S&P assigns BBB- to SiriusPoint notes

S&P said it assigned its BBB- issue rating to the senior unsecured notes that SiriusPoint Ltd. plans to sell. The agency expects the notes to qualify as tier 3 capital.

“We treat these senior notes as hybrid capital instruments because the principal redemptions on their scheduled maturity dates are qualified payment promises subject to the Bermuda Monetary Authority (BMA) redemption requirement. We view this as a form of loss absorption or cash conservation that brings the notes within the scope of our methodology for evaluating hybrid instruments. The BBB- issue rating is one notch below our BBB issuer credit rating on SiriusPoint, reflecting the potential principal payment risk to noteholders,” the agency said in a statement.

SiriusPoint plans to use the proceeds to repay the $400 million in senior unsecured notes due 2026. “After the company also repays its $115 million senior notes due 2025, we consider the issuance and repayment of the outstanding senior debt to have limited impact on SiriusPoint's funding structure metrics,” S&P said.

The outlook is stable.

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