Latest S&P Headlines

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

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 // 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...

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...

Ratings Roundup: Ambac, Prospect Medical, First American Title

Jan 22 2008 // Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services has placed Ambac Assurance Corp.’s financial strength, financial enhancement, and issuer credit ratings and Ambac Financial Group Inc.’s senior unsecured, issuer...

S&P Updates Results of Bond Insurance Stress Test for Revised Assumptions

Jan 18 2008 // The formerly placid world of the bond insurers has suddenly become as chaotic as the P/C sector after a major hurricane. Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services published a new version of its bond insurance stress...