On Oct. 3, 2002, Standard&Poor's Ratings Services lowered its long-term counterparty credit and insurer financial strength ratings on Swiss Reinsurance Co. and related core subsidiaries of the Swiss Re group (Swiss Re) to double-'A'-plus from triple-'A', and removed them from CreditWatch, where they were placed on Aug. 30, 2002. The outlook on all group entities is stable. At the same time, Standard&Poor's affirmed its short-term 'A-1'-plus counterparty credit and commercial paper ratings on Swiss Re. The main factors for the downgrade are the recent marginal non-life underwriting performance, the decline in Swiss Re's capital adequacy since the end of 2001, and somewhat reduced financial flexibility (that is, the ability to source additional capital when required). Although
