Fitch Rates Aflac Inc.'s Senior Debt 'A'.CHICAGO -- Fitch Ratings Fitch Ratings An international rating agency for financial institutions, insurance companies, and corporate, sovereign, and municipal debt. Fitch Ratings has headquarters in New York and London and is wholly owned by FIMALAC of Paris. has assigned an 'A' rating to Aflac Inc.'s (Aflac) issuance of $850 million of 10-year senior unsecured debt Unsecured debt Debt that does not identify specific assets that the debtholder is entitled to in case of default. . All ratings remain on Rating Watch Negative, where they were placed on Jan. 28, 2009. Part of the new debt issuance will be used to repay an April 2009 $500 million intercompany loan Intercompany loan Loan made by one unit of a corporation to another unit of the same corporation. from Aflac's main insurance subsidiary, American Family American Family is a photographic artwork exhibition by Renée Cox. See also
The Rating Watch Negative reflects Fitch's continuing evaluation of the potential for future investment impairments, particularly in perpetual preferred securities. If future impairments on this portfolio were to materially reduce earnings or impact capital quality, then rating downgrades would be likely, depending on the magnitude of any asset impairments. Future consideration will also be given to the widening of notching between the Insurer Financial Strength (IFS) rating and holding company debt ratings. Fitch will also consider any mitigating actions that could be taken by management to improve its financial profile. Fitch notes Aflac's strong and steady earnings quality and the company's otherwise very strong balance sheet that includes moderate financial leverage, high regulatory capital quality and an otherwise clean asset portfolio. In recent years, statutory earnings have exceeded $1.7 billion. Fitch believes the company will generate strong earnings in 2009 which could offset any potential hits to statutory capital. Fitch rates and places Aflac's senior note issuance on Rating Watch Negative as follows: Aflac Inc. --8.5% senior notes due May 15 2019 'A'. Fitch currently rates Aflac and its subsidiaries as follows: Aflac Inc. --Issuer Default Rating 'A+'; --1.52% Uridashi notes due September 2011 'A'; --2.26% Uridashi notes due September 2016 'A'; --Variable Uridashi notes due September 2011 'A'; --1.87% Samurai samurai (sä'm  rī`), knights of feudal Japan, retainers of the daimyo. This aristocratic warrior class arose during the 12th-century wars between the Taira and Minamoto clans and was notes due June 2012 'A';
--0.71% Samurai notes due July 2010 'A'. American Family Life Assurance Co. of Columbus American Family Life Assurance Co. of 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 Aflac Japan --IFS 'AA-'. The above ratings remain on Rating Watch Negative. Fitch's rating definitions and the terms of use Terms of Use are rules set up by the owner of an intellectual property or service to govern how they may be legally used. In many cases, terms of service are used as a contractual agreement between a company and users of a service they provide. of such ratings are available on the agency's public site, 'www.fitchratings.com'. Published ratings, criteria and methodologies are available from this site, at all times. Fitch's code of conduct, confidentiality, conflicts of interest, affiliate firewall, compliance and other relevant policies and procedures Policies and Procedures are a set of documents that describe an organization's policies for operation and the procedures necessary to fulfill the policies. They are often initiated because of some external requirement, such as environmental compliance or other governmental are also available from the 'Code of Conduct' section of this site. |
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