Latest S&P Headlines

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

S&P Expects UK to Vote to Stay in EU by Small Majority; Warns About Brexit

May 2 2016 // Ratings agency Standard & Poor’s said on Friday it expected Britons to vote to remain in the European Union by a small majority in a June 23 referendum, but that the risk of leaving was a negative for the...

S&P: Two-Thirds of Insurance M&As Fail to Improve Financial Strength

Apr 5 2016 // The flurry of insurance mergers and acquisitions that yielded about $150 billion of transactions globally in 2015 may endure even after years of “patchy” results for some companies making deals, according to...

UK’s Flood Re Launches to Bring Affordable Flood Cover to Homeowners

Apr 4 2016 // The U.K.’s new joint industry and government sponsored reinsurance scheme for flood risk began operating today (April 4).Designed to help provide access to affordable flood insurance cover for households at the...

BB&T Completes Acquisition of Swett & Crawford

Apr 4 2016 // BB&T Corp. said it has completed its acquisition of wholesale insurance and reinsurance broker CGSC North America (Swett & Crawford) from Cooper Gay Swett & Crawford.North Carolina-based BB&T said it...

Strong Reinsurer Results Hide Difficult Business Conditions: S&P, Fitch Reports

Mar 24 2016 // Weak business conditions in the reinsurance industry are being masked by a low level of catastrophes and a high level of reserve releases, said Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services and Fitch Ratings in new...

Delta Lloyd Remains on CreditWatch Negative, Pending EGM & Rights Issue: S&P

Mar 14 2016 // Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services said it is maintaining on CreditWatch with negative implications its “A-” long-term counterparty credit and insurer financial strength ratings on Delta Lloyd...

S&P Responds to Swett & Crawford Sale

Feb 26 2016 // Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services has removed its ratings on Cooper Gay Swett & Crawford Ltd. (CGSC) from CreditWatch with developing implications, where S&P initially placed them Nov. 13, 2015.At the...

BB&T to Buy Swett & Crawford for $500M

Feb 24 2016 // Three months after it announced it would sell its North American operations, U.K.-based wholesale and reinsurance broker Cooper Gay Swett & Crawford (CGSC) has a buyer. North Carolina-based BB&T Corp. has agreed to...

Capital Adequacy Is Key Strength of Reinsurers in Difficult Market: S&P

Feb 22 2016 // Strength of capital and good enterprise risk management are two of the main reasons the global reinsurance industry will be able to maintain a stable outlook during 2016 from Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services,...

S&P Affirms Berkshire Hathaway Insurance Units’ Ratings

Feb 19 2016 // Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services has affirmed its ‘AA+’ financial strength and long-term counterparty credit ratings on Berkshire Hathaway Inc.’s (BRK) operating insurance subsidiaries.The...

Moody’s, S&P, A.M. Best Release Ratings for AIG After Strategic Plan Outlined

Jan 28 2016 // American International Group Inc., which activist investor Carl Icahn is pressuring to divest assets, had the outlook on its credit rating changed to negative from stable by Standard & Poor’s after the insurer...

Amlin Finalizes Merger of 2 European Subsidiaries, Creating Amlin Insurance SE

Jan 8 2016 // Amlin plc, the London-based specialist insurer, announced the successful completion on Jan. 4 of the cross-border merger of two of its insurance company subsidiaries, Amlin Europe N.V. and Amlin Insurance (UK).The combined...

Willis to Join S&P’s 500 Index on Jan. 4

Dec 29 2015 // Willis Group Holdings Plc, the insurance broker that’s planning a merger with consulting firm Towers Watson & Co., will join the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index and replace Fossil Group Inc.Willis climbed...

S&P Revises Outlook on Global Multiline Insurer XLIT to Positive; Affirms Ratings

Dec 22 2015 // Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services has revised its outlook on the global multiline insurer XLIT Ltd. and its operating companies (collectively XL) to positive from stable.S&P has also affirmed its...

S&P Affirms Zurich’s Ratings; Outlook Stable

Dec 21 2015 // Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services has affirmed its ‘AA-‘ insurer financial strength rating and ‘AA-/A-1+’ long- and short-term counterparty credit ratings on Swiss-based global multiline...

Cooper Gay Swett & Crawford to Sell North American Business

Nov 13 2015 // Cooper Gay Swett & Crawford (CGSC), the U.K.-based global wholesale, underwriting management and reinsurance broking group, announced today that, following a strategic review of its group businesses, the company will...

Mexico Catastrophe Bond Likely to Pay on Hurricane Patricia’s Losses: S&P

Nov 5 2015 // Bonds sold by Mexico to shield it from the cost of repairing hurricane damage are closer to paying out after the biggest storm ever measured in the Americas struck the country last month, Standard & Poor’s...

It’s a Tough Time for Reinsurers, but Their Defensive Strategies Are Working: S&P

Oct 6 2015 // It’s a tough time for reinsurers — “pricing is soft, regulators continue to raise the bar, capital is at record highs, competition is increasing, and reinsurers are constantly looking for ways to remain...

13 Specialty Insurers Emerging As Takeover Targets: S&P

Oct 1 2015 // Standard & Poor’s sees a number of specialty insurers as potential takeover targets by both rival carriers and investors seeking to expand in the segment, thanks to stellar operating performance versus the P/C...

Surging Verisk Analytics Added to S&P 500

Oct 1 2015 // Verisk Analytics Inc., the provider of data to insurers and banks, was named to join the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index after the company’s market value passed $12 billion on a share rally and expansion...