Latest S&P Headlines

All the headlines from our S&P Topic Page, ordered by recency.

Ratings: RetailFirst, ANICO, Mariah Re, German Mutual, Centurion, Mt. Morris

Oct 12 2011 // A.M. Best Co. has assigned a financial strength rating of ‘B++’ (Good) and issuer credit ratings of “bbb+” to RetailFirst Insurance Company and BusinessFirst Insurance Company, collectively referred...

S&P Affirms Nationwide’s ‘A+’ Ratings after Harleysville Buy

Oct 11 2011 // Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services has affirmed its ‘A+’ counterparty credit and financial strength ratings on Nationwide Mutual Insurance Co. and its property/casualty affiliates (collectively...

S&P Affirms Liberty Mutual, Affiliates Ratings; Revises Outlook to Positive

Oct 7 2011 // Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services has revised its outlook on Liberty Mutual Group (LGMI, and the members of the Liberty Mutual Intercompany Pool, the Peerless Intercompany Pool, and other rated insurance...

S&P Ups Harleysville’s Outlook; Affirms Ratings on Nationwide Deal

Oct 7 2011 // Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services has affirmed its ‘A-‘ counterparty credit and financial strength ratings on Harleysville Mutual Ins. Co. and its affiliates, as well as the counterparty credit...

SEC Concedes Challenges in Probes of Rating Agencies

Sep 30 2011 // The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission faces hurdles proving wrongdoing at credit-rating agencies, the agency’s enforcement chief said, pointing to the complexity of the cases and the industry’s strong...

Rating Agencies Win Dismissal of Ohio Funds Lawsuit

Sep 28 2011 // The three major credit-rating agencies won the dismissal of a lawsuit alleging that five Ohio pension funds lost hundreds of millions of dollars on risky mortgage debt because they relied on flawed ratings that made the...

Transatlantic, Allied World off CreditWatch as Merger Looks Less Likely: S&P

Sep 14 2011 // Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services has removed both Transatlantic Holdings and Allied World Assurance Co. Holdings AG from its CreditWatch Positive, where they were placed on June 13, following the announcement...

Best, S&P Positive on Reinsurers’ Capital

Sep 12 2011 // As the Reinsurance Rendezvous in Monaco enters its second day, it has become apparent that most of the world’s global reinsurers are more than adequately capitalized.In conferences held on September 11 both A.M. Best...

Ratings Roundup: Ocaso, Mariah Re (Notes)

Sep 6 2011 // A.M. Best Europe – Rating Services Limited has affirmed the financial strength rating of ‘A+’ (Superior) and the issuer credit rating of ‘aa-‘ of Spain’s Ocaso, S.A. Seguros y Reaseguros....

S&P Changes Willis Group Outlook to Positive; Affirms Ratings

Sep 2 2011 // Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services has revised its outlook on Ireland-domiciled Willis Group Holdings PLC to positive from stable, and has affirmed its ‘BBB-‘ long-term counterparty credit rating on...

S&P Assigns ‘A’ Rating to Allied World’s Swiss Sub; Outlook Positive

Sep 1 2011 // Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services has assigned its ‘A’ financial strength rating to Allied World Assurance Co. AG (AW Switzerland), a newly formed operating subsidiary of Bermuda-based operating...

S&P Sees Limited Impact on Insurers from Irene

Aug 30 2011 // Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services said it expects a somewhat limited impact from Hurricane Irene on U.S. property/casualty insurers and global reinsurers, based on preliminary insured loss estimates.“We do...

S&P Revises Outlook on AEGON to Stable; Affirms Ratings

Aug 22 2011 // Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services has revised its outlook on AEGON N.V. and its operating subsidiaries to stable from negative, and has affirmed the ‘AA-‘ long-term counterparty credit and insurer...

California Insurance Commissioner Addresses Insurer S&P Downgrade

Aug 11 2011 // California Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones yesterday issued the following statement in regard to the downgrade by Standard & Poor’s (S&P) of the credit rating of certain insurers from AAA to AA+ associated...

S&P Balks at SEC Proposal to Disclose Rating Errors

Aug 10 2011 // Standard & Poor’s, whose unprecedented downgrade of U.S. debt triggered a worldwide stocks sell-off, is pushing back against a U.S. government proposal that would require credit raters to disclose...

S&P Takes Action on Insurance Groups Following U.S. Sovereign Downgrade

Aug 8 2011 // Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services lowered its long-term sovereign credit rating on the United States of America to ‘AA+’ and assigned a negative outlook on Aug. 5, and as a result the rating agency...

S&P Revises Outlook on Platinum to Negative; Affirms Ratings

Aug 8 2011 // In an announcement that received slightly less notice than the downgrading of the U.S.’ ratings from ‘AAA’ to ‘AA+’, Standard & Poor’s also announced that it has revised its outlook...

When Rating Agencies Judge the World – an Analysis

Aug 3 2011 // The man who holds in his hands the fate of U.S. credit, and with it potentially the global economy, favors small tie knots, sports a bushy mustache and smokes his fair share of cigarettes. Beyond that, he is a mystery,...

S&P Says 50-50 Chance of U.S. Ratings Downgrade

Jul 21 2011 // Standard & Poor’s reiterated Thursday it sees a real risk that future U.S. government deficits may meaningfully miss discussed targets and that there is a 50-50 chance the U.S. ‘AAA’ credit rating...

S&P Revises Outlook on Nationwide to Stable; Affirms Ratings

Jul 18 2011 // Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services has revised its outlook on Nationwide Mutual Insurance Co. (NMIC) and its property/casualty (P/C) affiliates (collectively referred to as Nationwide) to stable from...