Fitch Affirms Procul (Proprietary) Limited at 'AAA(zaf)'; Outlook Stable
Fitch Ratings-London/Johannesburg-17 March 2009: Fitch Ratings has today affirmed Procul (Pty) Ltd's (Procul) ZAR1,000m class A fixed-rate notes and ZAR282m class A floating-rate notes at 'AAA(zaf)' with Stable Outlook. The notes have a final legal maturity of 31 August 2010.
Procul is a synthetic securitisation of retail instalment-sale automotive loans originated and managed in South Africa by WesBank, a division of FirstRand Bank Ltd (FRB 'F1+(zaf)'/'AA(zaf)' Outlook Stable).
The rating action follows a satisfactory review and performance to date. The write-offs ratio, which was 6.43% as of January 2009, has remained relatively low since inception in June 2002, below the early amortisation trigger of 15%.
As of January 2009 the cumulative net loss ratio was at 1.33%, compared to the Fitch net loss base case assumption of 4.64% for the same point of seasoning. Despite there having been sufficient cash in the collection account to cover losses since closing, the trend has been a downward one, with the special coupon ratio having dropped to 0.18% in August 2008 from 0.38% in February 2008.
As of January 2009 the level of credit enhancement available to the class A notes was 35.9%, having remained unchanged since closing, with the unrated junior notes providing sufficient subordination to the senior class A notes. Since February 2004, and thereafter on a semi-annual basis, WesBank has had the right to exercise a call option, but has not exercised its right to date.
Contact: Miguel Barata, London, Tel: +44 20 7070 5829; Joshua Cohen, Johannesburg, +2711 380 0907.
Media Relations: Julian Dennison, London, Tel: +44 020 7682 7480, Email: julian.dennison@fitchratings.com.
Fitch's National ratings provide a relative measure of creditworthiness for rated entities in countries with relatively low international sovereign ratings and where there is demand for such ratings. The best risk within a country is rated 'AAA' and other credits are rated only relative to this risk. National ratings are designed for use mainly by local investors in local markets and are signified by the addition of an identifier for the country concerned, such as 'AAA(zaf)' for National ratings in South Africa. Specific letter grades are not therefore internationally comparable.
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