UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

 

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FORM 8-K

 

CURRENT REPORT

 

Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the

 

Securities Exchange Act of 1934

 

Date of report (Date of earliest event reported): July 5, 2018

 

Morgan Stanley Bank of America Merrill Lynch Trust 2015-C20

(Exact name of issuing entity)

Morgan Stanley Capital I Inc.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

Morgan Stanley Mortgage Capital Holdings LLC

Bank of America, National Association

CIBC Inc.

(Exact names of sponsors as specified in their charters)

 

Delaware	333-180779-13	38-3952086 38-3952087 38-3952088 38-7127946
(State or Other Jurisdiction	(Commission File	(IRS Employer
of Incorporation)	Number)	Identification No.)

 

 

1585 Broadway	New York, New York	10036
(Address of Principal Executive Offices)		(Zip Code)

 

 

Registrant's telephone number, including area code:        (212) 761-4000     

 

Not applicable

(Former name or former address, if changed since last report.)

 

Check the appropriate box below if the Form 8-K filing is intended to simultaneously satisfy the filing obligation of the registrant under any following provisions:

 

[  ]	Written communications pursuant to Rule 425 under the Securities Act (17 CFR 230.425)
[  ]	Soliciting material pursuant to Rule 14a-12 under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14a-12)
[  ]	Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 14d-2(b) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14d-2(b))
[  ]	Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 13e-4(c) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.13e-4(c))

 

 

 

Item 6.02.

Change of Servicer or Trustee.

 

Effective as of July 5, 2018, Rialto Capital Advisors, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company (“Rialto”), replaced CWCapital Asset Management LLC (“CWCapital”), as special servicer for the MSBAM 2015-C20 securitization. Rialto was appointed (and CWCapital was removed) at the direction of RREF III Debt AIV, LP, the controlling class representative, pursuant to the terms of the Pooling and Servicing Agreement, dated as of January 1, 2015, between Morgan Stanley Capital I Inc., as depositor, Midland Loan Services, a Division of PNC Bank, National Association, as master servicer, CWCapital, as special servicer, Park Bridge Lender Services LLC, as trust advisor, and Wells Fargo Bank, National Association, as trustee, custodian, certificate administrator, certificate registrar and authenticating agent (the “Pooling and Servicing Agreement”). Under the Pooling and Servicing Agreement, during any Subordinate Control Period (as defined in the Pooling and Servicing Agreement), the controlling class representative has the right to terminate the special servicer at any time, with or without cause, and the controlling class representative has the right to, and is required to, appoint a successor special servicer. A copy of the Pooling and Servicing Agreement has been filed as Exhibit 4.1 to the Form 8-K filed by the issuing entity with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC File Number 333-180779-13) on January 29, 2015.

 

The Special Servicer

Rialto will serve as special servicer pursuant to the terms of the Pooling and Servicing Agreement. The Special Servicer (as defined in the Pooling and Servicing Agreement) will be primarily responsible for making decisions and performing certain servicing functions with respect to the mortgage loans that, in general, are in default or as to which default is imminent. Rialto maintains its principal servicing office at 790 NW 107th Avenue, 4th Floor, Miami, Florida 33172.

Rialto has been engaged in the special servicing of commercial mortgage loans for commercial real estate securitizations since approximately May 2012. Rialto currently has a commercial mortgage-backed securities special servicer rating of “CSS2” by Fitch, a commercial loan special servicer ranking of “Above Average” by S&P and a commercial mortgage special servicer ranking of “MOR CS2” by Morningstar Credit Ratings, LLC.

Rialto is an affiliate of Rialto Capital Management, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company (“RCM”). RCM is a vertically integrated commercial real estate investment and asset manager and an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of Lennar Corporation (“Lennar”) (NYSE: LEN and LEN.B), a national homebuilder with over 8,000 employees across the country’s largest real estate markets. In that regard, Lennar has engaged Wells Fargo Securities and Deutsche Bank Securities to advise Lennar regarding possible strategic alternatives that may be available with regard to RCM and its investment and asset management platform. As of March 31, 2018, RCM was the sponsor of, and certain of its affiliates were investors in, ten private equity funds (collectively, the “Funds”) and RCM also advised four separately managed accounts, having over $5.4 billion of regulatory assets under management in the aggregate (calculated as of December 31, 2017). Four of such Funds are focused on distressed and value-add real estate related investments and/or commercial mortgage backed securities, four of such Funds are focused on investments in commercial mortgage-backed securities and the other two Funds and the separately managed accounts are focused on mezzanine debt and credit investments. Through March 31, 2018, RCM has acquired and/or is managing over $7.5 billion of non- and sub-performing real estate assets, representing approximately 11 thousand loans.

In addition, RCM has underwritten and purchased, primarily for the Funds, over $6.1 billion in face value of subordinate, newly-originated commercial mortgage-backed securities certificates in approximately 88 different securitizations totaling approximately $92 billion in overall transaction size. RCM (or an affiliate) has the right to appoint the special servicer for each of these transactions.

RCM has over 250 employees as of March 31, 2018, and is headquartered in Miami with two other main offices located in New York City and Atlanta. RCM’s commercial real estate platform has twelve additional offices across the United States and four offices in Europe.

Rialto has detailed operating policies and procedures which are reviewed at least annually and updated as appropriate. These policies and procedures for the performance of its special servicing obligations are, among other things, in compliance with the applicable servicing criteria set forth in Item 1122 of Regulation AB under the Securities Act of 1933. Rialto has developed strategies and procedures for managing delinquent loans, loans subject to bankruptcies of the borrowers and other breaches by borrowers of the underlying loan documents that are designed to maximize value from the assets for the benefit of certificateholders. These strategies and procedures vary on a case by case basis, and include, but are not limited to, liquidation of the underlying collateral, note sales, discounted payoffs, and borrower negotiation or workout in accordance with the related servicing standard. The strategy pursued by Rialto for any particular property depends upon, among other things, the terms and provisions of the underlying loan documents, the jurisdiction where the underlying property is located and the condition and type of underlying property. Standardization and automation have been pursued, and continue to be pursued, wherever possible so as to provide for continued accuracy, efficiency, transparency, monitoring and controls.

Rialto is subject to external and internal audits and reviews. Rialto is subject to Lennar’s internal audit reviews, typically on a semi-annual basis, which focus on specific business areas such as finance, reporting, loan asset management and “REO” management. Rialto is also subject to external audits as part of the external audit of Lennar and stand-alone audits of the Funds. As part of such external audits, auditors perform test work and review internal controls throughout the year. As a result of this process, Rialto has been determined to be Sarbanes-Oxley compliant.

Rialto maintains a web-based asset management system that contains performance information at the portfolio, loan and property levels on the various loan and REO assets that it services. Additionally, Rialto has a formal, documented disaster recovery and business continuity plan which is managed by Lennar’s on-site staff.

As of March 31, 2018, Rialto and its affiliates were actively special servicing approximately 173 portfolio loans with a principal balance of approximately $213 million and were responsible for approximately 194 portfolio REO assets with a principal balance of approximately $242 million.

Rialto is also currently performing special servicing for approximately 92 commercial real estate securitizations. With respect to such securitization transactions, Rialto is administering approximately 6,511 assets with an original principal balance at securitization of approximately $94 billion. The asset pools specially serviced by Rialto include residential, multifamily/condo, office, retail, hotel, healthcare, industrial, manufactured housing and other income-producing properties as well as residential and commercial land.

The table below sets forth information about Rialto’s portfolio of specially serviced commercial and multifamily mortgage loans and REO properties in commercial mortgage-backed securitization transactions as of the dates indicated:

CMBS Pools	As of 12/31/2014	As of 12/31/2015	As of 12/31/2016		As of 12/31/2017	As of 03/31/2018
Number of CMBS Pools Named Special Servicer	45	59	75	90		92
Approximate Aggregate Unpaid Principal Balance(1)	$49.2 billion	$63.6 billion	$79 billion	$91.8 billion		$94.1 billion
Approximate Number of Specially Serviced Loans or REO Properties(2)	28	17	37	77		94
Approximate Aggregate Unpaid Principal Balance of Specially Serviced Loans or REO Properties(2)	$126.9 million	$141.9 million	$320 million	$1.1 billion		$1.4 billion

 

(1) Includes all commercial and multifamily mortgage loans and related REO properties in Rialto's portfolio for which Rialto is the named special servicer, regardless of whether such mortgage loans and related REO properties are, as of the specified date, specially serviced by Rialto.

(2) Includes only those commercial and multifamily mortgage loans and related REO properties in Rialto's portfolio for which Rialto is the named special servicer that are, as of the specified date, specially serviced by Rialto. Does not include any resolutions during the specified year.

In its capacity as the special servicer under the Pooling and Servicing Agreement, Rialto will not have primary responsibility for custody services of original documents evidencing the underlying mortgage loans. Rialto may from time to time have custody of certain of such documents as necessary for enforcement actions involving particular underlying mortgage loans or otherwise. To the extent that Rialto has custody of any such documents for any such servicing purposes, such documents will be maintained in a manner consistent with the Servicing Standard (as defined in the Pooling and Servicing Agreement).

Rialto does not have any material advancing rights or obligations with respect to the commercial mortgage-backed securities pools as to which it acts as special servicer. In certain instances, Rialto may have the right or be obligated to make property related servicing advances in emergency situations with respect to certain commercial mortgage-backed securities pools as to which it acts as special servicer.

There are, to the actual current knowledge of Rialto, no special or unique factors of a material nature involved in special servicing the particular types of assets serviced under the Pooling and Servicing Agreement, as compared to the types of assets specially serviced by Rialto in other commercial mortgage-backed securitization pools generally, for which Rialto has developed processes and procedures which materially differ from the processes and procedures employed by Rialto in connection with its special servicing of commercial mortgage-backed securitization pools generally.

There have not been, during the past three years, any material changes to the policies or procedures of Rialto in the servicing function it will perform under the Pooling and Servicing Agreement for assets of the same type included in the related securitization transaction. No securitization transaction in which Rialto was acting as special servicer has experienced a servicer termination event as a result of any action or inaction of Rialto as special servicer, including as a result of a failure by Rialto to comply with the applicable servicing criteria in connection with any securitization transaction. Rialto has not been terminated as special servicer in any securitization, either due to a servicing default or the application of a servicing performance test or trigger. Rialto has made all advances required to be made by it under the servicing agreements related to the securitization transactions in which Rialto is acting as special servicer. There has been no previous disclosure of material noncompliance with the applicable servicing criteria by Rialto in connection with any securitization in which Rialto was acting as special servicer. Rialto does not believe that its financial condition will have any adverse effect on the performance of its duties under the Pooling and Servicing Agreement and, accordingly, Rialto believes that its financial condition will not have any material impact on the mortgage pool performance or the performance of the certificates of the issuing entity.

From time to time Rialto is a party to lawsuits and other legal proceedings as part of its duties as a loan servicer (e.g., enforcement of loan obligations) and/or arising in the ordinary course of business. Rialto does not believe that any such lawsuits or legal proceedings would, individually or in the aggregate, have a material adverse effect on its business or its ability to service loans pursuant to the Pooling and Servicing Agreement.

There are currently no legal proceedings pending, and no legal proceedings known to be contemplated by governmental authorities, against Rialto or of which any of its property is the subject, which are material to certificateholders. Rialto occasionally engages consultants to perform property inspections and to provide surveillance on a property and its local market; it currently does not have any plans to engage sub-servicers to perform on its behalf any of its duties with respect to the Pooling and Servicing Agreement with the exception of some outsourced base servicing functions.

In the commercial mortgage-backed securitizations in which Rialto acts as special servicer, Rialto may enter into one or more arrangements with any party entitled to appoint or remove and replace the special servicer to provide for a discount and/or revenue sharing with respect to certain of the special servicer compensation in consideration of, among other things, Rialto’s appointment as special servicer under the applicable servicing agreement and limitations on such person’s right to replace Rialto as the special servicer.

Rialto is an affiliate of the entity that serves as Controlling Class Representative under the Pooling and Servicing Agreement. Rialto has also been appointed as special servicer for the One and Only Ocean Club Mortgage Loan (as defined in the Pooling and Servicing Agreement), which is serviced under the MSBAM 2014-C19 Pooling and Servicing Agreement (as defined in the Pooling and Servicing Agreement), and it is an affiliate of the entity that is the controlling class representative under the MSBAM 2014-C19 Pooling and Servicing Agreement. From time to time, Rialto and/or its affiliates may purchase securities, including CMBS certificates. Rialto and/or its affiliates may purchase certificates issued by the issuing entity in the secondary market. Any such party will have the right to dispose of such certificates at any time.

The information set forth above under this heading "The Special Servicer" has been provided by Rialto.

A description of additional material terms of the Pooling and Servicing Agreement regarding the role of the special servicer, including limitations on the special servicer's liability under the Pooling and Servicing Agreement and terms regarding the special servicer's removal, replacement, resignation or transfer, is included in the Prospectus Supplement filed by the issuing entity with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC File Number 333-180779-13) on January 29, 2015.

SIGNATURES

 

 

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned hereunto duly authorized.

 

 

 

	Morgan Stanley Capital I Inc.
	By:	/s/ Jane Lam
		Name:  Jane Lam
		Title: Vice President

 

 

Date: July 10, 2018