On May 3, 2007, Standard&Poor's Ratings Services assigned its 'A-' rating to Allstate Corp.'s (NYSE:ALL; Allstate) proposed junior subordinated debentures with scheduled maturities of 2037 and 2057, respectively. The debentures qualify for equity treatment under Standard&Poor's criteria for hybrid securities, based on a review of preliminary documentation. The company intends to use the estimated $1 billion in net proceeds from this issue to repurchase common equity, with pro forma first-quarter 2007 financial leverage (debt + hybrid) of 22.5%. Although this is above the year-end 2006 level of 19%, it is consistent with historical levels and with expectations of leverage being below 25%. The assigned rating is based on the 'A+' counterparty credit rating on Allstate, which
