LONDON (Standard&Poor's CreditWire) Dec. 29, 2000--Standard&Poor's today assigned its double-'A'-plus long-term counterparty credit and insurer financial strength ratings to ING Re (Netherlands) N.V. (ING Re Netherlands). The ratings reflect Standard&Poor's view that ING Re Netherlands is a core entity of the ING insurance group. The outlook is stable. ING Re Netherlands, a wholly owned subsidiary of ING Verzekeringen N.V. (AA-/Stable/A-1+) is the intragroup reinsurance company for the ING insurance group. In addition, ING Re Netherlands provides support to other reinsurance companies within the ING group in respect of structured reinsurance transactions. Standard&Poor's expects ING Re Netherlands to limit its involvement in such transactions over the medium term to a level not exceeding
