S&P Affirms Eureko’s ‘A-‘ Ratings

Standard & Poor’s has affirmed its single-‘A’- minus counterparty credit and senior unsecured debt ratings on the Netherlands-based insurer Eureko B.V., and has rated its principle subsidiaries in Holland and Portugal as double-‘A’-minus; however, it revised its outlook from stable to negative.

“The ratings reflect the Eureko group’s very strong business position, which has been further reinforced by the integration of U.K. asset manager Foreign & Colonial and the leading Greek life group InterAmerican,” said the S&P announcement. “Eureko now comprises an increasingly significant and diversified franchise of European operations and brands that are almost invariably leaders in their local markets, with nonlife personal lines, life and health and asset management all now defined as core activities.”

S& P indicated that Eureko’s ongoing negotiations with the the Polish government, and the uncertainty surrounding its attempt to gain full control of the country’s largest insurer Powszechny Zaklad Upbezpieczen (PZU) were the reasons for the “negative outlook.” The rating agency expressed concerns that the acquisition of an additional interest in PZU might strain Eureko’s capital and also cited the general difficulties encountered in integrating recently privatized enterprises in Central Europe like PZU into Western European structures like Eureko’s.

Eureko, whose core operations are in the Netherlands and Portugal, through the Achmea Group, together with major subsidiaries in Greece, Ireland and the Slovak Republic, now ranks as Europe’s 18th largest insurer, with around $6.25 billion in annual premium income.

S&P noted that its capital adequacy ratio was exceptionally strong, over 190 percent, “despite the impact of economic downturn on asset values and after PZU is fully factored into the analysis.”|”snp, affirms, eureko’s, ‘a-‘, ratings,

Topics Europe