Standard & Poor’s rating a boost to Capita Asset Services

Capita Asset Services in Ireland has been assigned a ranking by Standard & Poor's as a primary, special and master servicer of commercial mortgages in the State. This is the first time it has received such a ranking from the agency.

S&P has confirmed an “above average” ranking on Capita as a primary and master servicer and an “average” ranking as a special servicer. In addition, Fitch has affirmed Capita’s business here as an Irish commercial mortgage master servicer, a commercial mortgage primary servicer, and as a commercial mortgage special servicer.

Fitch said the Irish special servicing function leverages Capita’s expertise in the UK. “However, this is restricted by the fairly short average company tenure of their staff [in Ireland], who were recruited with the transfer of servicing rights just more than 12 months ago,” it said. Fitch said Capita had “sound” master servicing capabilities in terms of Irish commercial mortgages.

"Since the National Asset Management Agency mandate was put in place in 2010, the company has demonstrated its capability to accommodate the specific needs of a unique client," it said. "This included the migration of data from various different systems and different currencies while dealing with a high volume of loans. The master servicing function is supported by strong technology including a data warehouse providing a high level of automation."

Capita here benefits from the support of its ultimate parent, Capita plc, which provides such resources as IT support and development teams, staffing and training. Fitch said Capita in Ireland was master servicer on Nama-acquired loans with an original par debt value of €74 billion. The Nama-carrying value of the loans at the end of last year was €19.6 billion.

The primary servicing portfolio accounted for up to €32.6 billion comprising 4,499 loans secured against 5,692 assets. The active special servicing portfolio had an outstanding balance of €4.9 billion of 2,514 loans.

S&P said Capita’s recent acquisition in Britain of Crown Mortgage Management would benefit the Irish business. “The acquisition bolsters Capita’s growing retail banking business in Ireland and allows the company to leverage Crown’s specialist systems, infrastructure and expertise developed over 40 years in the residential mortgage sector,” it said.

Robbie Hughes, Capita's country manager in Ireland, said the S&P rating was a "significant endorsement" for the business here.

“While we have a strong reputation in commercial mortgages, we are also growing our residential mortgage services into a key component of our Irish business, and continually investing in the team, technology and infrastructure to ensure world-class expertise and support for clients.”

Capita Asset Services is a leading provider of business process outsourcing, currently managing €123 billion of commercial and residential loans. Capita employs 1,600 staff in the State, and in August announced the acquisition of South Western, a leading domestic provider of outsourced managed services.