S&P Global Ratings on March 13 revised to positive from stable the outlooks on Russian insurers JSC Sogaz, Ingosstrakh Insurance Co. Ltd. and OAO Reso Garantia.
All three companies' ratings were also affirmed.
The outlook revision on Sogaz and Ingosstrakh reflects S&P's view that the companies' average credit quality is improving, gradually moving closer to investment-grade level, alongside sound underwriting performance. S&P noted that Sogaz and Ingosstrakh also continued to show sustainable capitalization and sustainable operating performance, respectively, in 2017.
S&P said the outlook revision on Reso Garantia also reflects the insurer's improving average credit quality, adding that the company's underwriting performance remains sound. About 67% of Reso Garantia's invested assets in bonds, cash and deposits relate to domestic and international entities with an average credit quality of BBB- and above, which compares positively with those of local peers, but the agency noted that the insurer has a limited track record of maintaining investment quality at this level.
Reso Garantia's expected IPO in 2018 also raises concerns about its capital management policy and can weaken its capital adequacy in the event of very generous dividend payouts, S&P noted.
This S&P Global Market Intelligence news article may contain information about credit ratings issued by S&P Global Ratings, a separately managed division of S&P Global. Descriptions in this news article were not prepared by S&P Global Ratings. The original S&P Global Ratings documents referred to in this news brief can be found here.
