...S&P Global Ratings' ratings on Teachers Insurance & Annuity Assn. of America (TIAA) reflects the group's excellent business risk profile (BRP) and extremely strong financial risk profile (FRP). The ratings benefit from TIAA's excellent competitive position in the U.S. higher-education pension market and a low-risk product portfolio. The FRP is supported by our overall view of capital adequacy at the '###' level. For year-end 2017, TIAA's capital adequacy fell to '##' per our risk-based capital (RBC) model--an outlier at this rating level where we typically see peers demonstrating '###' capital adequacy. But we believe the group will rebuild its capital back to '###' levels in the next two years through a viable capital management plan. TIAA also has adequate financial flexibility that supports the rating. We adjusted our rating upward by one notch to capture its large nonprofit status that maintains a long-term view, stability of earnings and overall success of its business model resulting...
