NEW YORK (Standard&Poor's CreditWire) April 4, 2000--Standard&Poor's today assigned its preliminary single-'A'-plus rating to the $450 million senior notes shelf registration of St. Paul Cos. Inc. (St. Paul). These securities will rank pari passu with St. Paul's existing senior note obligations. This rating action reflects the company'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 indicated rating. Management intends to use the proceeds from any future draw-down on the shelf for general corporate purposes, share repurchases, acquisitions, or the repayment of short-term borrowings.
