Kroll Bond Rating Agency Assigns Preliminary Ratings to MSCI 2015-XLF1

Kroll Bond Rating Agency, Inc. (KBRA) is pleased to announce the assignment of preliminary ratings to two classes of the MSCI 2015-XLF1 securitization, a $545.1 million large loan floating-rate CMBS transaction (see ratings listed below).

MSCI 2015-XLF1 is a CMBS large loan floating-rate transaction collateralized by five, non-recourse, first lien mortgage loans with an aggregate in-trust principal balance of $545.1 million. The senior pooled notes, together with 680 Madison Avenue, total $348.4 million and include Ashford Full Service Portfolio ($103.8 million), Ashford Select Service Portfolio ($31.4 million), and SOMA Towers ($28.2 million). Both the senior pooled and the subordinate non-pooled notes, which total $85.6 million, will be contributed to the trust. There is one non-pooled loan, Elad Portfolio, which is the sole source of cash flow for the “ELD” certificates, which are not rated by KBRA. As a result, the trust loan counts, balances, and percentages herein exclude the non-pooled Elad Portfolio loan.

The majority of the pool consists of lodging properties (50.0%) which serve as collateral for two loans, Ashford Full Service Portfolio ($103.8 million, 5 assets) and Ashford Select Service Portfolio ($31.4 million, 5 assets). Retail exposure (42.6%) is represented by 680 Madison Avenue ($185.0 million, 1 asset). The remaining property type exposure, multifamily (7.4%), consists of the SOMA Towers loan. The properties are located in ten states with three individual state exposures that represent more than 10.0% of the pool balance: New York (42.6%), California (12.7%), and Minnesota (10.2%).

KBRA’s analysis of the transaction involved a detailed evaluation of the underlying cash flows using our CMBS Property Evaluation Guidelines and the application of our CMBS Single-Borrower & Large Loan Rating Methodology. The results of the analysis yielded a KNCF for the underlying collateral properties that was, on average, 4.9% less than the issuer cash flow for the pooled loan components. KBRA applied our stressed capitalization rates to the KNCF to arrive at valuations of the underlying properties. The KBRA values were, on average, 29.7% less than the appraiser’s valuation for the pooled loan components. The resulting KBRA in-trust loan to value (KLTV) was 66.5% for the pooled loan components and the KLTV was 88.8% for the total in-trust balance, inclusive of the subordinate loan components. All of the loans have additional financing in place in the form of mezzanine debt. Inclusive of this additional debt, the weighted average all-in KLTV for the trust assets was 118.4%. As part of our analysis of the transaction, we also reviewed and considered third party engineering and environmental reports, our analysts’ site visits to the collateral properties, and the transaction structure.

Preliminary Ratings Assigned: MSCI 2015-XLF1

1 Notional amount
2 Represents a loan-specific class of certificates and is only entitled to distributions from the corresponding subordinate non-pooled component of the related mortgage loan.
3 Represents a loan-specific class that is only entitled to proceeds received with respect to the Elad Portfolio loan.

Related publications: (available at www.kbra.com)

CMBS: MSCI 2015–XLF1 Presale Report

CMBS: Single Borrower & Large Loan Rating Methodology, published August 8, 2011

CMBS Property Evaluation Guidelines, published June 10, 2011

About Kroll Bond Rating Agency

KBRA is registered with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission as a Nationally Recognized Statistical Rating Organization (NRSRO). In addition, KBRA is recognized by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) as a Credit Rating Provider (CRP).