OREANDA-NEWS. Fitch Ratings expects to assign the following ratings and Rating Outlooks to Canyon CLO 2016-1, Ltd./LLC:

--$247,500,000 class A-1 notes 'AAAsf'; Outlook Stable;
--$45,000,000 class A-2 notes 'AAAsf'; Outlook Stable;
--$42,250,000 class B-1 notes 'AAsf'; Outlook Stable;
--$5,000,000 class B-2 notes 'AAsf'; Outlook Stable.

Fitch does not expect to rate the class C, D-1, D-2 or E notes or the subordinated notes.

TRANSACTION SUMMARY

Canyon CLO 2016-1, Ltd. (the issuer) and Canyon CLO 2016-1, LLC (the co-issuer) comprise an arbitrage cash flow collateralized loan obligation (CLO) that will be managed by Canyon CLO Advisors LLC. Net proceeds from the issuance of the secured and subordinated notes will be used to purchase a portfolio of approximately $450 million of primarily senior secured leveraged loans. The CLO will have a four-year reinvestment period and a two-year noncall period.

KEY RATING DRIVERS

Sufficient Credit Enhancement: Credit enhancement (CE) of 45% for class A-1 notes and 35% for class A-2 notes (when referenced together, class A) and 24.5% for class B-1 and B-2 (together, class B) notes, in addition to excess spread, is sufficient to protect against portfolio default and recovery rate projections in the 'AAAsf' and 'AAsf' stress scenarios, respectively. Compared to CE levels of recent CLO issuances for notes in the same respective rating categories, the degree of CE available is above average for class A-1 notes, below average for class A-2 notes and average for class B notes. Cash flow modeling results for the three classes indicate performance in line with other Fitch-rated CLO notes at their respective ratings.

'B+/B' Asset Quality: The average credit quality of the indicative portfolio is 'B+/B', which is comparable to recent CLOs. Issuers rated in the 'B' rating category denote a highly speculative credit quality; however, in Fitch's opinion, class A-1, A-2 and B notes are unlikely to be affected by the foreseeable level of defaults. Class A-1, A-2 and B notes are robust against default rates of up to 66.6%, 60.0% and 55.7%, respectively.

Strong Recovery Expectations: The indicative portfolio consists of 97.2% first lien senior secured loans. Approximately 91.1% of the indicative portfolio has either strong recovery prospects or a Fitch-assigned Recovery Rating of 'RR2' or higher, and the base case recovery assumption is 77.8%. In determining the class A and B note ratings, Fitch stressed the indicative portfolio by assuming a higher portfolio concentration of assets with lower recovery prospects and further reduced recovery assumptions of higher rating stress assumptions, resulting in a 39.3% and 47.4% recovery rate assumption in Fitch's 'AAAsf' and 'AAsf' scenarios, respectively.

RATING SENSITIVITIES

Fitch evaluated the structure's sensitivity to the potential variability of key model assumptions, including decreases in recovery rates and increases in default rates or correlation. Fitch expects class A and B notes to remain investment grade even under the most extreme sensitivity scenarios. Results under these sensitivity scenarios ranged between 'AAsf' and 'AAAsf' for class A-1, 'A+sf' and 'AAAsf' for class A-2 and 'BBB-sf' and AA+sf' for class B.

Key Rating Drivers and Rating Sensitivities are further described in the accompanying presale report, which is available to investors on Fitch's website at 'www.fitchratings.com'.

DUE DILIGENCE USAGE

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