...This Exposure Draft details Fitch Ratings` proposed methodology for analysing EMEA commercial mortgage loans and commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS). For CMBS, it outlines how the financial and legal structure of the issuer may affect ratings. The criteria are aimed at markets with a track record of commercial real estate (CRE) investment, a range of debt originators, a deep base of occupiers, and reliable legal underpinning of mortgage security. These proposals may also be relevant for the analysis of covered bonds, to the extent that the Criteria for the Analysis of Commercial Real Estate Securing Covered Bonds Assets makes reference to the CMBS criteria (eg pools with high obligor concentration). Material changes from the report EMEA CMBS Rating Criteria, published 3 April include a widening of scope to include loan ratings; more transparency on how key assumptions are set (as well as guidance ranges in Appendix 5) and on how contracted income is analysed....
