Fitch Affirm's Manulife's Ratings.Business Editors CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 3, 2001 Fitch has affirmed af·firm v. af·firmed, af·firm·ing, af·firms v.tr. 1. To declare positively or firmly; maintain to be true. 2. To support or uphold the validity of; confirm. v.intr. Manulife Financial Manulife Financial (NYSE: MFC, TSX: MFC, SEHK: 945, PSE: MFC), also known as The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company, is a major Canadian insurance company and financial services provider. Corporation's (Manulife) ratings with a Stable Rating Outlook. See detailed list below. Manulife's insurer financial strength ratings are based on its strong business franchises in its chosen markets, good product development and distribution capabilities, consistent financial results, high asset quality, strong capital positions of the parent and subsidiary entities, and the company's stable liability structure. Manulife has grown significantly over the last five years and its strong business profile emanates from the geographic diversification, solidified so·lid·i·fy v. so·lid·i·fied, so·lid·i·fy·ing, so·lid·i·fies v.tr. 1. To make solid, compact, or hard. 2. To make strong or united. v.intr. market rankings and improved economies of scale in its primary markets of Canada, the U.S., and Asia. However, Fitch notes, the maturity of, and consolidation in, the Canadian insurance market, the intensely competitive nature of the segregated funds Segregated Fund A type of annuity that is similar to a mutual fund, and is an insurance product and offered only by insurance companies. Notes: Most segregated funds will guarantee a specific return, anywhere from 70% to 120%, over a certain period of time (five-10 years). business in Canada, the 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 401(k) pension business in the U.S. and views management as still untested in Japan, where it has recently deployed a significant amount of excess capital as measured by risk-based capital or MCCSR MCCSR Minimum Continuing Capital and Surplus Requirements (insurance) . Fitch believes Manulife is likely to maintain current levels of profitability as measured by ROE A fictitious surname used for an unknown or anonymous person or for a hypothetical person in an illustration. A lawsuit is generally named for the persons who are parties to it. levels in the 15% range going forward. Fitch notes positively, Manulife's initiatives to address expense issues in several areas, but believes that the current business environment may be more challenging than the past, with stock market volatility affecting the company's variable life and annuity business, a worsening wors·en tr. & intr.v. wors·ened, wors·en·ing, wors·ens To make or become worse. Noun 1. worsening - process of changing to an inferior state decline in quality, deterioration, declension credit cycle and the likelihood that newer operations need some seasoning before their results reach more established operations. Fitch believes Manulife's acquisition of the in-force business of its Japanese joint venture partner more closely resembles reinsurance The contract made between an insurance company and a third party to protect the insurance company from losses. The contract provides for the third party to pay for the loss sustained by the insurance company when the company makes a payment on the original contract. of a runoff Runoff The procedure of printing the end-of-day prices for every stock on an exchange onto ticker tape. Notes: If the "tape is late" then it can take a long time to print off all the closing prices. block. Much of the risk on the liability side has been extracted through the restructuring of policy cash values and lower guaranteed crediting rates. The 'riskier' asset classes have not been acquired, leaving primarily cash and Japanese governments to meet liability needs. Still, the uncertain Japanese market will represent an increased, though still modest, proportion of Manulife's premiums and deposits and net income. Fitch will continue to monitor operating and asset performance against management's projections for the transaction. To support the 'AAA' financial strength ratings Fitch expects MCCSR to be maintained near current levels and debt leverage to remain moderate. Entity/Issue/Type Action Rating/Outlook Manulife Reinsurance Corporation (U.S.A.) --Insurer financial strength Affirmed 'AAA'/Stable. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company --Insurer financial strength Affirmed 'AAA'/Stable. --Subordinated debt Affirmed 'AA'/Stable. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Co. of America --Insurer financial strength Affirmed 'AAA'/Stable. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company (U.S.A) --Insurer financial strength Affirmed 'AAA'/Stable. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Co. of North America --Insurer financial strength Affirmed 'AAA'/Stable. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company of New York --Insurer financial strength Affirmed 'AAA'/Stable. MIC Financing Trust I --Capital trust sec.(TruPS) Affirmed 'AA'/Stable. |
|
||||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion