Taiwan Ratings Corp (中華信評), a local arm of Standard & Poor’s (S&P), yesterday gave a “twAA-” financial strength and counterparty credit rating on MetLife Taiwan Insurance Co (大都會國際人壽) and placed it on a CreditWatch with negative implications.
The downgraded rating of the local insurer followed a move by S&P last week to place US-based MetLife Inc (MET) and its subsidiaries on CreditWatch with negative implications, Taiwan Ratings said in a press release yesterday.
The rating for MetLife Taiwan was in tandem with the rating for its parent company, given MetLife Taiwan’s strategically important status as a wholly owned subsidiary, it said.
The CreditWatch move was based on MET’s announcement that it would enter discussions with American International Group (AIG) to acquire American Life Insurance Co, an international life insurance subsidiary of AIG.
Although no agreement or assurances of an agreement have been made, the negative watch status stems from American Life’s asset size and the potential for the purchase to have a negative impact on MET’s financial stability, including capitalization and fixed charge coverage, as well as potential integration risks, the statement said.
The ratings on MetLife Taiwan continue to reflect the insurer’s satisfactory investment profile and good liquidity profile, which are tempered by its slightly weak competitive position among Taiwanese competitors, as well as marginal profitability, the statement said.
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