Community Choice 'CCC' Issuer Credit Rating Affirmed, Outlook Remains Negative; Senior Secured Notes Upgraded To 'CCC'
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- Community Choice Financial Inc. (CCFI) continues to face deteriorating
profitability and remains vulnerable to potential regulatory changes.
- Nonetheless, we believe CCFI is unlikely to continue to repurchase its
senior secured notes at distressed prices over the near term, a practice
that we view as tantamount to a default.
- We are therefore raising the rating on CCFI's senior secured notes to
'CCC' from 'D'. At the same time, we are affirming our long-term issuer
credit rating on CCFI at 'CCC'.
- The negative outlook reflects the risk of further weakness in the firm's
credit profile, largely due to impending federal and state regulatory
changes that are likely to alter its business model.
NEW YORK (S&P Global Ratings) April 18, 2017--S&P Global Ratings said today it
affirmed its issuer credit rating on Community Choice Financial Inc. (CCFI) at
'CCC'. The outlook remains negative.
At the same time, we raised the issue ratings on CCFI's 10.75% senior secured
notes due May 2019 to 'CCC' from 'D'. Our recovery rating on these notes
remains '4', reflecting our expectation for an average recovery (35%-40%) in a
simulated default scenario.
"We are raising our debt rating on CCFI's senior secured notes to 'CCC' from
'D' because we do not expect the firm to repurchase its debt in the secondary
market at a discount in the near term" said Gaurav A Parikh S&P Global Ratings
credit analyst. In the first half of 2016, CCFI repurchased $103.9 million of
its senior secured notes at about 37% of par. The notes are currently trading
at 85%-90% of par. Although we do not expect near-term repurchases, we do
believe CCFI and its financial sponsors may undertake further restructurings
via distressed debt repurchases if the price on the notes erodes, or may seek
to restructure its obligations under terms we would deem disadvantageous to
debtholders. If this were to occur, we would likely lower the rating on the
senior secured notes to 'D' and the issuer credit rating to 'SD' (selective
default).
Our issuer credit rating reflects the precarious capital structure and
business model of the subprime payday lender. Dublin, Ohio- based CCFI
provides alternative financial services to unbanked and underbanked customers.
As of December 2016, CCFI operated 518 retail locations across 12 states and
was licensed to deliver similar financial services over the internet in 32
states.
The negative outlook reflects S&P Global Ratings' expectation that over the
next 12 months, CCFI's credit profile will continue to weaken and remain
vulnerable to impending federal and state regulatory developments. We expect
leverage to remain above 6.0x over the next 12 months and EBITDA coverage
staying below 1.5x.
We could lower the rating over the next 12 months if we expect EBITDA coverage
to decline below 1.0x or if the company returns to repurchasing its debt
through open market transactions, which we could view as tantamount to
default. We would also lower the rating if the company engages in any form of
debt restructuring, such as extending the tenure on existing notes or
exchanging the existing notes below par for new issuance.
An upgrade is unlikely over the next 12 months. However, we could revise the
outlook to stable if there is reduced refinancing risk, the pending CFPB
regulations are less stringent than expected, and the company is able to
improve its operational performance.