Banner Life Insurance Co. Assigned `BBBpi' Rtg by S&P.NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 13, 1998--Standard & Poor's today assigned its triple-`Bpi' insurer financial strength rating to Banner Life Insurance Co. The company is licensed in all U.S. states (except New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of ) and the District of Columbia District of Columbia, federal district (2000 pop. 572,059, a 5.7% decrease in population since the 1990 census), 69 sq mi (179 sq km), on the east bank of the Potomac River, coextensive with the city of Washington, D.C. (the capital of the United States). . The company commenced operations in 1981, and its major line of business is ordinary life insurance. Banner Life is a member of Legal & General Group PLC (double-`A' counterparty credit rating), a major financial services The examples and perspective in this article or section may not represent a worldwide view of the subject. Please [ improve this article] or discuss the issue on the talk page. provider focused on life insurance, pensions, savings, and protection policies for individuals. The following factors were incorporated in the triple-`Bpi' rating: -- Capitalization, as measured by capital adequacy ratio Capital adequacy ratio (CAR), also called Capital to Risk (Weighted) Assets Ratio (CRAR)[], is a ratio of a bank's capital to its risk. National regulators track a bank's CAR to ensure that it can absorb a reasonable amount of loss. of over 300%, is extremely strong. -- Operating performance is extremely strong, with an earnings adequacy ratio of 303%, as calculated by Standard & Poor's model. However, earnings (as measured by return on assets Return on assets (ROA) Indicator of profitability. Determined by dividing net income for the past 12 months by total average assets. Result is shown as a percentage. ROA can be decomposed into return on sales (net income/sales) multiplied by asset utilization (sales/assets). ) have been more volatile than that of most higher rated insurance companies. -- This company's retained earnings Retained Earnings The percentage of net earnings not paid out in dividends, but retained by the company to be reinvested in its core business or to pay debt. It is recorded under shareholders equity on the balance sheet. , as measured by unassigned funds to capital of negative 16%, is viewed unfavorably. -- Although the company is a member of Legal & General Group PLC, Standard & Poor's does not view this relationship as a significant rating factor. `Pi' ratings, denoted with a pi subscript, are insurer financial strength ratings based on an analysis of an insurer's published financial information and additional information in the public domain. They do not reflect in-depth meetings with an insurer's management and are therefore based on less comprehensive information than ratings without a 'pi' subscript. Pi ratings are reviewed annually based on a new year's financial statements, but may be reviewed on an interim basis if a major event that may affect the insurer's financial security occurs. Ratings with a pi subscript are not subject to potential CreditWatch listings. Ratings with a pi subscript generally are not modified with 'plus' or 'minus' designations. However, such designations may be assigned when the insurer's financial strength rating is constrained by sovereign risk Sovereign Risk The risk that a foreign central bank will alter its foreign-exchange regulations thereby significantly reducing or completely nulling the value of foreign-exchange contracts. or the credit quality of a parent company or affiliated group, Standard & Poor's said. -- CreditWire |
|
||||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion