Fitch Upgrades AEGON USA Realty Advisor's Special Servicer Rating

Fitch Ratings has upgraded the commercial mortgage special servicer rating of AEGON USA Realty Advisor, LLC (AURA) to 'CSS2' from 'CSS2-'.

The rating reflects Fitch's assessment of AURA's experience and effectiveness as a commercial real estate special servicer, seasoned special servicing and REO asset management teams that had no turnover in the past two years, the company's internal control environment, as well as the financial support provided by its investment grade parent company, AEGON, N.V. The rating also considers AURA's investment in its technology platform having implemented a new proprietary special servicing application in 2014 improving its asset management tracking and reporting capabilities.

AURA is the commercial real estate investment and management arm of AEGON USA and its North American asset management organization. It provides real estate investment services including special servicing for its general investment account and other unaffiliated institutional investors and includes a limited volume of CMBS loans.

Through its third party asset management efforts AURA continues to expand its third party and CMBS special servicing program. It had noted success in the past year forging relationships with investment banks and being named special servicer for several 2013 and 2014 single asset/borrower transactions and one CMBS transaction secured by eight commercial real estate loans. Additionally, a non-affiliate is the asset manager for a CDO with six CMBS loans in it for which AURA is the special servicer.

As of Sept. 30, 2014 AURA's named special servicing portfolio was comprised of 65 CMBS loans with a UPB of $3.6 billion in 11 transactions of which one loan was actively being special serviced with a UPB of $6.1 million and three REO assets totaling $27.8 million. Additionally, the company was named special servicer on 1,277 non CMBS loans with a UPB of $9 billion of which 97 loans with a UPB of $909.3 million and 66 REO assets with a UPB of $539.2 million was actively special serviced.

The servicer rating is based on the methodology described in Fitch's reports 'U.S. Commercial Mortgage Servicer Rating Criteria,' dated Feb. 18, 2011, and 'Rating Criteria for Structured Finance Servicers' dated Feb. 6, 2013, available on Fitch's web site www.fitchratings.com.

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

Applicable Criteria and Related Research:

--'U.S. Commercial Mortgage Servicer Rating Criteria' (Feb. 18, 2011);

--'Rating Criteria for Structured Finance Servicers' (Feb. 6, 2013).

Applicable Criteria and Related Research:

Rating Criteria for U.S. Commercial Mortgage Servicers

http://www.fitchratings.com/creditdesk/reports/report_frame.cfm?rpt_id=735382

Rating Criteria for Structured Finance Servicers

http://www.fitchratings.com/creditdesk/reports/report_frame.cfm?rpt_id=731750

Additional Disclosure

Solicitation Status

http://www.fitchratings.com/gws/en/disclosure/solicitation?pr_id=901234

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