S&P Rates Maritime Life Cdn Fndg's C$150M Notes 'AA'.

Business Editors

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Standard & Poor's

Jan. 23, 2002-- Standard & Poor's has assigned its double-'A' rating to Maritime Life Canadian Funding's (MLCF) C$150 million Series 2002-1 notes.

The rating on the notes is based on an annuity issued by Maritime Life Assurance Co. (MLAC) securing the notes and reflects its overall financial strength(double-'A'/negative outlook).

The Series 2002-1 notes, which were sold publicly in Canada to Canadian investors, are the first issuance in Canada of obligations secured by an annuity to be rated by Standard & Poor's. The issuance of the Series 2002-1 notes represents MLCF's first such offering.

Under the terms of this transaction, MLCF has purchased an annuity issued by MLAC and has assigned the annuity to the indenture trustee (Computershare Trust Co. of Canada) for the benefit of the investors. Payments on the notes are provided by the cash flow of the corresponding annuity. The notes pay a spread of 20 basis points (bps) over the three-month BA rate, except for the initial period, when they pay a spread of 20bps over the rate interpolated between the two-month BA rate and three-month BA rate. The scheduled maturity date of the notes is Jan. 9, 2004.

MCLF is a special-purpose trust established by RBC Dominion Securities Inc. and is governed by the laws of the Province of Ontario. Standard & Poor's has reviewed the structure of MLCF and determined that it meets Standard & Poor's criteria for special-purpose vehicles and that the trust has been appropriately structured to provide a security interest in the annuity to the investors. Standard & Poor's has also reviewed the structure and documents in conjunction with the development of the issuance.

The financial strength rating on MLAC is based on its stand-alone strength as one of Canada's larger individual and group insurers as well as the implicit support because of its strategic importance to its parent, John Hancock Financial Services Inc. (JHF).

MLAC currently holds a top-five market share position in the Canadian individual life, group life, and health insurance sectors on the basis of direct revenue premiums. MLAC is also among the top-five insurers in terms of investment product sales. MLAC's asset quality is strong because of limited exposure to noninvestment-grade bonds and has a good history of profitability and solid capital strength. MLAC is a wholly owned indirect subsidiary of JHF and receives financial, organizational, and product support from its parent. JHF has been fully supportive of MLAC's expansion plans, as demonstrated by its funding of the acquisitions of Confederation Life in 1995, Aetna Canada in 1999, and Royal SunAlliance Financial in 2001.

Copyright 2002, Standard & Poor's Ratings Services