If the Prudential Insurance Company sells half its Macy’s Mortgage Federated Department Stores for $ 449.3 million at year-end, it has more than just a slight gain of Federated and give a stronger voice in every effort to acquire Macy .
Prudential, like other life insurance companies, managing their affairs with an eye on achieving its Best Foot Forward for another year-end evaluation of the financial soundness of the State authorities regulation.
The new estimates compare the risks of an insurance company with the faces of the capital, it has provided to absorb unexpected losses. The ratings are to life insurance companies began in late December 31, 1993.
In the case of Prudential, Macy mortgages have a large capital requirement of $ 20 for every $ 100 of the mortgage, because Macy is in bankruptcy. With the sale of half of mortgages for cash and a IoU Federated, Prudential has reduced the required capital and improve its assessment. The transaction, Macy and announced Jan 2, was adopted on December 31.
Although the new ratings are not companies or agents in shops, they became known in the coming months.
“Insurance companies, we are talking about behaviour, as if the capital-risk assessments should be used and the companies are compared with each other,” said Larry Mayewski, Senior Vice President of the AM Best Company, the Company rating companies.
Given that comparisons of capital strength is important for new companies, insurance companies, such as the banking system, the capital of the adoption of similar provisions in the late 1980’s, have a preference for investments low-risk Treasury Securities, and less interested in risk but higher returns, investments in mortgages, loans and businesses in low and middle levels of corporate bonds.
At one point, the transition to lower yields, lower investment risk means that companies must reduce dividends and interest to policyholders, Mr. Mayewski noted. It warns that the model law on investment in the development phase by government regulatory authorities should not go too far in discouraging investment risk, because such investments could help the economy. In addition, a higher risk of investment is needed, insurance companies offer interest rates, with products such as mutual funds.
For Prudential, a $ 115 billion in assets, the effect of the sale of $ 449 million of its debt Macy has not yet disclosed evaluation of the capital are not dramatic, “said Rick Matthews, a spokesman companies , Added: “We were motivated primarily by what we thought was a good price for the Macy’s mortgages. This was the driver, not the impact on our capital position risk. Center Mark Deal
The sale of Macy debt is not the first move by Prudential to improve its rating and capital, at the same time to reduce exposure to the weak property market. In a statement during the year of registration for a bid, given that its withdrawal of Mark Center, a subsidiary of Prudential owns shopping malls, “said Prudential improve their capital-risk rating was an important reason for him . The Centre Mark sale to the general Growth Companies has been arranged, but was not yet completed by the end of 1993.
Prudential is one of the largest insurance companies, with capital year end approximately $ 8 billion. Nevertheless, its top-notch AAA was cut late in the year 1992 to “AA +” by Standard & Poor’s Corporation. Its up A + + AM Best rating is now in the year due to Prudential Securities and its vulnerability to disaster losses.
Analysts say companies like Prudential strong wish to keep the gap between them and the strongest in the industry, like Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance and Guardian Life Insurance, as thin as possible.
“We’ll see the stock of shares in many companies, in response to risks and capital requirements,” said Dennis Yeskey of Kenneth Leventhal & Company, the audit firm. “I think many people in the insurance business underestimated, as public service venture capital numbers are, and they underestimate the impact of rules on various installations.
The new capital requirements action based in part on how good an insurance company manages its business and how the business risk and the risk of their investments in bonds or mortgages. Based on these criteria, Mr. Yeskey noted that companies felt more difficult than leaving some sectors where profits were unrelated to the necessary capital.
Stephen C. Hilbert, president of Conseco, an Indiana insurer, according to the new rules are encouraging some companies, a hard gaze on the sale of their insurance company ny subsidiaries. The chances for the purchase of these companies and makes it more profitable, a process in which Conseco is a leader in its sector, Mr. Hilbert set up a group of banks and insurance companies $ 615 million investment fund.
Other companies that have recently improved contain notations capital Phoenix Home Life, the equivalent of 500 million dollars of loans to securities and reduce the capital required for the assets of 90 per cent. And the Equitable Life Assurance Society “sells its shares of Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette, the investment bank, its parent company, Equitable Companies.