Standard & Poor’s on Friday warned a swathe of European insurers that they could face a credit downgrade as a result of the continent’s fiscal crisis.
Allianz, Aviva, Axa, Generali and Mapfre were among 15 firms warned by the US-based ratings agency.
S&P said the “creditwatch” was related to an earlier warning on the ratings of 15 of the 17 countries of the eurozone. S&P’s warning on Monday threatened a one-notch cut to the hallowed AAA ratings of Germany, the Netherlands, Finland, Luxembourg and Austria.
France, also AAA-rated and the eurozone’s second-largest economy could be hit with a two-notch cut, as could the other countries currently rated below AAA.
S&P said it would complete a review of the 15 countries’ ratings “as soon as possible” following the EU summit.
It warned Tuesday that the eurozone’s 440-billion-euro EFSF bailout fund, which depends on the triple-A ratings of six eurozone countries, also risks losing its top rating. For insurers, the firm pointed to market turmoil and poor capital trends.
“Our more-recent negative adjustments to Europe’s economic growth prospects and the potentially heightened credit risk… only serve to compound the difficulties that insurers face.”
Washington, Dec 9, 2011 (AFP)
