NEW YORK (Standard&Poor's CreditWire) March 1, 1999--Standard&Poor's today affirmed its ratings on Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd. (Fairfax) and related entities (see list below). Standard&Poor's ratings on TIG Group Insurance members and TIG Holdings remain on CreditWatch, where they were placed Oct. 27, 199. The rating affirmations reflect the strength of Fairfax's diverse and profitable operations, better-than-average capitalization, and adequate ability to service debt obligations. Offsetting these strengths are the company's appetite for acquisitions and its heavy reliance on realized capital gains to meet return objectives. Fairfax group members are Security Circle insurers, which means that they underwent Standard&Poor's most comprehensive analysis and were assigned a rating in one of the top four
