Wednesday, January 15, 2014

No. 21: Moody's Withdraws Its Ratings of Phoenix

On January 14, 2014, Moody's Investors Service said it has withdrawn all the ratings it had assigned to The Phoenix Companies, Inc. (NYSE:PNX): the Caa1 senior unsecured debt rating of Phoenix, the Ba2 insurance financial strength ratings of Phoenix Life Insurance Company and PHL Variable Insurance Company, and the B1 debt rating of Phoenix Life's surplus notes. The ratings had been placed under review for possible downgrade on June 17, 2010. Moody's said:
Moody's has withdrawn the ratings because it believes it has insufficient or otherwise inadequate information to support the maintenance of the ratings.... Phoenix has been unable to file GAAP statements since the second quarter of 2012 due to a need to restate its GAAP financial statements for the years ended 2011, 2010, and 2009 and quarterly statements during 2011 and the first and second quarters of 2012.
Phoenix Life and PHL Variable hold A. M. Best financial strength ratings of B with a stable outlook (assigned August 28, 2013). They also hold Standard & Poor's financial strength ratings of BB– with a negative outlook (assigned February 12, 2013).

In 2009, Phoenix stopped providing Fitch Ratings with nonpublic information and ceased paying annual rating fees. Fitch continued to rate Phoenix based on public information until July 2013, when it withdrew all its ratings.

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