SINGAPORE: Moody’s Investors Service has affirmed Frasers Centrepoint Trust’s (FCT) Baa2 issuer rating. At the same time, Moody’s has changed the outlook on the rating to stable from negative. The rating action follows FCT’s announcement on 3 September that it will (1) acquire the balance 63.1% stake in Asia Retail Fund Limited (ARF); (2) raise…
Category: Ratings
Corporate Ratings, Insurance Ratings, S&P, Moody’s, Fitch
U.S. life insurance and annuity industry’s income declines by 66 percent
NEW YORK: The U.S. life insurance and annuity industry’s net income fell by 66 percent in the first half of 2020, compared with the same prior-year period, driven predominantly by a 10% decline in premiums and annuity considerations. This financial review is detailed in a new Best’s Special Report, titled, “First Look— Six-Month 2020 Life/Annuity…
Medicare advantage insurance market segment’s strong earnings continue
NEW YORK: Driven by some of the segment’s largest health insurers, the U.S. Medicare Advantage (MA) insurance segment continued its strong earnings trend in 2019, increasing by 58% year over year to $7.1 billion. The Best’s Special Report, titled, “US Health: Favorable Underwriting Gains for Medicare Advantage,” notes that annual premiums growth has averaged nearly…
BCRA assigns Zenith Energy “B-” with stable outlook credit rating
OSLO: Zenith Energy Ltd., the listed international oil & gas production company, announced that BCRA Credit Rating Agency AD (BCRA) has assigned Zenith a “B-“ with stable outlook long-term debt issuer credit rating. BCRA is an independent credit rating agency operating since 2003. The Financial Supervision Commission (FSC) and European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA)…
AM Best affirms credit ratings of Eurasia Insurance Company
LONDON: Insurance sector rating agency, AM Best has affirmed the credit ratings of Eurasia Insurance Company based on company’s strong operating performance, neutral business profile and appropriate enterprise risk management. AM Best has affirmed the Financial Strength Rating of B++ (Good) and the Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating of “bbb+” of Eurasia Insurance Company JSC (Eurasia)…
AM Best downgrades Armed Forces Insurance Exchange
OLDWICK: Global rating agency, AM Best has downgraded the credit rating of Armed Forces Insurance Exchange (AFIE) due to significant volatility in operating results and declining surplus, a news release said. However, the outlook for the rating has been revised to stable from negative. AM Best has downgraded the Financial Strength Rating to B+ (Good)…
U.S corporate bond holdings pose risk to insurers’ balance sheets: Report
OLDWICK: Recent macroeconomic uncertainty due to the COVID-19 pandemic is a concern for insurers’ balance sheets as corporate bonds constitute a majority of the insurance industry’s assets, according to a new AM Best special report. If liquidity becomes a factor for many U.S. bond holdings, the macroeconomic environment could prompt many insurers to re-evaluate portions…
AM Best revises outlook to stable for members of Wisconsin Reinsurance Group
OLDWICK: AM Best has revised the outlook to stable from positive for the Long-Term Issuer Credit Ratings (Long-Term ICR) and affirmed the Financial Strength Rating (FSR) of B++ (Good) and the Long-Term ICRs of “bbb” of Wisconsin Reinsurance Corporation (WRC) and 1st Auto & Casualty Insurance Company (1st Auto), collectively referred to as Wisconsin Reinsurance…
Scope Ratings revises the outlook for Agder Energi’s issuer rating BBB+ from stable to negative
OSLO: German-based rating agency Scope Ratings has today updated the rating report for Agder Energi AS and revises the outlook for issuer’s rating BBB+ from stable to negative. Scope states the outlook change is driven by the increased risk of financial risk profile pressures for a longer period due to low power prices prevailing in…
AM Best assigns credit ratings to Net Insurance S.p.A. with stable outlook
AMSTERDAM: Global rating agency AM Best has assigned a Financial Strength Rating of B+ (Good) and a Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating of “bbb-” to Net Insurance S.p.A. of Italy. The outlook assigned to these ratings is stable. The ratings reflect Net Insurance’s balance sheet strength, which AM Best categorises as adequate, as well as its…
AM Best updates net capital charges associated with Fannie-Freddie mortgage risk transfers
OLDWICK: As more of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac’s mortgage risks continue to make their way to the reinsurance market, AM Best has published tables of net capital charges associated with a select group of transactions from these government-sponsored enterprises’ (GSE) credit risk transfer (CRT) programs. These tables also highlight some of the key components…
AM Best upgrades credit ratings of Country-Wide Insurance Company
OLDWICK: AM Best has upgraded the Financial Strength Rating to C++ (Marginal) from C+ (Marginal) and the Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating to “b+” from “b-” of Country-Wide Insurance Company (Country-Wide) (New York, NY). The outlook of the Credit Ratings (ratings) is stable. The ratings reflect Country-Wide’s balance sheet strength, which AM Best categorizes as weak,…