OREANDA-NEWS. Fitch Ratings has upgraded two of Shinsei TB Fund 7976001's beneficial interests (BIs) and affirmed one. The transaction is a securitisation of residential mortgage loan receivables predominantly backed by investment properties in Japan. The rating actions are listed below.

JPY5.7bn* mezzanine BIs 1 affirmed at 'A+sf'; Outlook Stable
JPY1.7bn* mezzanine BIs 2 upgraded to 'Asf' from 'A-sf'; Outlook Stable
JPY2.05bn* mezzanine BIs 3 upgraded to 'BBB-sf' from 'BB+sf'; Outlook Stable
*as of 1 April 2015

KEY RATING DRIVERS

The upgrades of the mezzanine BIs 2 and 3 reflect growth in credit enhancement (CE) levels due to principal redemptions of the senior classes. The default performance of the underlying pool has been stable since the previous rating action in April 2014 and Fitch expects this trend to continue. Excess spread has been used to pay down the BIs, which has slowed the decline in the balance of the non-rated junior BIs caused by the distribution of defaulted loans.

RATING SENSITIVITIES

An unexpected material increase in delinquencies and defaults in the underlying pool may lead to negative rating actions. The CE levels for the mezzanine BIs 1 can support defaults at least 1.4 times higher than assumed in Fitch's 'A+sf' stress scenario. The mezzanine BIs 2's CE can support defaults at least 1.2 times higher than Fitch's 'Asf' stress scenario. The mezzanine BIs 3's CE can support defaults at least 1.3 times higher than Fitch's 'BBB-sf' stress scenario.

Fitch believes that the mezzanine BIs 1 would not be supported at a higher rating level, primarily due to the account bank trigger in the transaction. Therefore, the ratings of the mezzanine BIs 1 are unlikely to be upgraded in the foreseeable future despite increasing CE.