Standard and Poor Places St. Paul Cos. and Subsidiaries Ratings on Watch Negative

Standard & Poor’s has placed its ratings on St. Paul Cos. Inc. (St. Paul) and its insurance subsidiaries on CreditWatch with negative implications because of the uncertainty associated with St. Paul’s determination to seek more aggressive early resolution of certain pending asbestos and environmental-related litigation and the resulting impact on this year’s capital and earnings.

The development was disclosed in St. Paul’s Form 10-Q, which was filed on May 15.

“Standard & Poor’s will be meeting with St. Paul’s management in the next two weeks to review this development,” Standard & Poor’s credit analyst Frederic Sklow said.