DBRS Morningstar Places the Preferred Shares Issued by Dividend 15 Split Corp. II Under Review with Negative Implications

DBRS Limited (DBRS Morningstar) placed the Preferred Shares issued by Dividend 15 Split Corp. II (the Company) Under Review with Negative Implications. The Company invests in a portfolio of securities (the Portfolio) funded by issuing two classes of shares: dividend-yielding Preferred Shares and capital shares (the Capital Shares). In such structure, the Preferred Shares normally benefit from the downside protection provided by the net asset value (NAV) of the Capital Shares. Following the stock market sell-off in response to the worldwide spread of the Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) and various geopolitical news, the Preferred Shares experienced substantial declines in their downside protection. As a result, DBRS Morningstar has placed the Preferred Shares Under Review with Negative Implications. DBRS Morningstar will take further rating action on the Preferred Shares once a longer-term trend has been established for the NAV of the Company.

This rating action was based on factors that included additional analysis and, where appropriate, additional assumptions were applied to expected performance as a result of the global efforts to contain the spread of the coronavirus. On April 16, 2020, the DBRS Morningstar Sovereigns group published its outlook on the impact on key economic indicators for the 2020–22 time frame. For details see https://www.dbrsmorningstar.com/research/359679. For the current rating action, DBRS Morningstar’s analysis considered impacts consistent with the moderate scenario in the referenced commentary.

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:
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 principal methodology is Rating Canadian Split Share Companies and Trusts (June 25, 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 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.

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

DBRS Limited
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Toronto, ON M5H 3M7 Canada
Tel. +1 416 593-5577