OREANDA-NEWS. Fitch Ratings has upgraded Globaldrive Auto Receivables 2013-A B.V.'s class B notes, as follows:

EUR278.6m class A notes (ISIN XS0986658978): affirmed at 'AAAsf'; Stable Outlook
EUR16.3m class B notes (ISIN XS0986686599): upgraded to 'AA+sf' from 'AAsf'; Stable Outlook

The transaction is a true-sale securitisation of German auto loans originated by FCE Bank plc (FCE Bank), acting through its German branch Ford Bank (FCE Germany). FCE Bank is part of the Ford Motor Company group and operates in the European market through various branches.

KEY RATING DRIVERS
The rating actions reflect the transaction's stable performance, which is within Fitch's expectations. According to Fitch's calculations, based on the investor report as of 31 August 2015, the observed cumulative default rate since closing in November 2013 is 0.49%, while the reported loss rate to date is a low 0.18%. Accounts delinquent for more than 30 days make up 0.63% of the current portfolio balance. Fitch's outlook for the German economy is stable. Therefore, we do not expect any significant performance deterioration in the transaction, which is reflected in the notes' Stable Outlooks.

The transaction started amortising sequentially at closing, which has resulted in an increase in credit enhancement (CE) for the class A notes to 14.7% from 8.7% at closing. The class A notes' available CE comprises overcollateralisation from subordination of the class B and C notes (collectively 13.5%) and a non-amortising reserve fund, which provides an additional 1.2% of protection. For the class B notes, available CE has increased to 9.7% from the initial 5.7%. Only the unrated class C notes and the reserve fund provide protection for the class B notes. In addition, both rated note classes benefit from substantial excess spread that has been sufficient to cover realised losses to date.

The current pool composition is comparable with that at closing. Loan contracts backed by new cars represent about 72.6% of the portfolio, while the remaining loans are backed by used vehicles, including ex-demonstration cars. Due to the slower amortisation of contracts that include a balloon payment at maturity, the share of these balloon contracts has increased to 74.7% while the remainder of the current portfolio is represented by fully amortising loans.

A commingling reserve was established and funded at closing. The reserve will be increased on the monthly payment date in October 2016 to address increasing commingling risk from balloon contracts, the majority of which become due in or after this month.

Elavon Financial Services (AA-/Stable/F1+) is the issuer's account bank and HSBC Bank plc (AA-/Stable/F1+) is counterparty for a swap that hedges the fixed-rate and floating-rate mismatch between the assets and the notes. The transaction documentation contains remedial actions to be implemented should the account bank's or swap counterparty's credit quality deteriorate. Elavon replaced Deutsche Bank AG as account bank in July 2015.

No back-up servicer was appointed at closing. Should a servicer replacement become necessary, the issuer corporate service provider and the trustee would assist the issuer in appointing a new servicer. In addition, the liquidity reserve fund would cover the issuer's senior expenses. Fitch deems these features adequate to support the notes' ratings.

RATING SENSITIVITIES
Fitch has maintained its lifetime default base case at 1.75%, and the recovery rate base case is unchanged at 60.0%. The unchanged expectations regarding defaults and recoveries lead to an unchanged lifetime loss base case expectation of 0.7%.

Expected impact upon the note rating of increased defaults and reduced recoveries (class A/B):
Current rating: 'AAAsf'/'AA+sf'
Increase base case default by 25%; reduce base case recovery by 25%: 'AAAsf'/'AA+sf'

The notes' ratings are not sensitive to an isolated increase (reduction) of 25% in defaults (recoveries).

DUE DILIGENCE USAGE
No third party due diligence was provided or reviewed in relation to this rating action.

DATA ADEQUACY
Fitch has checked the consistency and plausibility of the information it has received about the performance of the asset pool and the transaction. There were no findings that were material to this analysis. Fitch has not reviewed the results of any third party assessment of the asset portfolio information or conducted a review of origination files as part of its ongoing monitoring.

Prior to the transaction closing, Fitch reviewed the results of a third party assessment conducted on the asset portfolio information, which indicated no adverse findings material to the rating analysis.

Prior to the transaction closing, Fitch conducted a review of a small targeted sample of the 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 information relied upon for the agency's rating analysis according to its applicable rating methodologies indicates that it is adequately reliable.

SOURCES OF INFORMATION
The information below was used in the analysis.
- Monthly investor reports provided by FCE Bank plc up to 31 August 2015

REPRESENTATIONS AND WARRANTIES
A comparison of the transaction's Representations, Warranties & Enforcement Mechanisms to those typical for the asset class is available by accessing the appendix that accompanies the initial new issue report (see Globaldrive Auto Receivables 2013-A B.V. - Appendix, dated 28 November 2013 at www.fitchratings.com). In addition refer to the special report "Representations, Warranties, and Enforcement Mechanisms in Global Structured Finance Transactions" dated 12 June 2015 available on the Fitch website.