On Aug. 30, 2002, Standard&Poor's Ratings Services placed its triple-'A' long-term counterparty credit and insurer financial strength ratings on Swiss Reinsurance Co. (SRZ) and related core subsidiaries of the Swiss Re group (Swiss Re) on CreditWatch with negative implications. The CreditWatch placement reflects Standard&Poor's concerns that Swiss Re's capital adequacy has declined during 2002 to a level that might be inconsistent with the current rating category. Although Standard&Poor's expects that very strong retained earnings should be achieved in 2003 and 2004, these might not be sufficient to restore capital adequacy to past extremely strong levels. Swiss Re yesterday published its half-year 2002 results, which included a reduction in reported shareholder equity to Swiss franc
