Fitch Ratings has upgraded
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Rating
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CMBS Special Servicer
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Key Rating Drivers
The upgrade of the special servicer rating reflects significant operational improvements the company has made since its separation from its former parent company,
The rating upgrade also recognizes improved employee turnover, which had previously been a concern, and the financial condition of the parent company
BrightSpire is the captive special servicer of
In
BrightSpire strengthened its information technology infrastructure with the addition of RealINSIGHT in 2022. The application contains more robust asset management and reporting functionality compared to legacy tools. The company also uses Anaplan as its primary data repository and to aggregate data from multiple sources, including data feeds from primary servicers, as well as budget planning.
In addition to using Anaplan as the company's primary data repository, BrightSpire also utilizes Tableau for reporting, Yardi for accounting, as well as SharePoint and
The special servicing group comprises 16 employees, 13 of whom are fully dedicated to performing loan asset management and special servicing functions. Three employees, who have less than a 50% allocation to special servicing, are also responsible for credit, originations, and administrative support functions. Overall turnover declined significantly to 19% during the 12-months ending
Fitch identified two members of the special servicing group as asset managers who are actively working out defaulted loans. Asset managers average 20 years of industry experience and 11 years with the company and currently maintain an assets to asset manager ratio of less than 2:1, which is amongst the lowest for Fitch-rated special servicers and indicates excess capacity for potential future loan defaults. Employees completed approximately 40 hours of training during the 12 months ending
BrightSpire has structured its internal control environment around the requirements of a publicly traded company along the three-lines-of-defense methodology. The company's control environment consists of high-level policies and procedures, detailed desktop procedures, active management oversight and outsourced internal audits. BrightSpire monitors compliance with policies and procedures through operational controls integrated within workflows and a formal committee approval process for material decisions.
The company completed its first internal audit as a stand-alone entity in 2022 with no findings. The prior audit was completed in 2019 by CLNY although the company expects to continue internal audits annually going forward.
As of
Depending on capital market liquidity,
Additional information is available on www.fitchratings.com
PARTICIPATION STATUS
The rated entity (and/or its agents) or, in the case of structured finance, one or more of the transaction parties participated in the rating process except that the following issuer(s), if any, did not participate in the rating process, or provide additional information, beyond the issuer's available public disclosure.
APPLICABLE CRITERIA
Criteria for Rating North American Commercial Mortgage Servicers (pub.
Criteria for Rating Loan Servicers (pub.
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