an increase in the importance of KACC's role within the
group, as a major vehicle for providing financial support to the
agricultural sector.

"We could take a negative rating action if we believed that KACC's
role within the group was diminishing, or the group itself had
become less important for the government. However, we consider this
scenario unlikely within our 12- to 18-month rating horizon."




===========
M O N A C O
===========

DYNAGAS LNG: Says Conditions for Going Concern Doubt Still Present
------------------------------------------------------------------
Dynagas LNG Partners LP filed its Form 6-K, disclosing a net income
of $1,892,000 on $31,403,000 of revenues for the three months ended
March 31, 2019, compared to a net income of $4,840,000 on
$33,904,000 of revenues for the same period in 2018.

At March 31, 2019, the Company had total assets of $1,057,953,000,
total liabilities of $735,075,000, and $322,878,000 in total
partners' equity.

The Company also disclosed, "As of December 31, 2018, we reported
that available cash and cash expected to be generated from
operating activities was not sufficient to repay the 2019 Notes,
which mature on October 30, 2019 and therefore, there was
substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going
concern."

The Company further stated that it continues to explore several
capital raising alternatives for the refinancing of the 2019 Notes
and for this purpose, it is in an advanced stage with potential
banks and lending sources for a potential financing transaction
which, among other things, may provide funding for the payment due
on the maturity date of the 2019 Notes, and/or Term Loan B, or a
combination of the foregoing.

The Company said, "Although we expect to finalize such financing
transaction, we have not yet agreed terms or entered into any
definitive binding documentation and the conditions for the
substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern
are present and continuing."

A copy of the Form 6-K is available at:

                       https://is.gd/GcCMfH

Dynagas LNG Partners LP, through its subsidiaries, operates in the
seaborne transportation industry worldwide. The company owns and
operates liquefied natural gas (LNG) carriers. Dynagas GP LLC
serves as the general partner of Dynagas LNG Partners LP. The
company was founded in 2013 and is headquartered in Monaco.




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

JUBILEE CLO 2015-XVI: Moody's Affirms EUR13MM Class F Notes at B2
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Moody's Investors Service has upgraded the ratings on the following
notes issued by Jubilee CLO 2015-XVI B.V. :

EUR19,000,000 Class B-1 Senior Secured Floating Rate Notes due
2029, Upgraded to Aa1 (sf); previously on Dec 15, 2017 Assigned Aa2
(sf)

EUR37,000,000 Class B-2 Senior Secured Fixed Rate Notes due 2029,
Upgraded to Aa1 (sf); previously on Dec 15, 2017 Assigned Aa2 (sf)

EUR25,000,000 Class C Deferrable Mezzanine Floating Rate Notes due
2029, Upgraded to A1 (sf); previously on Dec 15, 2017 Assigned A2
(sf)

EUR20,000,000 Class D Deferrable Mezzanine Floating Rate Notes due
2029, Upgraded to Baa1 (sf); previously on Dec 15, 2017 Assigned
Baa2 (sf)

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

EUR225,000,000 Class A-1 Senior Secured Floating Rate Notes due
2029, Affirmed Aaa (sf); previously on Dec 15, 2017 Assigned Aaa
(sf)

EUR5,000,000 Class A-2 Senior Secured Fixed Rate Notes due 2029,
Affirmed Aaa (sf); previously on Dec 15, 2017 Assigned Aaa (sf)

EUR25,600,000 Class E Deferrable Junior Floating Rate Notes due
2029, Affirmed Ba2 (sf); previously on Dec 15, 2017 Assigned Ba2
(sf)

EUR13,000,000 Class F Deferrable Junior Floating Rate Notes due
2029, Affirmed B2 (sf); previously on Dec 15, 2017 Affirmed B2
(sf)

Jubilee CLO 2015-XVI B.V., originally issued in December 2015 and
refinanced in December 2017, is a collateralized loan obligation
(CLO) backed by a portfolio of mostly European corporate leveraged
loans. The portfolio is managed by Alcentra Limited. The
transaction's reinvestment period ends in December 2019.

RATINGS RATIONALE

The rating actions on the notes are primarily a result of the
benefit of the shorter period of time remaining before the end of
the reinvestment period.

In light of reinvestment restrictions during the amortization
period, and therefore the limited ability to effect significant
changes to the current collateral pool, Moody's analysed the deal
assuming a higher likelihood that the collateral pool
characteristics would maintain an adequate buffer relative to
certain covenant requirements.

The key model inputs Moody's uses in its analysis, such as par,
weighted average rating factor, diversity score and the weighted
average recovery rate, are based on its published methodology and
could differ from the trustee's reported numbers. In its base case,
Moody's analysed the underlying collateral pool as having a
performing par and principal proceeds of EUR 396 million, defaulted
par of 1.9 million, a weighted average default probability of
22.41% (consistent with a WARF of 3286 over a weighted average life
of 4.8 years), a weighted average recovery rate upon default of
45.93% for a Aaa liability target rating, a diversity score of 44
and a weighted average spread of 3.63%.

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

Moody's notes that the June 2019 payment date report was published
at the time it was completing its analysis of the May 2019 data.
Key portfolio metrics such as WARF, diversity score, weighted
average spread and life, and OC ratios exhibit little or no change
between these dates.

Methodology Underlying the Rating Action:

The principal methodology used in these ratings was "Moody's Global
Approach to Rating Collateralized Loan Obligations" published in
March 2019.

Counterparty Exposure:

The rating action took into consideration the notes' exposure to
relevant counterparties, such as account bank and swap provider,
using the methodology "Moody's Approach to Assessing Counterparty
Risks in Structured Finance" published in January 2019. Moody's
concluded the ratings of the notes are not constrained by these
risks.

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

This transaction is subject to a high level of macroeconomic
uncertainty, which could negatively affect the ratings on the
notes, in light of uncertainty about credit conditions in the
general economy. CLO notes' performance may also be impacted either
positively or negatively by 1) the manager's investment strategy
and behavior and 2) divergence in the legal interpretation of CDO
documentation by different transactional parties because of
embedded ambiguities.

Additional uncertainty about performance is due to the following:

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

In addition to the quantitative factors that Moody's explicitly
modelled, qualitative factors are part of the rating committee's
considerations. These qualitative factors include the structural
protections in the transaction, its recent performance given the
market environment, the legal environment, specific documentation
features, the collateral manager's track record and the potential
for selection bias in the portfolio. All information available to
rating committees, including macroeconomic forecasts, input from
other Moody's analytical groups, market factors, and judgments
regarding the nature and severity of credit stress on the
transactions, can influence the final rating decision.




===========
P O L A N D
===========

EPP NV: Moody's Withdraws Ba1 CFR for Business Reasons
------------------------------------------------------
Moody's Investors Service has withdrawn EPP N.V.'s Ba1 Corporate
Family Rating. Concurrently Moody's has withdrawn the stable
outlook.

RATINGS RATIONALE

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

EPP N.V. is one of the top owners and managers of food, fashion and
entertainment anchored shopping centres in Poland. At  December 31,
2018, EPP owned 25 income producing properties with a value of more
than EUR2.2 billion, including 19 retail properties and 6 office
buildings. The retail properties represented around 86% of the
investment properties, which generated EUR143 net operating income
in 2018. Additionally EPP has 2 development projects amounting to
EUR430 million as at December 31, 2018, Galeria Mlociny (an 84,400
sqm flagship shopping centre in Warsaw opened in May 2019) and
Towarowa 22 (a 230,000 sqm mixed-use project in Warsaw with
construction expected to start between 2021 and 2022).


KORPORACJA BUDOWLANA: Withdraws Bankruptcy Application
------------------------------------------------------
Reuters reports that Korporacja Budowlana Dom SA said on June 26
the company has withdrawn its application for bankruptcy.

According to Reuters, the reason for the withdrawal is that the
company has started talks with creditors to solve the problem of
debt without the need of announcing its bankruptcy.

Korporacja Budowlana Dom SA, formerly Trion SA, is a Poland-based
holding company operating in the construction supplies and
construction engineering industries.




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

SOLLERS-FINANCE LLC: Fitch Alters Outlook on BB- Rating to Positive
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Fitch Ratings has affirmed the Long-Term Issuer Default Ratings of
Joint Stock Company Leasing company Europlan at 'BB', Baltic
Leasing JSC (BaltLease) at 'BB-', Sollers-Finance LLC (SF) at 'BB-'
and Carcade LLC at 'B+'. The agency has revised the Outlook on SF's
IDRs to Positive from Stable and removed BaltLease's IDRs from
Rating Watch Positive and assigned a Positive Outlook. The Outlooks
on Europlan and Carcade are Stable.

KEY RATING DRIVERS

IDRS AND SUPPORT RATINGS

The Long-Term IDRs of Europlan and Carcade are driven by their
standalone creditworthiness, while those of BaltLease and SF are
driven by Fitch's assumption of institutional support from their
shareholders.

The rating actions on BaltLease, which include the assignment of a
Support Rating of '3', reflect its assessment of the ability and
propensity of BaltLease's new shareholder, PJSC Bank Otkritie
Financial Corporation, which acquired control of BaltLease in
January 2019, to provide support to the leasing company.

In Fitch's view, Otkritie's ability to support is bolstered by its
state ownership (fully owned by the Central Bank of Russia). The
agency believes there is a moderate probability of support from the
Russian government (BBB-/Positive) for Otkritie in case of need.
Given BaltLease's small size compared with Otkritie (1% of the
bank's consolidated assets at end-1Q19), Fitch believes that any
sovereign support extended to Otkritie would likely also be
available to BaltLease in case of need as the authorities would
have few incentives to restrict support from Otkritie to BaltLease.
Otkritie's potential propensity to support is underpinned by the
bank's majority 99.5% ownership of BaltLease and significant volume
of funding provided by the bank (51% of BaltLease's liabilities at
end-1Q19). At the same time, currently limited operational
integration between the leasing company and the bank, and different
branding may potentially constrain Otkritie's propensity to
support.

The revision of the Outlook on SF mirrors the action on PJSC
Sovcombank, one of SF's key shareholders, reflecting a potentially
higher ability to support SF, if needed. SF's Long-Term IDR of
'BB-' and Support Rating of '3' reflect Fitch's view of the
moderate probability of potential support SF may receive from SCB.
This view is based on (i) high integration between the leasing
company and the bank, with SF having originated 15%-30% of new
leases on a monthly basis through the bank's branches in 2018; ii)
the significant volume of funding provided by SCB (46% of SF's
funding at end-2018); (iii) SF's record of strong performance in
the auto leasing niche, which is core for SCB; and iv) SF's small
size relative to SCB (equal to less than 1% of assets), making any
potential support manageable for the shareholder.

At the same time, SF's Long-Term IDRs remain one notch below SCB's,
reflecting only 50% ownership, containable reputational risk for
SCB in case of SF's potential default, different branding and the
bank's intention to gradually decrease its share of SF's funding,
which makes support somewhat less certain, in Fitch's view.

The affirmation of Europlan's Long-Term IDRs at 'BB' reflects
overall limited changes in the company's standalone credit profile,
remaining the strongest standalone creditworthiness among peers.

The affirmation of Carcade's ratings is driven by a moderate
improvement of its financial profile, especially asset quality and
performance. However, the company's ratings are still constrained
by weak operating efficiency, high leverage ratios and a more
vulnerable funding profile compared with higher-rated peers.

The Russian leasing sector is very small relative to the banking
sector (about 3% of banking sector assets, according to Fitch's
estimates) and dominated by state-owned and quasi-state companies
specialised generally in aircraft and railcars leasing. The four
companies are smaller than the top-tier entities with a combined
market share of just 5% in terms of outstanding lease book, but
over 10% in terms of new business volumes.

The four companies focus on providing smaller ticket leases to SMEs
for liquid motor vehicles (passenger cars, light commercial
vehicles (LCVs) and trucks, including buses), but some also finance
less liquid specialised machines (like cranes, bulldozers,
agricultural equipment) and illiquid equipment (e.g. production
lines). The companies' growth is typically sensitive to the
volatile Russian car market and often exceeds industry averages.
Total Russian passenger car sales increased by a moderate 12% in
2018, while commercial vehicles grew by a much more modest 4%.
However, all four companies demonstrated higher growth of net
investment in lease in 2018 (Europlan: 40%, BL: 27%, Carcade: 45%,
SF: 38%) seeing increasing demand for leasing, partly driven by
state subsidies to boost domestically-produced commercial vehicle
sales. In 2019, Fitch expects growth to be around 10%, in line with
lower car sales.

Positively, the higher-growing companies reported only a moderate
increase in leverage due to strong internal capital generation.
Gross debt/tangible equity (D/TE) ratios were within a comfortable
3.5x-4.7x range at all companies at end-2018. However, Carcade's
leverage adjusted by Fitch is higher (6.1x) if capital is adjusted
for the equity investment in affiliated Belarussian Idea Bank (20%
of equity), which the company received in 2017 in exchange for
previous receivables from its shareholder, Getin Holding. All
companies could moderately increase their D/TE ratios to up to 5x
in 2019 as a result of moderate growth amid a potentially high
dividend payout, but this level would still be commensurate with
their ratings.

The companies' credit losses have been very low due to effective
foreclosure and sales of leased property. This is additionally
supported by (i) high down payments (typically equal to 20%-30% of
initial cost); (ii) significant diversification of the lease books
(more concentrated at SF); (iii) liquidity of the secondary market
(especially, for mid-range passenger cars and LCVs); and (iv) good
repossession rates. 2018 default rates were low (2% at Europlan and
BaltLease and 4% at Carcade and SF, according to Fitch estimates).
Conservative LTVs have translated into zero or negligible final
credit losses.

In 2018, Europlan, BaltLease and SF reported solid financial
results with ROAA of 6%, 5% and 9.5%, respectively, supported by
wide margins amid declining cost of funding and low credit costs.
Carcade's profitability moderately improved in past two years, but
remained weaker (3%) due to lower margins, weaker operating
efficiency and higher impairment charges.

The four companies are predominantly funded by Russian banks (as
direct lenders or bondholders). Refinancing risks are contained by
the short tenors of lease books, which are largely matched by
funding maturities. BaltLease and SF are largely funded by
affiliated Bank Otkritie and Sovcombank, respectively, while
Europlan and Carcade rely on third-party borrowings.

SENIOR DEBT RATINGS

The senior debt ratings are aligned with the companies' IDRs,
reflecting Fitch's view of average recovery prospects for unsecured
senior creditors in case of default.

RATING SENSITIVITIES

EUROPLAN AND CARCADE

An upgrade of Europlan's ratings is unlikely in the near term due
to the challenging operating environment, including weak economy
growth prospects and uncertainty over the scope and effectiveness
of the regulatory framework for leasing (which is currently being
revised).

Carcade's Long-Term IDRs could be upgraded if the company
demonstrates further improvement of performance and funding
profile, while maintaining reasonable asset quality and capital
metrics.

Europlan and Carcade could be downgraded if asset quality and
performance weaken significantly, to the extent that this results
in a marked increase in their leverage ratios or compromises the
quality of their capital. In particular, a sustained weakening of
non-adjusted D/TE ratios to above 6x could result in negative
rating action.

BALTIC LEASING AND SOLLERS-FINANCE

The Positive Outlook on BaltLease's Long-Term IDR mirrors that on
the Russian sovereign rating and reflects ita view that an upgrade
of the Russian sovereign would improve Otkritie's ability to
support BaltLease. Therefore, an upgrade of Russia would likely
lead to an upgrade of BaltLease's Long-Term IDR. BaltLease's
support-driven ratings could also be upgraded as a result of
increasing integration of the company into Otkritie and/or an
indication that BaltLease is becoming more core to Otkritie's
overall business model and strategy. SF's support-driven Long-Term
IDRs could be upgraded following an upgrade of SCB, provided SF
remains a core leasing entity for the bank.

Conversely, any weakening of BaltLease's or SF's shareholders'
propensity or ability to support the companies would likely result
in negative rating action. All else being equal, in the case of
BaltLease this would likely result in a revision of the Outlook to
Stable from Positive and the ratings would then be based on Fitch's
view of BaltLease's standalone creditworthiness. Similarly, for SF,
a weakening of support could lead to a one-notch downgrade.

SENIOR DEBT

Senior debt ratings of Europlan, BaltLease and SF will move in
tandem with their respective Long-Term IDRs.

The rating actions are as follows:

JSC Leasing company Europlan

Long-Term Foreign- and Local-Currency IDRs: affirmed at 'BB';
Outlooks Stable

Short-Term Foreign-Currency IDR: affirmed at 'B'

Senior unsecured debt: affirmed at 'BB'

Baltic Leasing JSC

Long-Term Foreign- and Local-Currency IDRs: affirmed at 'BB-'; off
RWP; Outlooks Positive

Short-Term Foreign-Currency IDR: affirmed at 'B'

Support Rating: assigned at '3'

Senior unsecured debt of Baltic Leasing LLC: affirmed at 'BB-';
off RWP

Sollers-Finance LLC

Long-Term Foreign- and Local-Currency IDRs: affirmed at 'BB-';
Outlooks revised to Positive from Stable

Short-Term Foreign-Currency IDR: affirmed at 'B'

Support Rating: affirmed at '3'

Senior unsecured debt: affirmed at 'BB-'

Carcade LLC

Long-Term Foreign- and Local-Currency IDRs: affirmed at 'B+';
Outlooks Stable

Short-Term Foreign-Currency IDR: affirmed at 'B'




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

CAIXABANK LEASINGS 3: Moody's Rates EUR256.2M Series B Notes 'B1'
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Moody's Investors Service has assigned the following definitive
ratings to the debts issued by CAIXABANK LEASINGS 3, FONDO DE
TITULIZACION:

EUR1,573.8M Serie A Notes due December 2039, Definitive Rating
Assigned Aa3 (sf)

EUR256.2M Serie B Notes due December 2039, Definitive Rating
Assigned B1 (sf)

The transaction is a static cash securitisation of credit rights
(interest and principal, excluding the purchase option and indirect
taxes such as VAT) derived from lease receivables granted by
CaixaBank, S.A. ("CaixaBank", Long Term Deposit Rating: A3 /Short
Term Deposit Rating: P-2, Long Term Counterparty Risk Assessment:
A3(cr) /Short Term Counterparty Risk Assessment: P-2(cr)) to small
and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), self-employed individuals and
corporates located in Spain.

RATINGS RATIONALE

The ratings of the notes are primarily based on the analysis of the
credit quality of the underlying portfolio, the structural
integrity of the transaction, the roles of external counterparties
and the protection provided by credit enhancement.

In Moody's view, the strong credit positive features of this deal
include, amongst others: (i) performance of CaixaBank originated
transactions has generally been better than the average observed in
the Spanish market; (ii) diversified pool across industry sectors
and regions; and (iii) refinanced and restructured contracts have
been excluded from the pool. However, the transaction has several
challenging features, such as: (i) material obligor concentration
as the top ten obligor groups represent 14.6% of the pool volume
and the effective number in terms of obligor groups is 309; (ii)
exposure to the construction and building sector at around 20.9% of
the pool volume, which includes a 10.7% exposure to real estate
developers, in terms of Moody's industry classification; (iii)
strong linkage to CaixaBank as it holds several roles in the
transaction (originator, servicer and accounts bank); and (iv) no
interest rate hedge mechanism being in place while the notes pay a
fixed coupon and 64.9% of the pool balance consists of
floating-rate contracts (most of them referenced to Euribor).

Key collateral assumptions:

Mean default rate: Moody's assumed a mean default rate of 8.2% over
a weighted average life of 2.8 years (equivalent to a Ba3 proxy
rating as per Moody's Idealized Default Rates). This assumption is
based on: (1) the available historical vintage data, (2) the
performance of the previous transactions originated by CaixaBank
and (3) the characteristics of the line-by-line portfolio
information. Moody's also took into account the current economic
environment and its potential impact on the portfolio's future
performance, as well as industry outlooks or past observed
cyclicality of sector-specific delinquency and default rates.

Default rate volatility: Moody's assumed a coefficient of variation
of 49.2%, as a result of the analysis of the portfolio
concentrations in terms of single obligors and industry sectors.

Recovery rate: Moody's assumed a 40% stochastic mean recovery rate,
primarily based on the characteristics of the collateral-specific
line-by-line portfolio information, complemented by the available
historical vintage data. In addition, Moody's assumed a 15%
recovery rate mean upon insolvency of the originator.

Portfolio credit enhancement: the aforementioned assumptions
correspond to a portfolio credit enhancement of 22%, that takes
into account the Spanish current local currency country risk
ceiling (LCC) of Aa1.

As of May 2019, the audited provisional asset pool of underlying
assets was composed of a portfolio of 37,676 contracts amounting to
EUR 1,914.2 million. The top industry sector in the pool, in terms
of Moody's industry classification, is Construction & Building
(20.9%), which includes an exposure to real estate developers
(10.7%).

The top obligor group represents 2.78% of the portfolio and the
effective number of obligor groups is 309.The assets were
originated mainly between 2014 and 2019 and have a weighted average
seasoning of 2.6 years and a weighted average remaining term of 5.3
years. The interest rate is floating for almost 64.9% of the pool
while the remaining part of the pool bears a fixed interest rate.
The weighted average spread on the floating portion is 1.57%, while
the weighted average interest on the fixed portion is 2.12%.
Geographically, the pool is concentrated mostly in the regions of
Catalonia (28.2%) and Madrid (16.6%). At closing, leases up to 30
days in arrears will not exceed 5% of the total pool balance, while
leases more than 30 days in arrears and up to 90 days in arrears
will not exceed 1% of the total pool balance.

Assets are represented by receivables belonging to different
sub-pools: equipment (38.9%), vehicles (36.5%%) and real estate
(24.6%).The securitized portfolio does not include the final
instalment amount to be paid by the lessee (if option is chosen) to
acquire full ownership of the leased asset (i.e. the residual value
instalment).

Key transaction structure features:

Reserve fund: The transaction benefits from EUR 89,670,000 reserve
fund, equivalent to 4.9% of the balance of the Class A and Class B
Notes at closing. The reserve fund provides both credit and
liquidity protection to the notes.

Counterparty risk analysis:

CaixaBank acts as servicer of the leases for the Issuer, while
CaixaBank Titulización, S.G.F.T., S.A.U. (NR) is be the management
company (Gestora) of the transaction.

All of the payments under the assets in the securitised pool are
paid into the collection account at CaixaBank. There is a daily
sweep of the funds held in the collection account into the Issuer
account. The Issuer account is held at CaixaBank with a transfer
requirement if the rating of the account bank falls below Ba2.

Principal Methodology:

The principal methodology used in these ratings was "Moody's
Approach to Rating ABS Backed by Equipment Leases and Loans"
published in March 2019.

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

The notes' ratings are sensitive to the performance of the
underlying portfolio, which in turn depends on economic and credit
conditions that may change. The evolution of the associated
counterparties risk, the level of credit enhancement and the
Spain's country risk could also impact the notes' ratings.


TDA IBERCAJA 3: S&P Affirms 'BB+' Rating on Class C Notes
---------------------------------------------------------
S&P Global Ratings raised its ratings on TDA Ibercaja 3 Fondo de
Titulizacion de Activos' class A and B notes. At the same time, S&P
has affirmed its rating on the class C notes.

S&P said, "Upon revising our structured finance sovereign risk
criteria and our counterparty criteria, we placed our rating on the
class A notes under criteria observation. Following our review of
the transaction's performance and the application of these
criteria, our rating on this notes is no longer under criteria
observation.

"The rating actions follow the application of our revised
structured finance sovereign risk criteria and counterparty
criteria. They also reflect our full analysis of the most recent
transaction information that we have received, and they reflect the
transaction's current structural features.

"The analytical framework in our revised structured finance
sovereign risk criteria assesses a security's ability to withstand
a sovereign default scenario. These criteria classify the
sensitivity of this transaction as low. Therefore, the highest
rating that we can assign to the tranches in this transaction is
six notches above the Spanish unsolicited sovereign rating, or 'AAA
(sf)', if certain conditions are met.

"Under our previous criteria, we could rate the senior-most tranche
in a transaction up to six notches above the sovereign rating,
while we could rate the remaining tranches in a transaction up to
four notches above the sovereign. Additionally, under the previous
criteria, in order to rate a tranche up to six notches above the
sovereign, the tranche would have had to sustain an extreme stress
(equivalent to 'AAA' benign stresses). Under the revised criteria,
these particular conditions have been replaced with the
introduction of the low sensitivity category. In order to rate a
structured finance tranche above a sovereign that is rated 'A+' and
below, we account for the impact of a sovereign default to
determine if under such stress the security continues to meet its
obligations. For Spanish transactions, we typically use asset-class
specific assumptions from our standard 'A' run to replicate the
impact of the sovereign default scenario."

The servicer, Ibercaja Banco S.A., has a standardized, integrated,
and centralized servicing platform. It is a servicer for a large
number of Spanish residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS)
transactions, and Ibercaja Banco transactions' historical
performance has outperformed our Spanish RMBS index. S&P's rating
on the class C notes is linked to its long-term issuer credit
rating (ICR) on the servicer because in our cash flow analysis it
excludes the application of a commingling loss at rating levels at
and below the ICR on the servicer.

The swap counterparty is Banco Santander S.A. The remedial actions
defined in the swap agreement are in line with option one of our
previous counterparty criteria. The collateral framework under our
new criteria is strong. Based on the combination of the replacement
commitment and the collateral posting framework, the maximum
supported rating in this transaction is 'AAA (sf)'.

S&P said, "Our European residential loans criteria, as applicable
to Spanish residential loans, establish how our loan-level analysis
incorporates our current opinion of the local market outlook. Our
current outlook for the Spanish housing and mortgage markets, as
well as for the overall economy in Spain, is benign. Therefore, our
expected level of losses for an archetypal Spanish residential pool
at the 'B' rating level is 0.9%. Our foreclosure frequency
assumption is 2.00% for the archetypal pool at the 'B' rating
level."

Below are the credit analysis results after applying S&P's European
residential loans criteria to this transaction.

  WAFF And WALS Levels
  Rating level WAFF (%) WALS (%)
    AAA         13.91  12.25
    AA            9.44   8.50
     A       7.10   4.08
    BBB       5.25   2.36
    BB       3.43   2.00
     B          2.03   2.00

WAFF--Weighted-average foreclosure frequency.
WALS--Weighted-average loss severity.

Although the notes are paying pro rata, the class A, B, and C
notes' available credit enhancement has slightly increased to
10.40%, 3.52%, and 1.94%, respectively, due to the required reserve
fund being at its floor.

S&P said, "Following the application of our criteria, we have
determined that our assigned ratings on the classes of notes in
this transaction should be the lower of (i) the rating as capped by
our sovereign risk criteria; (ii) the rating as capped by our
counterparty criteria; and (iii) the rating that the class of notes
can attain under our European residential loans criteria.

"Our rating on the class A notes is no longer capped by the
application of our sovereign risk criteria. Our credit and cash
flow results indicate that the credit enhancement available for
this class of notes is commensurate with a 'AA+ (sf)' rating. We
have therefore raised to 'AA+ (sf)' from 'AA (sf)' our rating on
this class of notes.

"Under our credit and cash flow analysis, the class B notes could
withstand our stresses at a higher rating level than its current
rating; however, the rating was constrained by additional factors
we considered. First, we considered the relative position of this
class in the capital structure and its lower credit enhancement
compared to the senior notes. In addition, we considered this
class' sensitivity to pro rata payments. Our rating on the class B
notes is no longer weak-linked to our long-term ICR on the servicer
because this class is now able to pass higher credit and cash flow
stresses without excluding the application of a commingling loss.
We have therefore raised to 'BBB- (sf)' from 'BB+ (sf)' our rating
on this class of notes.

"Our European residential loans criteria, including our updated
credit figures, indicate that the available credit enhancement for
the class C notes is still commensurate with a 'BB+ (sf)' rating,
excluding the application of a commingling loss. Consequently, our
rating on this class of notes is linked to our long-term ICR on the
servicer, Ibercaja Banco (BB+/Stable/B). We have therefore affirmed
our rating on this class of notes."

TDA Ibercaja 3 is a Spanish RMBS transaction that closed in May
2006. The transaction securitizes residential loans originated by
Ibercaja Banco, which were granted to individuals for the
acquisition of their first residence, mainly concentrated in Madrid
and Aragon, Ibercaja Banco's main markets.

  Ratings List

  TDA Ibercaja 3 Fondo de Titulizacion de Activos  

  Class Rating to Rating from
     A  AA+ (sf) AA (sf)
     B BBB- (sf) BB+ (sf)
     C BB+ (sf) BB+ (sf)




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

SCHMOLZ + BICKENBACH: Moody's Alters Outlook on B2 CFR to Negative
------------------------------------------------------------------
Moody's Investors Service has affirmed the B2 corporate family
rating and the B2-PD probability of default rating of Swiss-based
specialty steel producer SCHMOLZ + BICKENBACH AG ("S+B").
Concurrently, Moody's affirmed the B2 instrument rating of the
EUR350 million senior secured notes due 2022 issued by S+B's wholly
owned subsidiary SCHMOLZ+BICKENBACH Luxembourg Finance S.A. The
outlook has been changed to negative from stable.

"The change in the outlook reflects Moody's expectation of lower
EBITDA generation and higher leverage in 2019 amid weakened end
markets," said Maria Maslovsky, Moody's Vice President and lead
analyst for S+B.

RATING RATIONALE

The change of the outlook to negative was prompted by S+B's
weakened results during the last twelve months (LTM) through 31
March 2019, primarily reflecting a materially deteriorated market
environment in the European steel industry. Slowing end market
demand, particularly in the automotive segment, weighed on S+B's
profitability and increased leverage. In addition, the
implementation of US Section 232 tariffs in mid-2018 negatively
affected S+B's North American operations. The rating action further
reflects Moody's expectation that the covenant headroom under S+B's
revolving credit facility will remain tight in coming quarters,
although Moody's notes that the company has recently successfully
relaxed the covenants under this facility.

The company's reported EBITDA as adjusted by Moody's declined to
EUR38 million in the first quarter of 2019 from EUR60 million a
year earlier. Accordingly, S+B's leverage, as adjusted by Moody's,
rose to 5.7x as of March 2019 from 4.9x in 2018. The agency expects
S+B to experience further weakness in 2019 until normalization
later in the year. Moody's anticipates a gradual stabilization in
Europe as excessive inventories built up toward the end of 2018 are
reduced, and with a strengthening in North America following the
elimination of the US Section 232 tariffs. In addition, Moody's
expects that a number of commercial and efficiency improvement
actions currently undertaken by management will strengthen the
company's profitability, and result in a meaningful release in
working capital. S+B already achieved a reduction in working
capital in the first quarter of 2019 as compared to 2018, which
partially reflects a large cash outflow for the Ascometal
acquisition in the first quarter of 2018.

S+B's corporate family rating (CFR) is currently weakly positioned
at B2 owing to (1) the company's high leverage, with a 5.7x
Moody's-adjusted gross debt/EBITDA as of March 2019; (2) the
company's relatively small scale and modest profitability; (3) the
cyclical nature of the primary end markets S+B serves; and (4) the
limited pricing power especially during a market downturn. These
negatives are partially offset by (1) S+B's production and
technological expertise; (2) the company's focus on the less
commoditised quality & engineering long steel markets; and (3)
well-established, long-term customer relationships with a diverse
customer base.

Moody's views S+B's liquidity as adequate based on a cash balance
of EUR56.8 million; as of 31 March 2019, as well as availability of
EUR211 million under the committed EUR375 million revolving credit
facility and of EUR71 million under the EUR297 million ABS
programme, in addition to no meaningful debt maturities until 2022.
Moody's further expects S+B to remain in compliance with the
covenants on its credit facility.

STRUCTURAL CONSIDERATIONS

The EUR350 million senior secured notes due 2022 issued by
SCHMOLZ+BICKENBACH Luxembourg Finance S.A. are rated at the same
level as the corporate family rating because they rank as pari
passu with the EUR375 million revolving credit facility due 2022
and together comprise the majority of debt at S+B.

RATING OUTLOOK

The negative outlook reflects Moody's expectation for weakened
operating performance in 2019 leading to increasing leverage and
putting pressure on free cash flow generation.

WHAT WOULD CHANGE THE RATING UP/DOWN

Although not expected at this time, upward pressure on the rating
could occur if S+B's adjusted EBITDA trends around EUR250 million;
the company consistently generates positive free cash flow; and the
company deleverages its capital structure, reaching a
Moody's-adjusted EBITDA sustainably below 4.0x.

The outlook could be stabilised if the company consistently
generates positive free cash flow after dividends and capital
expenditures, and if it reduces its Moody's-adjusted debt/EBITDA to
below 5.0x. Adequate liquidity, including also adequate headroom
under applicable covenants, would also be needed for a
stabilisation.

Further downgrade pressure would result from a continued downward
trend in earnings, with leverage not trending back towards 5x over
the medium term, or a meaningful deterioration in liquidity.

The principal methodology used in these ratings was Steel Industry
published in September 2017.

Swiss-based SCHMOLZ + BICKENBACH AG is one of the world's leading
manufacturers, processors and distributors of special long steel
products, operating with a global sales and services network in a
niche market within the larger steel industry. In 2018, S+B
reported revenues of EUR3.3 billion and EBITDA of EUR251 million.




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

BATHSTORE: Difficult Trading Conditions Prompt Administration
-------------------------------------------------------------
Business Sale reports that with 135 stores dotted around the
country, and thought to be the largest of its kind in the UK,
specialist bathroom retailer Bathstore has collapsed into
administration on June 26, 2019.

The company, which is continuing to trade during the insolvency
period, was forced to call in business restructuring specialists
BDO LLP to handle the administration, with partners Ryan Grant --
ryan.grant@bdo.co.uk -- and Tony Nygate -- tony.nygate@bdo.co.uk --
appointed as joint administrators, Business Sale relates.

Headquartered in Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire, Bathstore was
faced with the same tough trading conditions that have hit a number
of major retailers on UK high streets, Business Sale discloses.

According to Business Sale, the company's most recent accounts, in
the year ending July 31, 2017, revealed sales of more than GBP140
million, but with a pre-tax loss of GBP22 million.

"Despite significant investment into the business over the past
five years, Bathstore has struggled to overcome the well-documented
challenges facing the UK retail sector," Business Sale quotes Mr.
Grant as saying.

"The appointment was made after several months of difficult
trading, and the failure of ongoing talks to find a buyer for the
business.  Bathstore is continuing to trade in administration,
while the administrators seek a buyer."


RED'S TRUE BARBECUE: Bought Out of Administration, 200 Jobs Saved
-----------------------------------------------------------------
BBC News reports that Leeds-based Red's True Barbecue has been
bought out of administration, safeguarding 200 jobs.

According to BBC, the administrators said the barbecue restaurant
chain had suffered cash-flow pressures following a period of
"challenging" trading.

Five of the company's seven restaurants have been sold to Tokyo
Industries, BBC discloses.

Two restaurants, in Liverpool and Newcastle, will close with loss
of 50 jobs, BBC notes.

Joint Administrators, Anthony Collier --
anthony.collier@frpadvisory.com -- and Andrew Haslam --
andrew.haslam@frpadvisory.com -- at FRP Advisory LLP, said the deal
also included the sale of a microbrewery in Leeds, BBC relates.


SILVER ARROW 10: Fitch Gives 'BB+(EXP)' Rating on Class D Notes
---------------------------------------------------------------
Fitch Ratings has assigned Silver Arrow S.A., Compartment 10's
notes the following expected ratings.

EUR floating-rate class A notes (ISIN: XS2015250637): AAA(EXP)sf,
Outlook Stable

EUR floating-rate class B notes (ISIN: XS2015250710): A+(EXP)sf,
Outlook Stable

EUR floating-rate class C notes (ISIN: XS2015251288): A-(EXP)sf,
Outlook Stable

EUR floating-rate class D notes (ISIN: XS2015251361): BB+(EXP)sf,
Outlook Stable

EUR class Z notes (ISIN: XS2015251528): not rated

The final ratings are contingent upon the receipt of final
documents conforming to the information already received.

The transaction is the 10th securitisation of German loan
receivables under the Silver Arrow brand. The receivables are auto
loans, inclusive of balloon portions, granted to small commercial
and private customers by Mercedes-Benz Bank AG (MBB), a direct
subsidiary of Daimler Financial Services AG (DFS), which in turn is
wholly owned by Daimler AG (A-/Stable/F1).

KEY RATING DRIVERS

Economic Slowdown, Low Unemployment

Fitch expects economic growth in Germany to decelerate from
previous years. Unemployment is forecast to stay around its
historical lows. Fitch has factored in these expectations in its
default and recovery base cases of 1.5% and 70%, respectively.

Robust Asset Performance

Fitch has derived default expectations based on the originator's
loan book performance. Fitch has also accounted for previous Silver
Arrow transactions' performance, which have experienced lower
cumulative defaults than the total book.

Conditional Deferability of Interest

Non-payment of class A notes' interest will trigger an issuer event
of default. For the mezzanine and junior notes, timely payment is
only necessary if the respective note class is the most senior one.
The ratings of the class B to D notes are limited to the 'A'
category or below since Fitch expects timely payment of interest
for notes rated in the 'AA' category or higher. Fitch  expects
interest deferrals to be minimal in its base case scenario.

Excess Spread Adds Protection

The excess of the 3%-yielding portfolio over the issuer's expenses
will be applied to cover defaults as they occur. The excess spread
accounted for in its modelling is 2% to 4% of the initial asset
balance over the deal's lifetime in the highest to lower rating
scenarios.

Seller Risks Considered

The structure features various aspects to address risks related to
MBB as seller and servicer. Fitch considers liquidity disruption
risk adequately addressed by the multi-layer reserve fund. Fitch
views set-off risks from deposits and insurance products
immaterial, while its analysis involved a commingling loss,
reflecting its expectations on the risk horizon, which is longer
than the period covered by the commingling reserve.

VARIATIONS FROM CRITERIA

None

RATING SENSITIVITIES

Expected impact on the note rating of increased defaults (class A/
B/ C/ D):

Current rating: 'AAAsf'/ 'A+sf'/ 'A-sf'/ 'BB+sf'

Increase base case defaults by 10%: 'AAAsf'/ 'A+sf'/ 'A-sf'/
'BB+sf'

Increase base case defaults by 25%: 'AAAsf'/ 'A+sf'/ 'BBB+sf'/
'BBsf'

Increase base case defaults by 50%: 'AA+sf'/ 'Asf'/ 'BBBsf'/
'BB-sf'

Expected impact on the note rating of decreased recoveries (class
A/ B/ C/ D):

Current rating: 'AAAsf'/ 'A+sf'/ 'A-sf'/ 'BB+sf'

Reduce base case recovery by 10%: 'AAAsf'/ 'A+sf'/ 'A-sf'/ 'BBsf'

Reduce base case recovery by 25%: 'AAAsf'/ 'A+sf'/ 'BBB+sf'/
'B+sf'

Reduce base case recovery by 50%: 'AAAsf'/ 'Asf'/ 'BBB-sf'/ 'NRsf'

Fitch views the recovery-related sensitivities above to also
provide an indication on rating changes upon potential
deterioration of used car prices of vehicles equipped with diesel
engines. Based on information provided by the originator for the
pool, the diesel share represents approximately 58%. About 6% of
the pool comprises diesel cars that do not comply with EURO6
emission standard. Assuming a decrease of 25% in all diesel
vehicles' recovery proceeds, while leaving recovery proceeds for
non-diesel vehicles unchanged, the resulting rating sensitivity
lies within the 10% and 25% sensitivities (that are applied to the
entire pool) above.

Expected impact on the note rating of increased defaults and
decreased recoveries (class A/ B/ C/ D):

Current rating: 'AAAsf'/ 'A+sf'/ 'A-sf'/ 'BB+sf'

Increase default base case by 10%; reduce recovery base case by
10%: 'AAAsf'/ 'A+sf'/ 'BBB+sf'/ 'BB-sf'

Increase default base case by 25%; reduce recovery base case by
25%: 'AA+sf'/ 'Asf'/ 'BBB-sf'/ 'Bsf'

Increase default base case by 50%; reduce recovery base case by
50%: 'AA-sf'/ 'BBBsf'/ 'BB-sf'/ 'NRsf'

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

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

DATA ADEQUACY

Fitch expects to receive a third party assessment conducted on the
asset portfolio information prior to assigning the final rating.

Overall, Fitch's assessment of the asset pool information relied
upon for the agency's rating analysis according to its applicable
rating methodologies indicates that it is adequately reliable.


SPRINGER NATURE: S&P Hikes ICR to 'B+' on Improving Credit Metrics
------------------------------------------------------------------
S&P Global Ratings raised its rating on Springer Nature to 'B+'
from 'B'.

Springer Nature reported strong results in 2018, and deleveraged to
8.5x (6.3x excluding shareholder loan instruments) in 2018, from
8.8x (and 6.7x excluding shareholder instruments) in 2017. S&P
said, "The upgrade reflects our expectation that the Springer
Nature group will continue deleveraging to around 8x (6x excluding
SHL) in 2019 and to below 8x in 2020. This is thanks to strong
EBITDA and FOCF generation as well to mandatory amortization and
debt repayment from excess cash flow. We also expect that, based on
the strong EBITDA and cash flow generation profiles, the group's
funds from operations (FFO) cash interest cover will likely exceed
3.0x in 2019-2020 compared with 2.9x in 2018. That said, we still
consider Springer Nature's highly leveraged capital structure to be
a limiting factor in our rating assessment. We forecast that the
group's leverage level will remain significantly above 5x in
2019-2020."

Over 2018, Springer Nature continued to hold a leading market
position in global academic publishing, supported by its large
English language journal portfolio and the relevance of its
published research due to high quality of journals it offers, its
leading position in English book publishing, and its leading market
position in open-access journals. S&P expects that the group's
operations will continue to grow organically in 2019-2020, mainly
boosted by the positive underlying growth in the group's largest
division, research (academic publishing). S&P believes this
division will experience growth, owing to the group's leading
market positions and due to supportive global trends such as growth
in research and development expenditure, growth in the number of
researchers, the increasing number of submitted and published
articles, expansion of the economies where Springer Nature
operates, and growing librarian budgets, among others.

S&P said, "Our assessment is supported by the group's high
proportion of stable and recurring subscription revenue,
representing more than 40% of the group's revenue, solid
profitability with adjusted margins above 30%, and exposure to
growth in global spending on academic research. Of almost EUR1.2
billion of the research division revenue in 2018, we understand
that more than 60% is subscription or recurring. The remainder is
about 12% open-access revenue and about 26% is transactional
revenue. The subscription revenue component consists of
approximately 80% journals and 20% e-books. Under the
journal-subscription model, customers usually sign up for
three-year subscriptions. Price increases are built in up front
with contract expiries diversified by expiry year and no contract
renewal cliffs.

"We view favorably Springer Nature's strong market positions in
academic publishing and its geographic diversification. Springer
Nature is the world's second-largest academic publisher by revenue.
The group is one of the four largest publishers globally, with the
others including Elsevier (a division of RELX PLC), Wiley-Blackwell
(John Wiley & Son's Inc.), and Taylor and Francis (a division of
Informa PLC). Together these publishers enjoy an almost 60% market
share in academic content publishing. Springer Nature has market
shares of 14% in subscription journals, 19% in books, and almost
30% in open-access journals.

"We believe scale advantages and established processes, combined
with an extensive back library and brand reputation, are
competitive strengths for the group. In the open-access market, we
understand that the group is enjoying similar economics to
traditional published journals. By Springer Nature's estimate, this
market grew by more than 20% per year in 2012-2016 and is currently
taking about 1%-2% market share per year from the overall academic
publishing market.

"In our view, risks to the group include e-piracy and information
technology (IT) system issues preventing subscribers from accessing
content; more advantageous deals negotiated by the university
consortium; decline in print books; and a loss of brand reputation.
We understand piracy affects all of the major players in the
industry but is not currently considered significant enough, or a
viable alternative for content purchasers, such as institutional
libraries, to materially threaten the group.

"In the past there were some examples of consortium negotiating
with publishers, including Springer Nature, for offset deals (such
as the right to publish a given amount of excess articles under a
flat fee) and more advantageous terms on subscription licenses. We
understand that Springer Nature has a competitive article
processing charge, a leading position in open access, and
established brands with must-have content. Lastly, despite having
some exposure to the declining printed academic books market, we
understand that Springer Nature employs print-to-order and
print-to-demand models, which minimizes inventory holding and
overprinting risk."

Springer Nature's competitor Wiley signed a contract with a newly
created DEAL Operating Entity on publishing of articles in the
open-access market in journals published by Wiley in January 2019.
The Alliance of German Science Organizations, a representative for
all of the almost 700 German publically and privately funded
academic institutions, tasked DEAL to conclude nationwide "publish
and read" agreements with the largest commercial publishers of
scholarly journals. This deal is an example of gradually changing
customer preferences, as now academic institutions use their
available funds to remunerate publishers with a price for services
rendered in open-access publishing of scholarly articles by
eligible authors; instead of paying for subscription access to
journals.

S&P said, "In our view, the group's professional and educational
segments have more susceptibility to weakness in macroeconomic
conditions and professional and corporate budgets. We understand
some of the businesses in these portfolios have some entrenched
market positions in chosen market segments or countries; however,
as a whole they do not enjoy the market positioning of the academic
research operation. At less than 20% of EBITDA, we do not expect
any weakness in particular segments to materially impact group
performance." There is a high proportion of print exposure in the
education segment; however, this owes somewhat to preferences in
those markets, particularly emerging regions such as Africa. The
group has low exposure to government contracts in this segment, at
about 10% or less of education division revenue, which we view
positively."

Despite the historical trend of falling restructuring, integration,
and exceptional costs in 2016-2017 (EUR37 million in 2016 and EUR29
million in 2017), these costs increased in 2018 to EUR50 million,
reflecting higher-than-anticipated merger-driven restructuring and
integration measures, IT-related projects, and IPO preparation
costs in 2018. S&P understands that Springer Nature mostly
completed the integration and related operations restructuring in
2015-2018, and therefore it expects the long-term restructuring
costs to trend toward EUR15 million-EUR20 million yearly from
2019.

S&P said, "The group's highly leveraged capital structure is a
limiting factor in our rating assessment. In our adjusted metrics
we treat as debt the group's preference shares issued to entities
associated with Holtzbrinck Publishing Group; the BC Partners
shareholder loan; and GvH Vermogensverwaltungsgesellschaft XXXIII
mbH shareholder loans. We forecast Springer Nature's adjusted
EBITDA will be EUR520 million–EUR535 million in 2019 and EUR530
million–EUR545 million in 2020. This should translate into
continued sustainable increases in FOCF, sustainable improvement of
FFO cash interest cover of above 2.5x, and deleveraging such that
S&P Global Ratings–adjusted debt to EBITDA declines to 7.9x-8.2x
in 2019 and 7.7x-8.0x in 2020 (including shareholder loans), from
8.5x in 2018. This translates to adjusted debt to EBITDA, excluding
shareholder loan instruments, of 5.8x–6.1x in 2019 and
5.5x–5.8x in 2020.

"The stable outlook reflects our expectation that Springer Nature's
revenue will grow by 1.5%-2% and the group's EBITDA margin will
slightly improve to around 31% in 2019-2020 on operational
efficiency measures and lower restructuring costs, translating into
reported FOCF of EUR160 million-EUR180 million in the same period.
We consequently expect the group to further deleverage to about 8x
adjusted in 2019 and below 8x in 2020, or excluding shareholder
loan instruments to around 6x in 2019 and below 6x in 2020. We also
project FFO cash interest will remain sustainably above 2.5x along
with adequate liquidity.

"We could lower the rating in the next 12 months if the group's
operating performance fell materially below our expectations, for
example, if revenue declined organically or if the EBITDA margin
contracted to significantly below the 30% posted in 2018. This
would likely result in weaker credit metrics, such that the group's
leverage exceeded adjusted debt to EBITDA of 8x, its FFO cash
interest fell to below 2x, and FOCF generation fell substantially
short of our forecast. Likewise, we could take a negative rating
action if the group's credit metrics or liquidity were to weaken on
the back of a large acquisition or shareholder remuneration
payment.

"At this stage, we view a positive rating action over the next 12
months as remote because of Springer Nature's elevated leverage
level of significantly above 5x in 2019-2020. However, we could
consider raising the rating if Springer Nature outperforms our base
case of organic growth and generates sizable FOCF, combined with
significant changes in the capital structure. As a consequence,
Springer Nature's debt to EBITDA ratio would likely fall below 5x
on a sustainable basis, as well it would generate FFO to debt above
12% and FFO cash interest cover sustainably above 2.5x. Any upgrade
would hinge on Springer Nature's management's commitment to a more
disciplined financial policy."


TESCO PLC: Moody's Withdraws Ba1 CFR
------------------------------------
Moody's Investors Service assigned a new long-term issuer rating of
Baa3 to Tesco plc, the UK's largest grocer. Concurrently, Moody's
has upgraded the senior unsecured ratings of Tesco and its
guaranteed subsidiary Tesco Corporate Treasury Services plc to Baa3
from Ba1 and the short-term of Tesco and its guaranteed subsidiary
Tesco Treasury Services PLC to Prime-3 from Not Prime. Moody's has
also upgraded the long term rating of Tesco Plc and its guaranteed
subsidiary Tesco Corporate Treasury Services plc Euro note program
to (P)Baa3 from (P)Ba1 and the short term rating to (P)P-3 from
(P)NP. The outlook is stable.

Moody's has withdrawn Tesco's corporate family rating of Ba1 and
probability of default rating of Ba1-PD following its upgrade to
Baa3, as per the rating agency's practice for corporates with
investment grade ratings.

"T[he] upgrade reflects the improvement in Tesco's operating profit
over the last few years and our expectations of continued profit
growth, cash generation and debt reduction amidst a challenging
competitive environment ," says David Beadle, a Moody's Senior
Credit Officer and lead analyst for Tesco.

RATINGS RATIONALE

Tesco has clear market leadership in the UK grocery retail market,
as well some international diversification. However, competition at
home and abroad is significant, with the ongoing expansion of the
German discounters in the UK fundamentally impacting margins within
the sector. Over the last several years, Tesco has successfully
enhanced price competitiveness, product availability and quality
perception at the same time as making material cost savings to
support margin recovery.

The company's reported operating profit of GBP2.2 billion in
fiscal-year 2019, ended February 23, 2019, was more than double the
low point of fiscal 2015 and represents strong growth of GBP560
million, or 34%, from a year earlier. This included the benefit of
margin progression in Central Europe driving profit growth there,
as well as a first time GBP275 million contribution from Booker
(including synergies of GBP79 million), and 20% growth in the
company's reported UK and Republic of Ireland operating profit
excluding Booker and synergies. These results underpin an increase
in the group operating margin to 3.5% (3.3% excluding Booker) from
2.9% in fiscal 2018. Moody's expects the company will achieve its
targeted 3.5%-4.0% group operating margin (pre-Booker) in fiscal
2020.

In addition to the improvement in profitability Tesco's credit
profile has been enhanced by a material reduction in the company's
Moody's-adjusted debt, which at the fiscal 2019 year end was
GBP18.7 billion, compared to GBP26.1 billion two years earlier. As
such, Tesco's fiscal 2019 leverage -- measured as gross adjusted
debt to EBITDA -- of 4.5x reached the level the rating agency
previously signalled could lead to upward rating pressure. Moody's
expects continued improvement in this and other credit metrics
during fiscal 2020, when profit growth will be driven by additional
synergies expected from the Booker acquisition as well as ongoing
operational improvements across the business.

The rating agency expects the company to generate annual
Moody's-adjusted retail free cash flows (after dividends) of more
than GBP400 million and therefore continued debt reduction over the
next couple of years, in accordance with the company's stated
leverage range target. In the meantime, Tesco's strong liquidity
offers important financial flexibility to manage working capital.
As of February 2019, the company had a balance of cash, cash
equivalents and short-term financial investments totalling GBP1.9
billion and access to GBP3.0 billion of committed undrawn bank
facilities, which mature in 2021. Furthermore, as of February 2019,
Tesco owned GBP14.6 billion of freehold property, which constitutes
an additional source of financial flexibility.

RATIONALE FOR STABLE OUTLOOK

The stable outlook reflects Moody's belief that Tesco's operational
performance and credit metrics will improve further over the next
12-24 months, notwithstanding ongoing challenges in the competitive
environment and, more broadly, in the UK economy.

WHAT COULD CHANGE THE RATING UP/DOWN

Positive rating pressure could develop in the event of continued
momentum in operational performance, such that sales and underlying
operating profits continue to grow, and credit metrics strengthen
further including expectations of adjusted debt/EBITDA of
comfortably below 3.75x on a sustained basis and retained cash flow
(RCF)/net debt at least in the high-teens in percentage terms. Any
upgrade would also be dependent upon a continued commitment to
conservative financial policies.

Conversely, negative rating pressure could occur if the company's
operating performance or credit metrics deteriorated, such that
adjusted debt/EBITDA was expected to rise above 4.5x. Weakening
cash generation, such that RCF/net debt fell to the low teens in
percentage terms, or weakness in liquidity would also result in
negative rating pressure.

LIST OF AFFECTED RATINGS

Assignments:

Issuer: Tesco Plc

Issuer Rating, Assigned Baa3

Upgrades:

Issuer: Tesco Plc

Commercial Paper, Upgraded to P-3 from NP

Other Short Term, Upgraded to (P)P-3 from (P)NP

Senior Unsecured Medium-Term Note Program, Upgraded to (P)Baa3
from (P)Ba1

Senior Unsecured Regular Bond/Debenture, Upgraded to Baa3 from
Ba1

Issuer: Tesco Corporate Treasury Services plc

BACKED Other Short Term, Upgraded to (P)P-3 from (P)NP

BACKED Senior Unsecured Medium-Term Note Program, Upgraded to
(P)Baa3 from (P)Ba1

BACKED Senior Unsecured Regular Bond/Debenture, Upgraded to Baa3
from Ba1

Issuer: Tesco Treasury Services PLC

BACKED Commercial Paper, Upgraded to P-3 from NP

Withdrawals:

Issuer: Tesco Plc

Corporate Family Rating, Withdrawn , previously rated Ba1

Probability of Default Rating, Withdrawn , previously rated
Ba1-PD

Outlook Actions:

Issuer: Tesco Corporate Treasury Services plc

Outlook, Changed To Stable From Positive

Issuer: Tesco Plc

Outlook, Changed To Stable From Positive

Issuer: Tesco Treasury Services PLC

Outlook, No Outlook

PRINCIPAL METHODOLOGY

The principal methodology used in these ratings was Retail Industry
published in May 2018.

COMPANY PROFILE

Tesco plc is a FTSE 100 company with a market capitalisation of
around GBP23 billion, as of June 2019. With GBP62.8 billion of
revenue from retail operations for fiscal 2019, Tesco is Europe's
second-largest rated retailer, after Carrefour S.A. ((P)Baa1
negative), and the UK's leading food retailer. The company's share
of the UK grocery market is approximately 27%.


[*] UK: Northern Ireland Sees Spike in Business Insolvencies
------------------------------------------------------------
Francess McDonnell at The Irish Times reports that Northern Ireland
has seen the largest increase in business insolvencies compared to
the rest of the UK since the Brexit referendum.

According to Creditsafe's UK Insolvency Index -- which compares the
total number of insolvencies in different parts of the UK in
2016/17 and 2018/19 -- Northern Ireland is currently is top of the
poll, well ahead of Greater London, where business insolvencies
rose by 103% and Yorkshire and Humberside where business failures
jumped by 82.4%, The Irish Times discloses.

The statistics show that in general the rate of insolvencies has
increased across the UK over the last three years with companies
like Jamie Oliver's restaurant group and British Steel among the
most high profile casualties, The Irish Times states.

But high street favorites like Debenhams, Patisserie Valerie and L
K Bennett, have also fallen into an insolvency position which,
according to Creditsafe, represents a point "where a business can
no longer meet the financial obligations to its creditors and where
business might be forced to liquidate its assets to pay off any
outstanding debts", The Irish Times notes.

Cato Syversen, chief executive of Creditsafe, said the economic
challenges surrounding Brexit are just among the key factors that
have contributed to an increase in business insolvencies, The Irish
Times relates.




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

[*] BOOK REVIEW: AS WE FORGIVE OUR DEBTORS
------------------------------------------
Authors: Teresa A. Sullivan, Elizabeth Warren, & Jay Westbrook
Publisher: Beard Books
Softcover: 370 Pages
List Price: $34.95
Order your personal copy today at https://is.gd/29BBVw

So you think you know the profile of the average consumer debtor:
either deadbeat slouched on a sagging sofa with a three day growth
on his chin or a crafty lower-middle class type opting for
bankruptcy to avoid both poverty and responsible debt repayment.

Except that it might be a single or divorced female who's the one
most likely to file for personal bankruptcy protection, and her
petition might be the last stage of a continuum of crises that
began with her job loss or divorce. Moreover, the dilemma might be
attributable in part to consumer credit industry that has increased
its profitability by relaxing its standards and extending credit to
almost anyone who can scribble his or her name on an application.

Such are among the unexpected findings in this painstaking study of
2,400 bankruptcy filings in Illinois, Pennsylvania, and Texas
during the seven-year period from 1981 to 1987. Rather than relying
on case counts or gross data collected for a court's administrative
records, as has been done elsewhere, the authors use data contained
in the actual petitions. In so doing, they offer a unique window
into debtors' lives.

The authors conclude that people who file for bankruptcy are, as a
rule, neither impoverished families nor wily manipulators of the
system. Instead, debtors are a cross-section of America. If one
demographic segment can be isolated as particularly debt prone, it
would be women householders, whom the authors found often live on
the edge of financial disaster. Very few debtors (3.7 percent in
the study) were repeat filers who might be viewed as abusing the
system, and most (70 percent in the study) of Chapter 13 cases fail
and become Chapter 7s. Accordingly, the authors conclude that the
economic model of behavior -- which assumes a petitioner is a
"calculating maximizer" in his in his decision to seek bankruptcy
protection and his selection of chapter to file under, a profile
routinely used to justify changes in the law -- is at variance with
the actual debtor profile derived from this study.

A few stereotypes about debtors are, however, borne out. It is less
than surprising to learn, for example, that most debtors are simply
not as well-off as the average American or that while bankrupt's
mortgage debts are about average, their consumer debts are off the
charts. Petitioners seem particularly susceptible to the siren song
of credit card companies. In the study sample, creditors were found
to have made between 27 percent and 36 percent of their loans to
debtors with incomes below $12,500 (although the loans might have
been made before the debtors' income dropped so low). Of course,
the vigor with which consumer credit lenders pursue their goal of
maximizing profits has a corresponding impact on the number of
bankruptcy filings.

The book won the ABA's 1990 Silver Gavel Award. A special 1999
update by the authors is included exclusively in the Beard Book
reprint edition.



                           *********


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

Copyright 2019.  All rights reserved.  ISSN 1529-2754.

This material is copyrighted and any commercial use, resale or
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