Fitch Rates Babson CLO Ltd. 2014-II/LLC

Fitch Ratings assigns the following ratings to Babson CLO Ltd. 2014-II/LLC (Babson 2014-II):

--$352,000,000 class A notes 'AAAsf'; Outlook Stable.

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

TRANSACTION SUMMARY

Babson CLO Ltd. 2014-II (the issuer) and Babson CLO 2014-II, LLC (the co-issuer) represent an arbitrage cash flow collateralized loan obligation (CLO) that will be managed by Babson Capital Management LLC (BCM). Net proceeds from the issuance of notes will be used to purchase a portfolio of approximately $550 million of leveraged loans. The CLO will have a four-year reinvestment period.

KEY RATING DRIVERS

Sufficient Credit Enhancement: Credit enhancement (CE) of 36% for the 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 the class A notes is slightly lower than the average CE of recent CLO issuances.

'B' Asset Quality: The average credit quality of the indicative portfolio is 'B', which is comparable to 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 64.1%.

Strong Recovery Expectations: The indicative portfolio consists of 97.6% first-lien senior-secured loans. Approximately 93.3% 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 76.6%. In determining the class A note rating, 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 Babson 2014-II class A notes assumed a 36.1% recovery rate in Fitch's 'AAAsf' scenario.

RATING SENSITIVITIES

In addition to Fitch's stated criteria, the agency analyzed 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.

The sources of information used to assess these ratings were provided by the arranger, Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner, & Smith, and the public domain.

Key Rating Drivers and Rating Sensitivities are further described in the accompanying new issue report, which will be available shortly to investors on Fitch's website 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'.

Applicable Criteria & 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:

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=875874

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Contacts:

Fitch Ratings
Primary Analyst
Aaron Hughes, +1 312-368-2074
Director
Fitch Ratings, Inc.
70 West Madison Street
Chicago, IL 60602
or
Secondary Analyst
Cristina Feracota, +1 312-606-2300
Associate Director
or
Committee Chairperson
Derek Miller, +1 312-368-2076
Senior Director
or
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sandro.scenga@fitchratings.com

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