Fitch lifts Assicurazioni Generali

Fitch Ratings said it upgraded Assicurazioni Generali SpA’s long-term issuer default rating to A- from BBB+ and affirmed the company’s insurer financial strength ratings and on its core subsidiaries at A-.

The outlook is stable.

Fitch also said it upgraded the company’s senior notes to A- from BBB+, €1 billion 4 1/8% subordinated notes to BBB+ from BBB and all other subordinated notes to BBB from BBB-.

The ratings reflect Fitch’s recently updated notching criteria for the insurance sector, published in July, the agency said.

The upgrades reflect the upgrade of the unconstrained insurer financial strength rating, as well as the change in the application of the sovereign constraint, which now is applied as the last step in the ratings process.

No rating can exceed the sovereign constraint, which was set at A- for this company, one notch higher than the sovereign rating of Italy, S&P said.

The ratings also reflect the improvement in Assicurazioni Generali’s capital position and expectations that its operations will remain strong, the agency said.

Management’s ongoing focus will be to preserve capital and reduce financial leverage, S&P added.

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