A.M. Best Affirms Ratings of Nationwide Financial Services, Inc. and Its Life/Health Subsidiaries.OLDWICK, N.J. -- A.M. Best Co. has affirmed the financial strength rating (FSR (Free System Resource) In Windows 3.x, the amount of unused memory in various 64K blocks reserved for managing current applications. Every open window takes some space in this area. See Windows memory limitation. ) of A+ (Superior) and the issuer credit ratings (ICR (Intelligent Character Recognition or Image Character Recognition) The machine recognition of hand-printed characters as well as machine printing that is difficult to recognize. ) of "aa-" of the life/health subsidiaries of Nationwide Financial Services, Inc. (NFS (Network File System) The file sharing protocol in a Unix network. This de facto Unix standard, which is widely known as a "distributed file system," was developed by Sun. See file sharing protocol and WebNFS. NFS - Network File System ) (NYSE NYSE See: New York Stock Exchange : NFS). Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company & Affiliated Companies is a group of large U.S. insurance and financial services companies based in Columbus, Ohio. History Beginnings as Farm Bureau Mutual , a market leader in the property/casualty industry, owns roughly 63% of NFS. Concurrently, A.M. Best has affirmed the ICR of "a-" of NFS and all debt ratings of NFS and Nationwide Life Insurance Company. The outlook for all ratings is stable. On February 5, 2007, A.M. Best affirmed all FSRs, ICRs and debt ratings of Nationwide Group. All companies listed above are domiciled in Columbus, OH. (See below for a detailed listing of the ratings.) These ratings reflect NFS' established position in multiple product lines, its extensive brand recognition, the continued improvement in its absolute and risk-based capital positions and its broad distribution platform. The ratings also recognize NFS' diversified business mix, which has consistently generated solid GAAP GAAP See: Generally Accepted Accounting Principles GAAP See generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP). operating revenues and pre-tax operating earnings Operating Earnings Profits after subtracting expenses such as marketing, cost of goods sold, administration and general operating costs from revenue. Notes: Tax and interest expenses are not subtracted - operating earnings are synonymous with EBIT (earnings before . Additionally, the company has realized continued strong growth in total account values within its retirement plans segment, driven primarily by its trust and administration only businesses. A.M. Best also notes that NFS maintains moderate financial leverage and coverage ratios, which are within the guidelines for its ratings. Offsetting rating factors include NFS' continuing negative net flows in its variable annuity Variable Annuity An insurance contract in which, at the end of the accumulation stage, the insurance company guarantees a minimum payment. The remaining income payments can vary depending on the performance of the managed portfolio. and fixed annuity Fixed Annuity An insurance contract in which the insurance company makes fixed dollar payments to the annuitant for the term of the contract, usually until the annuitant dies. The insurance company guarantees both earnings and principal. lines. However, recent favorable investment returns have allowed the company to maintain stable account values and pre-tax earnings, despite the net outflows. Furthermore, statutory earnings have been under pressure over the last few years, primarily due to results from its group and individual annuity lines. NFS' significant allocation to commercial mortgages, private placement bonds and mortgage-backed securities Mortgage-backed securities (MSBs) Securities backed by a pool of mortgage loans. within its general account investment portfolio provides it with somewhat less liquidity relative to similarly-rated peers. The FSR of A+ (Superior) and the ICRs of "aa-" have been affirmed for the following life/health subsidiaries of Nationwide Financial Services, Inc.: * Nationwide Life Insurance Company * Nationwide Life and Annuity Insurance Company * Nationwide Life Insurance Company of America * Nationwide Life and Annuity Company of America The ICR of "a-" has been affirmed for Nationwide Financial Services, Inc. The following debt ratings have been affirmed: Nationwide Financial Services, Inc.-- -- "a-" on $300 million 6.25% senior unsecured notes, due 2011 -- "a-" on $300 million 5.90% senior unsecured notes, due 2012 -- "a-" on $200 million 5.625% senior unsecured notes, due 2015 -- "a-" on $200 million 5.10% senior unsecured notes, due 2015 -- "a-" on $300 million 8.00% senior unsecured notes, due 2027 Nationwide Financial Services Capital Trust-- -- "bbb+" on $100 million 7.899% capital securities, due 2037 Nationwide Financial Funding, LLC--"aa-" program rating -- "aa-" on all outstanding notes issued under the program Nationwide Life Global Funding I --"aa-" program rating -- "aa-" on all outstanding notes issued under the program Nationwide Life Insurance Company-- -- AMB-1 on commercial paper The following indicative ratings on securities available under shelf registration have been affirmed: Nationwide Financial Services, Inc.-- -- "a-" on senior unsecured debt Unsecured debt Debt that does not identify specific assets that the debtholder is entitled to in case of default. -- "bbb+" on subordinated debt -- "bbb" on preferred stock Nationwide Financial Services Capital Trust III and IV-- -- "bbb+" on trust preferreds Founded in 1899, A.M. Best Company is a full-service credit rating organization dedicated to serving the financial services industries, including the banking and insurance sectors. For more information, visit www.ambest.com. |
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