credit ratings News

S&P Loses Bid to Keep 16 States’ Lawsuits Over Ratings in Federal Court

Standard & Poor’s suffered a defeat on Tuesday in litigation accusing it of issuing misleading credit ratings prior to the 2008 financial crisis, as a federal judge ruled that lawsuits by 16 U.S. states and Washington, D.C. belong in state …

S&P Cuts Rating on Buffett’s Berkshire Holding Company But Not Insurance Units

Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc. had its credit rating cut one notch by Standard & Poor’s, which cited a new methodology for evaluating insurers and Berkshire’s dependence on its insurance business for dividend income. The rating was cut to “AA” …

U.S. Insurers Should Be Stable in 2013, Says S&P

U.S. insurance sectors are generally poised for stable credit trends in 2013, resulting from strong balance sheets, a stable business climate, and improved enterprise risk management, according to Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services. In a report titled, U.S. Insurers’ Sound …

California Insurance Commissioner Addresses Insurer S&P Downgrade

California Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones yesterday issued the following statement in regard to the downgrade by Standard & Poor’s (S&P) of the credit rating of certain insurers from AAA to AA+ associated with the S&P downgrading of the U.S. credit …

SEC Seeks More Disclosure by AIG on Credit Ratings

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has asked insurer American International Group (AIG) to provide more disclosure about how and why it assigns credit ratings to investments in its portfolio, according to letters between the regulator and the company disclosed …

A.M. Best Revises Outlook, Affirms Financial Rating of Andover Cos.

Ratings firm A.M. Best Co. has revised the outlook to negative from stable and affirmed the issuer credit ratings of “aa” of the Andover, Mass.-based Andover Companies Pool and its members. The members are Merrimack Mutual Fire Insurance Co. and …