Moody’s upgrades Unipol Gruppo debt

Moody's Investors Service said it upgraded the senior unsecured debt rating on Unipol Gruppo SpA to Ba1 from Ba2 following a change in rating methodology.

At the same time, the agency placed the group and its main operating subsidiary UnipolSai Assicurazioni SpA (insurance financial strength rating Baa2) on review for downgrade following the review for downgrade on the Italian government's Baa2 debt rating.

Moody's said it considers that the group's key credit fundamentals (asset quality, capitalization, profitability and financial flexibility) are partly correlated with – and thus linked to – the economic and market conditions in Italy, where UG is domiciled and runs its insurance operations.

The upgrade follows the May 29 publication of a new cross sector methodology for assigning instrument ratings for insurers. In this methodology, the agency modified its guidance for rating certain insurance holding company instruments, and specifically now applies narrower notching for certain insurance groups domiciled in locations with enhanced regulatory supervision at a group-wide level.

© 2015 Prospect News.
All content on this website is protected by copyright law in the U.S. and elsewhere. For the use of the person downloading only.
Redistribution and copying are prohibited by law without written permission in advance from Prospect News.
Redistribution or copying includes e-mailing, printing multiple copies or any other form of reproduction.