NEW YORK (Standard&Poor's CreditWire) April 13, 2000--Standard&Poor's today assigned its single-'A'-plus rating to St. Paul Companies Inc.'s (St. Paul) $500 million senior notes issuance ($250 million due to mature on April 15, 2005, and $250 million due to mature on April 15, 2010). These securities will rank pari passu with St. Paul's existing senior note obligations. This rating action reflects St. Paul's current financial leverage and management's intended use of proceeds. As of Dec. 31, 1999, St. Paul's debt leverage and preferred leverage (debt plus preferred as a percent of capitalization) were about 18% and 23%, respectively, which is very conservative for the rating. Excluding repayment of existing obligations, all uses of proceeds would add incrementally
