DBRS Morningstar Assigns AAA Ratings to BMO Global Registered Covered Bonds Series CBL19 and CBL20

DBRS Limited (DBRS Morningstar) assigned ratings of AAA to the Covered Bonds, Series CBL19 (Series CBL19) and the Covered Bonds, Series CBL20 (Series CBL20) issued under the Bank of Montreal (Global Registered Covered Bond Program) (the Program). The Series CBL19 ($1.5 billion) covered bonds have a coupon rate of one-month Canadian Dollar Offered Rate (CDOR) + 0.8% and a maturity date of September 27, 2021. The Series CBL20 ($1.5 billion) covered bonds have a coupon rate of one-month CDOR + 0.85% and a maturity date of March 27, 2023. All covered bonds issued under the Program (the Covered Bonds) rank pari passu with each other and are currently rated AAA by DBRS Morningstar.

The AAA ratings are based on the following analytical considerations:

-- A Covered Bond Attachment Point of AA, which is the Long-Term Senior Debt rating of the Bank of Montreal (BMO). BMO is the Reference Entity for the Program.
-- A Legal and Structuring Framework (LSF) assessment of Strong associated with the Program.
-- A Cover Pool Credit Assessment of BBB (high).
-- An LSF-Implied Likelihood (LSF-L) of AA.
-- A two-notch uplift from the LSF-L for high recovery prospects to achieve the AAA ratings.
-- A level of overcollateralization (OC) of 7.0% (based on the Asset Percentage of 93.5% as at February 29, 2020) to which DBRS Morningstar gives credit.

The following factors were considered in the analysis described above:

(1) The Covered Bonds are senior unsecured direct-deposit obligations of BMO and are excluded from Canada’s bank recapitalization (bail-in) regime.

(2) In addition to a general recourse to BMO’s assets, the Covered Bonds are supported by a diversified pool of first-lien conventional Canadian residential mortgages with a maximum loan-to-value (LTV) ratio of 80.0% at origination (the Cover Pool). The Cover Pool was approximately $32.5 billion as at February 29, 2020.

(3) The Covered Bonds benefit from several structural features, such as a reserve fund, when applicable, and rating thresholds for the swap counterparties, servicer, account bank, cash manager, and guaranteed deposit account provider.

(4) Upon a default by BMO, the final maturity date on the Covered Bonds can be extended for 12 months, which increases the likelihood that the Covered Bonds can be fully repaid.

(5) There is a specific covered bond legislative framework in Canada. In addition, the contractual obligations of the transaction parties are supported by Canada’s well-developed commercial and bankruptcy laws, the satisfactory opinions provided by legal counsel to BMO, and a generally creditor-friendly legal environment in Canada.

Despite these strengths, the ratings on the Covered Bonds could face the following challenges:

(1) A weakened housing market in Canada could result in higher defaults and/or lower recoveries than the assumptions used in the Cover Pool’s credit assessment. This risk is significantly reduced by the home equity available in relation to the portfolio’s weighted-average LTV ratio of 52.85% (based on indexed property value) reported by BMO as at February 29, 2020.

(2) BMO may need to add mortgages to maintain the Cover Pool, incurring substitution and potential credit deterioration risk. These risks are mitigated by the ongoing monitoring of the Cover Pool to ensure that the OC available is commensurate with the ratings of the Covered Bonds. Based on the latest review of the Cover Pool, DBRS Morningstar considers 3.0% OC, corresponding to the Regulatory OC Minimum, to be commensurate with the AAA ratings.

(3) There is an inherent liquidity gap between the scheduled repayments of the Covered Bonds and the repayment of the underlying mortgage loans over time. This risk is mitigated by OC, the buildup of a reserve fund if BMO is not rated at least A (low) or R-1 (middle), and the 12-month maturity extension upon default by BMO.

BMO is one of Canada’s largest banks as measured by assets as at January 31, 2020, with assets of $879.7 billion and total equity of $52.2 billion. It is the initial servicer of the mortgages in the Cover Pool.

ESG CONSIDERATIONS
A description of how DBRS Morningstar considers ESG factors within the DBRS Morningstar analytical framework and its methodologies can be found at https://www.dbrsmorningstar.com/research/357792.

Notes:
All figures are in Canadian dollars unless otherwise noted.

The principal methodology is Rating and Monitoring Covered Bonds (June 2019), which can be found on dbrsmorningstar.com under Methodologies & Criteria.

For more information regarding rating methodologies and Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19), please see the following DBRS Morningstar press release: https://www.dbrsmorningstar.com/research/357883.

For more information regarding structured finance rating methodologies and Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19), please see the following DBRS Morningstar press release: https://www.dbrsmorningstar.com/research/358308.

The related regulatory disclosures pursuant to the National Instrument 25-101 Designated Rating Organizations are hereby incorporated by reference and can be found by clicking on the link under Related Documents or by contacting us at info@dbrsmorningstar.com.

The rated entity or its related entities did participate in the rating process for this rating action. DBRS Morningstar had access to the accounts and other relevant internal documents of the rated entity or its related entities in connection with this rating action.

Please see the related appendix for additional information regarding the sensitivity of assumptions used in the rating process.

This rating is endorsed by DBRS Ratings Limited (DBRS Morningstar) for use in the European Union. The following additional regulatory disclosures apply to endorsed ratings:

The last rating action on this Program took place on January 27, 2020, when DBRS Morningstar discontinued the rating of the Covered Bonds, Series CBL2, as the series was fully repaid .

For further information on DBRS Morningstar historical default rates published by the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) in a central repository, see http://cerep.esma.europa.eu/cerep-web/statistics/defaults.xhtml.

Lead Analyst: Paul Bretzlaff, Senior Vice President
Rating Committee Chair: Tim O'Neil, Managing Director
Initial Rating Date: April 28, 2014

For more information on this credit or on this industry, visit www.dbrsmorningstar.com or contact us at info@dbrsmorningstar.com.

DBRS Limited
DBRS Tower, 181 University Avenue, Suite 700
Toronto, ON M5H 3M7 Canada
Tel. +1 416 593-5577

Principal methodology: Rating and Monitoring Covered Bonds (June 2019)
Link: https://www.dbrsmorningstar.com/research/347574/rating-and-monitoring-covered-bonds

Predictive model: Canadian RMBS Model (November 2019; Version 5.0.0.1)
Link: https://www.dbrsmorningstar.com/models/