Latest S&P Headlines
All the headlines from our S&P Topic Page, ordered by recency.
S&P Takes Bond Insurer Rating Actions
Feb 26 2008 // Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services announced several rating actions on a number of monoline bond insurers “following additional stress tests with respect to their domestic nonprime mortgage...
S&P Sees No Change in Aioi Ratings from Subprime Writedown
Feb 26 2008 // Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services indicated that its financial strength and long-term counterparty credit ratings on Japan’s Aioi Insurance Co. Ltd. (‘A+’ – stable outlook) “would...
Investors Relieved as Bond Insurer MBIA Keeps Top Credit Ratings
Feb 26 2008 // MBIA Inc., the world’s largest bond insurer, held onto its top credit ratings from Standard & Poor’s Monday, in a development that soothed stock and bond investors fearing downgrades would roil capital...
AIG’s $5 Billion Write-Down Has Rating Agencies, Wall Street Concerned
Feb 24 2008 // Some observers speculate the fallout could lead to additional woes for AIG including possibly CEO Sullivan’s exit While American International Group Inc. sought to downplay its miscalculation of losses on a...
Ratings Roundup: Empyrean Re, Storebrand, Ballantyne Re
Feb 22 2008 // A.M. Best Co. has affirmed the financial strength rating of ‘A-‘ (Excellent) and the issuer credit rating of “a-” of Bermuda-based Empyrean Re Ltd. with a stable outlook. “The ratings are...
Ratings Roundup: Progressive, Springfield, Aveta, Accident Fund, Financial Guaranty
Feb 20 2008 // A.M. Best Co. has affirmed the financial strength ratings (FSR) of ‘A+’ (Superior) and the issuer credit ratings (ICR) of “aa” of the Progressive Agency Pool, Progressive Direct Pool and Progressive...
Rating Agencies React to AXA’s Acquisition of ING Seguros
Feb 19 2008 // A.M. Best Co. and Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services have taken slightly different views of France’s AXA Group’s agreement to purchase 100 percent of the share capital of the ING Group’s...
Ratings Recap: BluePoint Re, Channel Re, RAM Re, Assured Guaranty, Steamship Mutual, Hannover Ltd., ARAG
Feb 19 2008 // Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services has placed its ‘AA’ rating on BluePoint Re Ltd., its ‘AAA’ rating on Channel Reinsurance Ltd., and its ‘AAA’ rating on RAM Reinsurance Co....
S&P Takes Rating Actions -‘Mostly Negative’- on U.S. Mortgage Insurers
Feb 15 2008 // Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services has issued a blanket bulletin outlining the rating actions, which it notes are “mostly unfavorable,” on several U.S. mortgage insurers and their core and dependent...
Ratings Roundup: CIBC Re, Groupama, Ballantyne Re
Feb 13 2008 // A.M. Best Co. has assigned a financial strength rating of ‘A ‘(Excellent) and issuer credit rating (ICR) of “a” to CIBC Reinsurance Company Limited (CIBC Re), based in St. Michael, Barbados, with a...
AIG Downplays $5B Write-Down; Rating Agencies, Wall Street Concerned
Feb 12 2008 // While American International Group Inc. sought to downplay its miscalculation of losses on a derivatives portfolio as not “material to the company,” Wall Street was abuzz with speculation over whether the...
S&P Revises Outlook on AIG
Feb 12 2008 // American International Group Inc. may be quite sanguine about its financial outlook (See related article), but Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services isn’t quite as confident. S&P announced that it has...
S&P Finds Bermuda Insurers Face Rising Competition
Feb 11 2008 // Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services has published an article which states that Bermuda-domiciled insurance companies will face increasing competition from other regions of the world. The article –...
ACE/INA to Issue $300 Million in Notes; S&P, Fitch Ratings
Feb 8 2008 // Bermuda’s ACE Limited announced that, “subject to market conditions, its subsidiary, ACE INA Holdings Inc., intends to sell up to $300 million of senior notes. The notes will be fully and unconditionally...
Ratings Roundup: Southern Rock, KOT, Ceska
Feb 8 2008 // Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services has revised the outlook on the long-term counterparty credit and insurer financial strengths ratings on Gibraltar-based non-life insurer Southern Rock Insurance Co. Ltd. to...
Ratings: CUNA/CUMIS, Fremont, National Interstate, Patrons et.al., FGIC, Munich Re (US)
Feb 4 2008 // A.M. Best Co. has assigned an issuer credit rating (ICR) of “a+” and affirmed the financial strength rating (FSR) of ‘A’ (Excellent) of Madison Wis.-based CUNA Mutual Insurance Society, the lead...
Ratings Roundup: South China Insurance, Transmonde, Bluewater
Feb 4 2008 // A.M. Best Co. has affirmed the financial strength rating of ‘A-‘ (Excellent) and the issuer credit rating of “a-” of Taiwan’s South China Insurance Co., Ltd. with a stable outlook. “The...
S&P: P/C ‘Reserve Adequacy’ Criteria
Jan 31 2008 // Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services has published an article titled, “Property/Casualty Insurance Criteria For Assessing Loss Reserve Adequacy For U.S.-Based Insurers/Reinsurers” on RatingsDirect, its...
Ratings Roundup: Allianz, AXIS
Jan 31 2008 // Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services said that its ratings and outlook on Allianz SE (AA/Stable/A-1+) and related entities were not immediately affected by the revision of the outlook to negative from stable on...
Best Lowers XL’s Ratings; S&P Sees No Change
Jan 28 2008 // A.M. Best Co. and Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services have been reexamining their ratings on the Bermuda-based XL Capital. and its subsidiaries in light of recent announcements (See IJ web site...
