Fitch Affirms WFRBS 2014-C23

Fitch Ratings has affirmed 16 classes of WFRBS Commercial Mortgage Trust 2014-C23 (WFRBS 2014-C23) commercial mortgage pass-through certificates. A detailed list of rating actions follows at the end of this press release.

KEY RATING DRIVERS

The affirmations of the WFRBS 2014-C23 certificates are based on the stable performance of the underlying collateral pool. There have been no delinquent or specially serviced loans since issuance. The stable performance reflects no material changes to pool metrics since issuance, therefore the original rating analysis was considered in affirming the transaction.

The pool's aggregate principal balance has been paid down 1.16% to $930 million from $941 million. Fitch has designated one loan (3%) as a Fitch Loan of Concern (FLOC).

The FLOC (3% of the pool) is secured by 677 Broadway, a 177,039 square foot (sf) 12-story office property developed in 2004 and located in the CBD of Albany, NY. Overall performance has declined since issuance. Occupancy declined to 84% as of March 2016 from 96% at issuance. As a result of the lower occupancy, as of December 2015, net operating income (NOI) is 20% lower than Fitch's stressed cash flow at issuance. Fitch will continue to monitor the performance of the property.

The largest loan of the pool (12.5%) is secured by Bank of America Plaza, a 1.4 million sf, LEED Gold Certified office building located in the Bunker Hill area of downtown Los Angeles, CA. Occupancy at the subject has remained stable at 92% since issuance. The servicer reported a debt service coverage ratio (DSCR) based off of year-end (YE) 2015 financials of 2.45x, compared with 2.28x at issuance.

The second largest loan (8.1%) is secured by the Columbus Square Portfolio, which contains five retail and community facility units and an underground parking garage, totaling 494,244 sf and located on Manhattan's Upper West Side. As of March 2016, the property was 96% occupied. The largest tenants include Quik Park (21.9% of net rentable area [NRA]), Whole Foods (12.6% of NRA), Mandell School (11.1% of NRA) and TJ Maxx (8.2% of NRA). As of YE 2015, debt service coverage ratio (DSCR) was 1.37x, compared with 1.39x at issuance.

RATING SENSITIVITIES

Rating Outlooks on classes A-1 through F remain Stable due to the relatively stable performance of the pool since issuance. No positive or negative rating changes are expected in the near term unless there are material changes to pool performance. Additional information on key rating drivers and rating sensitivities are further described in the new issue report WFRBS Commercial Mortgage Trust 2014-C23 (Sept. 30, 2014), available at www.fitchratings.com.

USE OF THIRD-PARTY DUE DILIGENCE PURSUANT TO SEC RULE 17G-10

Form ABS Due Diligence-15E was not provided to, or reviewed by, Fitch in relation to this rating action.

Fitch has affirmed the following ratings:

--$32.41 million class A-1 at 'AAAsf'; Outlook Stable;

--$33.2 million class A-2 at 'AAAsf'; Outlook Stable;

--$8.5 million class A-3 at 'AAAsf'; Outlook Stable;

--$245 million class A-4 at 'AAAsf'; Outlook Stable;

--$257.8 million class A-5 at 'AAAsf'; Outlook Stable;

--$70.8 million class A-SB at 'AAAsf'; Outlook Stable;

--$56.5 million class A-S at 'AAAsf'; Outlook Stable;

--$44.7 million class B at 'AA-sf'; Outlook Stable;

--$35.3 million class C at 'A-sf'; Outlook Stable;

--$136.4 million class PEX at 'A-sf'; Outlook Stable;

--$76.4 million class D at 'BBB-sf'; Outlook Stable;

--$11.8 million class E at 'BBsf'; Outlook Stable;

--$17.6 million class F at 'Bsf'; Outlook Stable;

--$703.6 million* class X-A at 'AAAsf'; Outlook Stable;

--$11.8 million* class X-C at 'BBsf'; Outlook Stable;

--$17.6 million* class X-D at 'Bsf'; Outlook Stable.

Class A-S, B, and C certificates may be exchanged for class PEX certificates.

*Notional Amount and interest only.

Fitch does not rate class G, X-B, X-E, X-Y certificates.

Additional information is available at www.fitchratings.com.

Applicable Criteria

Counterparty Criteria for Structured Finance and Covered Bonds (pub. 18 Jul 2016)
https://www.fitchratings.com/site/re/884963

Criteria for Rating Caps and Limitations in Global Structured Finance Transactions (pub. 16 Jun 2016)
https://www.fitchratings.com/site/re/882401

Global Structured Finance Rating Criteria (pub. 27 Jun 2016)
https://www.fitchratings.com/site/re/883130

U.S. and Canadian Fixed-Rate Multiborrower CMBS Surveillance and U.S. Re-REMIC Criteria (pub. 13 Nov 2015)
https://www.fitchratings.com/site/re/873395

Related Research

WFRBS Commercial Mortgage Trust 2014-C23 - Appendix
https://www.fitchratings.com/site/re/775848

Additional Disclosures

Dodd-Frank Rating Information Disclosure Form
https://www.fitchratings.com/creditdesk/press_releases/content/ridf_frame.cfm?pr_id=1010753

Solicitation Status
https://www.fitchratings.com/gws/en/disclosure/solicitation?pr_id=1010753

Endorsement Policy
https://www.fitchratings.com/jsp/creditdesk/PolicyRegulation.faces?context=2&detail=31

ALL FITCH CREDIT RATINGS ARE SUBJECT TO CERTAIN LIMITATIONS AND DISCLAIMERS. PLEASE READ THESE LIMITATIONS AND DISCLAIMERS BY FOLLOWING THIS LINK: HTTP://FITCHRATINGS.COM/UNDERSTANDINGCREDITRATINGS. IN ADDITION, RATING DEFINITIONS AND THE TERMS OF USE OF SUCH RATINGS ARE AVAILABLE ON THE AGENCY'S PUBLIC WEBSITE 'WWW.FITCHRATINGS.COM'. PUBLISHED RATINGS, CRITERIA AND METHODOLOGIES ARE AVAILABLE FROM THIS SITE AT ALL TIMES. FITCH'S CODE OF CONDUCT, CONFIDENTIALITY, CONFLICTS OF INTEREST, AFFILIATE FIREWALL, COMPLIANCE AND OTHER RELEVANT POLICIES AND PROCEDURES ARE ALSO AVAILABLE FROM THE 'CODE OF CONDUCT' SECTION OF THIS SITE. FITCH MAY HAVE PROVIDED ANOTHER PERMISSIBLE SERVICE TO THE RATED ENTITY OR ITS RELATED THIRD PARTIES. DETAILS OF THIS SERVICE FOR RATINGS FOR WHICH THE LEAD ANALYST IS BASED IN AN EU-REGISTERED ENTITY CAN BE FOUND ON THE ENTITY SUMMARY PAGE FOR THIS ISSUER ON THE FITCH WEBSITE.

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