S&P Withdraws Portuguese Insurer Imperio Bonanca’s Ratings

Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services announced that it has withdrawn its “A” long-term counterparty credit and insurer financial strength ratings on Imperio Bonanca Companhia de Seguros S.A. (Império), an insurance operating entity of Portuguese state-owned banking group Caixa Geral de Dépositos S.A. (CGD; A+/Stable/A-1).

S&P said it had taken the action at the request of CGD. It added that as a consequence, “Imperio is no longer subject to surveillance by Standard & Poor’s. In January 2005, Império was acquired by CGD from Seguros e Pensões GERE S.G.P.S. S.A., the intermediate holding company for the insurance operations of Portuguese bank Banco Comercial Portugues, S.A. (A-/Positive/A-2).

“At the time of the transaction, Standard & Poor’s raised its ratings on Império to ‘A’ from ‘BBB+’, based on its strategic importance to the CGD group. The ratings also reflected Império’s strong domestic competitive position, strong and improved financial flexibility, good capitalization, and improving operating performance, offset by historically weak earnings and an exclusive concentration on the relatively small Portuguese market.”