Athene Holding Ltd
For the period ended Dec 31, 2024. Filed Feb 24, 2025.
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FY2024 · Filed Feb 24, 2025
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Ratings
As of December 31, 2024, each of our significant insurance subsidiaries is rated “A+” or “A1” by the four rating agencies that evaluate the financial strength of such subsidiaries. To achieve our financial strength ratings aspirations, we may choose to retain additional capital above the level required by the rating agencies to support our operating needs. We believe there are numerous benefits to achieving stronger ratings over time, including increased recognition of and confidence in our financial strength by prospective business partners, particularly within product distribution, as well as potential profitability improvements in certain organic channels through lower funding costs.
Financial strength and credit ratings directly affect our ability to access funding and the related cost of borrowing, the attractiveness of certain products of ours to customers, our attractiveness as a reinsurer to potential ceding companies and the requirements for collateral posting on our derivatives. These ratings are periodically reviewed by the rating agencies.
Credit ratings represent the opinions of rating agencies regarding an entity’s ability to repay its indebtedness. Financial strength ratings represent the opinions of rating agencies regarding the financial ability of an insurer or reinsurer to meet its obligations under an insurance policy or reinsurance arrangement and generally involve quantitative and qualitative evaluations by rating agencies of a company’s financial condition and operating performance. Generally, rating agencies base their financial strength ratings upon information furnished to them by the respective company and upon their own investigations, studies and assumptions. Financial strength ratings are based upon factors of concern to policyholders, agents, intermediaries and ceding companies and are not directed toward the protection of investors. Credit and financial strength ratings are not recommendations to buy, sell or hold securities and they may be revised or revoked at any time at the sole discretion of the rating organization.
As of February 21, 2025, AM Best, Standard & Poor’s Rating Services (S&P), Fitch Ratings (Fitch) and Moody’s Investors Service (Moody’s) had issued credit or financial strength ratings and outlook statements regarding us as follows:
| Company | AM Best | S&P | Fitch | Moody’s |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Athene Holding Ltd. | ||||
| Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating/Issuer Default Rating | a- | A- | A- | NR |
| Outlook | Stable | Stable | Stable | NR |
| Financial Strength Rating | A+ | A+ | A+ | A1 |
| Outlook | Stable | Stable | Stable | Stable |
| 1 Athene insurance subsidiaries include AARe, ALRe, ALReI, AAIA, Athene Annuity & Life Assurance Company of New York (AANY), Athene Life Insurance Company of New York (ALICNY), Athene Co-Invest Reinsurance Affiliate 1A Ltd. (ACRA 1A), Athene Co-Invest Reinsurance Affiliate 1B Ltd. (ACRA 1B), Athene Co-Invest Reinsurance Affiliate 2A Ltd. (ACRA 2A), Athene Co-Invest Reinsurance Affiliate 2B Ltd. (ACRA 2B) and Athene Co-Invest Reinsurance Affiliate International Ltd. ALICNY is not rated by S&P, Fitch, and Moody's. | ||||
| Rating Agency | Financial StrengthRating Scale | Issuer CreditRating Scale |
|---|---|---|
| AM Best1 | “A++” to “D” | “aaa” to “c” |
| S&P2 | “AAA” to “D” | “AAA” to “D” |
| Fitch3 | “AAA” to “C” | “AAA” to “D” |
| Moody’s4 | “Aaa” to “C” | “Aaa” to “C” |
| 1 AM Best’s financial strength rating is an independent opinion of an insurer’s financial strength and ability to meet its ongoing insurance policy and contract obligations. AM Best’s financial strength rating categories from “A+” to “C” include a ratings notch to reflect a gradation of financial strength within the category. Ratings notches for AM Best’s financial strength rating are expressed with either a second plus “+” or a minus “-”. AM Best’s long-term issuer credit rating is an opinion of an entity’s ability to meet its ongoing senior financial obligations. AM Best’s long-term issuer credit rating categories from “aa” to “ccc” include rating notches to reflect a gradation within the category to indicate whether credit quality is near the top or bottom of a particular rating category. Rating notches for AM Best’s long-term issuer credit rating are expressed with a plus “+” or a minus “-”. | ||
| 2 S&P’s insurer financial strength rating is a forward-looking opinion about the financial security characteristics of an insurance organization with respect to its ability to pay under its insurance policies and contracts in accordance with their terms. S&P’s issuer credit rating is a forward-looking opinion about an obligor’s overall creditworthiness. This opinion focuses on the obligor’s capacity and willingness to meet its financial commitments as they come due. Long-term issuer credit ratings focus on the obligor’s capacity and willingness to meet all of its financial commitments, both long- and short-term, as they come due. A plus “+” or a minus “-” indicates relative standing within a rating category. | ||
| 3 Fitch’s insurer financial strength ratings provide an assessment of the financial strength of an insurance organization. The insurer financial strength rating is assigned to the insurance company’s policyholder obligations, including assumed reinsurance obligations and contract holder obligations, such as guaranteed investment contracts. The insurer financial strength rating reflects both the ability of the insurer to meet these obligations on a timely basis and expected recoveries received by claimants in the event the insurer stops making payments or payments are interrupted, due to either the failure of the insurer or some form of regulatory intervention. Fitch’s issuer default ratings opine on an entity’s relative vulnerability to default on financial obligations. The threshold default risk addressed by issuer default ratings is generally that of financial obligations whose non-payment would best reflect the uncured failure of that entity. As such, issuer default ratings also address relative vulnerability to bankruptcy, administrative receivership or similar concepts. A plus “+” or a minus “-” may be appended to a rating to denote relative status within major rating categories. | ||
| 4 Moody’s provides credit ratings that are publicly available serving the public debt capital markets. Moody’s insurance financial strength ratings range from “Aaa (highest quality)” to “C (lowest)”. A rating of Aa3 is the fourth highest of twenty-one rating categories. Numeric modifiers are used to refer to the ranking within the group, with 1 being the highest and 3 being the lowest. These modifiers are used to indicate relative strength within a category. Moody’s long-term credit ratings range from “Aaa” (highest) to “C” (default). | ||
In addition to the financial strength ratings, rating agencies use an outlook statement to indicate a medium or long-term trend which, if continued, may lead to a rating change. A positive outlook indicates a rating may be raised and a negative outlook indicates a rating may be lowered. A stable outlook is assigned when ratings are not likely to be changed. Outlooks should not be confused with expected stability of the issuer’s financial or economic performance. A rating may have a stable outlook to indicate that the rating is not expected to change, but a stable outlook does not preclude a rating agency from changing a rating at any time without notice.
AM Best, S&P, Fitch and Moody’s review their ratings of insurance companies from time to time. There can be no assurance that any particular rating will continue for any given period of time or that it will not be changed or withdrawn entirely if the respective rating agency’s judgment or circumstances so warrant. Further, rating agencies may change their capital adequacy assessment methodologies in a manner that could adversely affect the financial strength ratings of insurance companies. While the degree to which ratings adjustments will affect sales and persistency is unknown, we believe if our ratings were to be negatively adjusted for any reason, we could experience a material decline in the sales of our products and the persistency of our existing business. See Item 1A. Risk Factors–Risks Relating to Our Business Operations–A financial strength rating downgrade, potential downgrade or any other negative action by a rating agency could make our product offerings less attractive, inhibit our ability to acquire future business through acquisitions or reinsurance and increase our cost of capital, which could have a material adverse effect on our business for further discussion about risks associated with financial strength ratings.
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