Standard & Poor's (S&P), the international ratings agency, has downgraded Zurich Financial Services Group (ZFS) to AA and placed it on CreditWatch with negative implications.
S&P said the main reasons for the downgrade were ZFS's exposure to the World Trade Center terrorist attacks, which heightened concerns about the group's capital adaquacy, and the impact of lower equity values on the group's equity portfolio.
The ratings agency added that the negative outlook "was an indication of disappointing earnings performance and somewhat reduced financial flexibility."
But it said it did not expect ZFS's rating to drop below the AA (very strong) category.
