Fitch Rates Steele Creek CLO 2014-1, Ltd./LLC; Issues New Issue Report

Fitch Ratings assigns the following ratings to Steele Creek CLO 2014-1, Ltd./LLC:

--$213,800,000 class A-1 notes 'AAAsf'; Outlook Stable;

--$40,000,000 class A-2 notes 'AAAsf'; Outlook Stable.

Fitch does not rate the class B, C, D, E-1 or E-2 notes or the subordinated notes.

TRANSACTION SUMMARY

Steele Creek CLO 2014-1, Ltd. (the issuer) and Steele Creek CLO 2014-1, LLC (the co-issuer) together comprise an arbitrage cash flow collateralized loan obligation (CLO) that will be managed by Steele Creek Investment Management LLC (Steele Creek). Net proceeds from the issuance of the secured and subordinated notes will be used to purchase a portfolio of approximately $400 million of primarily senior secured leveraged loans. The CLO will have a four-year reinvestment period and a two-year noncall period.

KEY RATING DRIVERS

Sufficient Credit Enhancement: Credit enhancement (CE) of 36.6% for class A-1 and class A-2 (collectively, class A) notes, in addition to excess spread, is sufficient to protect against portfolio default and recovery rate projections in a 'AAAsf' stress scenario. The degree of CE available to class A notes is slightly lower than the average CE of recent CLO issuances; however, cash flow modeling indicates performance in line with other 'AAAsf' CLO notes.

'B' Asset Quality: The average credit quality of the indicative portfolio is approximately 'B', which is in line with other recent CLOs. Issuers rated in the 'B' rating category denote a highly speculative credit quality; however, in Fitch's opinion, class A notes are unlikely to be affected by the foreseeable level of defaults. Class A notes are projected to be able to withstand default rates of up to 62.2%.

Strong Recovery Expectations: The indicative portfolio consists of 99.4% first lien senior secured loans. Approximately 97.9% of the indicative portfolio has either strong recovery prospects or a Fitch-assigned recovery rating of 'RR2' or higher resulting in a base case recovery assumption of 77.4%. In determining the class A notes' ratings, Fitch stressed the indicative portfolio by assuming a higher portfolio concentration of assets with lower recovery prospects and further reduced recovery assumptions for higher rating stress assumptions. The analysis of Steele Creek CLO 2014-1 class A notes assumed a 36.6% recovery rate in Fitch's 'AAAsf' scenario.

RATING SENSITIVITIES

Fitch evaluated the structure's sensitivity to the potential variability of key model assumptions including decreases in weighted average spread or recovery rates and increases in default rates or correlation. Fitch expects the class A notes to remain investment grade even under the most extreme sensitivity scenarios. Results under these sensitivity scenarios ranged between 'A+sf' and 'AAAsf' for the class A notes.

Key Rating Drivers and Rating Sensitivities are further described in the accompanying new issue report, available at 'www.fitchratings.com'.

For more information about Fitch's comprehensive subscription service FitchResearch, which includes all presale reports, surveillance and credit reports on more than 20 asset classes, contact product sales at +1-212-908-0800 or at 'webmaster@fitchratings.com'.

Additional information is available at 'www.fitchratings.com'.

Sources of information used to assess these ratings were provided by the arranger, BNP Paribas Securities Corp., and the public domain.

Applicable Criteria and Related Research:

--'Global Structured Finance Rating Criteria' (Aug. 4, 2014);

--'Global Rating Criteria for Corporate CDOs' (July 25, 2014);

--'Criteria for Interest Rate Stresses in Structured Finance Transactions and Covered Bonds' (Jan. 23, 2014);

--'Counterparty Criteria for Structured Finance and Covered Bonds' (May 14, 2014).

Applicable Criteria and Related Research: Steele Creek CLO 2014-1, Ltd./LLC

http://www.fitchratings.com/creditdesk/reports/report_frame.cfm?rpt_id=762228

Global Structured Finance Rating Criteria

http://www.fitchratings.com/creditdesk/reports/report_frame.cfm?rpt_id=754389

Global Rating Criteria for Corporate CDOs

http://www.fitchratings.com/creditdesk/reports/report_frame.cfm?rpt_id=753057

Criteria for Interest Rate Stresses in Structured Finance Transactions and Covered Bonds

http://www.fitchratings.com/creditdesk/reports/report_frame.cfm?rpt_id=725537

Counterparty Criteria for Structured Finance and Covered Bonds

http://www.fitchratings.com/creditdesk/reports/report_frame.cfm?rpt_id=744158

Additional Disclosure

Solicitation Status

http://www.fitchratings.com/gws/en/disclosure/solicitation?pr_id=855774

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