S&P CORRECT-GE Financial Assurance Holdings Inc. and Related Long-Term Ratings Placed on CreditWatch Neg.Business Editors NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 18, 2003 Local Currency Credit Rating: A+/Watch Neg/NR (Editor's note Editor's Note (foaled in 1993 in Kentucky) is an American thoroughbred Stallion racehorse. He was sired by 1992 U.S. Champion 2 YO Colt Forty Niner, who in turn was a son of Champion sire Mr. Prospector and out of the mare, Beware Of The Cat. Trained by D. : The ratings list in the original version of this article, which was published earlier today, did not mention that General Electric Capital Assurance Co. and GE Life and Annuity Insurance Co. have 'AA' senior secured debt ratings that were also placed on CreditWatch with negative implications.) On Nov. 18, 2003, Standard & Poor's Ratings Services Ratings Service A company, such as Moody's or Standard & Poor's, that rates various debt and preferred stock issues for safety of payment of principal, interest, or dividends. placed its 'A+' long-term counterparty Counterparty The other participant, including intermediaries, in a swap or contract. credit rating on GE Financial Assurance Holdings Inc. (GE Financial) and its 'AA' long-term counterparty credit and financial strength ratings on GE Financial's wholly owned life insurance subsidiaries (collectively referred to as GEFA GEFA Genuine Fashion Accessories (Philippines) GEFA General Electric Capital Financial Assurance Holdings, Inc. ) on CreditWatch with negative implications. At the same time, Standard & Poor's 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. its 'A-1+' short-term counterparty credit rating on GE Life and Annuity Assurance Co. and its 'A-1+' short-term counterparty credit and financial strength ratings on General Electric Capital Assurance Co. (GE Capital). In addition, Standard & Poor's raised its commercial paper rating on GE Financial to 'A-1+' from 'A-1'. These rating actions followed today's announcement that General Electric Co. (NYSE NYSE See: New York Stock Exchange :GE) intends to pursue an IPO (Initial Public Offering) The first time a company offers shares of stock to the public. While not a computer term per se, many founders, employees and insiders of computer companies have found this acronym more exciting than any tech term they ever heard. of a new company named Genworth Financial Genworth Financial is an international financial services organization that offers a portfolio of primarily consumer-focused products through its various companies, including annuities, combination products, investment services, life insurance, long term care insurance, medicare Inc., which will comprise most of GE's life and mortgage insurance operations. Standard & Poor's placed the long-term ratings on GE Financial and GEFA on CreditWatch negative because of the uncertainty about the impact of the eventual elimination of GE's ownership and the benefit of the GE brand level on Genworth Financial's business position and financial flexibility. The current ratings on both GE Financial and its life insurance operations receive a notch of implicit support derived from its GE ownership. The affirmations on the short-term ratings on GE Capital and GE Life and Annuity Assurance reflect the strengths of these core entities within GE Financial's life insurance operations and the expectation that the long-term counterparty credit ratings on these companies are not expected to fall below 'AA-'. GE Financial, in its current structure, maintains significant market positions in both U.S. life insurance and mortgage insurance segments, with more than $97 billion in assets under management Assets Under Management (AUM) is a term used by financial services companies in the mutual fund and money management or investment management business to gauge how much money they are managing. as of Sept. 30, 2003. GE Financial has a top-three market share in term-life and long-term care long-term care (LTC), n the provision of medical, social, and personal care services on a recurring or continuing basis to persons with chronic physical or mental disorders. insurance based on sales and premiums in-force, respectively. In addition, GE Financial is a market leader in the U.S. mortgage insurance market. Genworth Financial is expected to benefit from the strong international mortgage insurance operations in Australia and Canada. Operating performance, specifically within the life insurance operations, is very strong because of favorable fa·vor·a·ble adj. 1. Advantageous; helpful: favorable winds. 2. Encouraging; propitious: a favorable diagnosis. 3. mortality and active spread management. Operational efficiency is strong and is expected to continue within Genworth Financial because of the operational discipline and risk-management capabilities inherent within its operations. Outlook Notwithstanding the concerns cited above, Standard & Poor's believes upon successful completion of the IPO, the ratings on Genworth Financial and its life insurance operating companies operating company A business that engages in transactions with outsiders. are not expected to be lowered below 'A/A-1' and 'AA-', respectively, because of the inherent prospective strengths of both operations. Standard & Poor's will be meeting with the management of GE Financial and GE Capital on an ongoing basis to discuss the financial and strategic implications of the proposed transaction.
Ratings List
TO FROM
GE Financial Assurance Holdings Inc.
Counterparty credit rating A+/WatchNeg/-- A+/Stable/A-1
Senior unsecured debt rating A+/WatchNeg A+
Commercial paper rating(A) A-1+ A-1
(A)Guaranteed by General Electric Capital Corp.
General Electric Capital Assurance Co.
Counterparty credit rating AA/WatchNeg/A-1+ AA/Stable/A-1+
Financial strength rating AA/WatchNeg/A-1+ AA/Stable/A-1+
Senior secured debt rating AA/WatchNeg AA
GE Life and Annuity Assurance Co.
Counterparty credit rating AA/WatchNeg/A-1+ AA/Stable/A-1+
Financial strength rating AA/WatchNeg AA/Stable
Senior secured debt rating AA/WatchNeg AA
First Colony Life Insurance Co.
GE Capital Life Assurance Co. of NY
GE Group Life Assurance Co.
American Mayflower Life Insurance Co. of New York
Counterparty credit rating AA/WatchNeg/-- AA/Stable/--
Financial strength rating AA/WatchNeg AA/Stable
Complete ratings information is available to subscribers of RatingsDirect, Standard & Poor's Web-based credit analysis system, at www.ratingsdirect.com. All ratings affected by this rating action can be found on Standard & Poor's public Web site at www.standardandpoors.com; under Credit Ratings in the left navigation bar A set of buttons or graphic images typically in a row or column used as a central point that link you to major topic sections on a Web site. If the navigation bar is a single graphic image with multiple selections, it is known as an imagemap. See imagemap. , select Credit Ratings Actions. |
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