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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
OLDWICK - MAY 02, 2016 03:32 PM (EDT)
A.M. Best has assigned an issuer credit rating of “aa+” to Guardian Life Global Funding. The outlook assigned to the rating is stable. All other ratings of Guardian Life Insurance Company of America (Guardian Life) (headquartered in New York, NY) and its subsidiaries remain unchanged.
Guardian Life Global Funding is a new statutory trust organized in Delaware created to issue senior secured medium-term notes collateralized by funding agreements issued to it by Guardian Life. There will be no guarantees from Guardian Life or any of their respective subsidiaries or affiliates, and the funding agreements are pari passu with other insurance contracts issued by the company. Under the global funding program, notes can be issued in the United States or foreign capital markets. On April 19, 2016, Guardian Life Global Funding issued $500 million of medium-term notes, and is permitted to issue up to $3 billion outstanding at any one time (or the equivalent in one or more foreign currencies). A.M. Best notes that Guardian Life’s operating leverage remains modest with the recent issuance and expects operating leverage may increase moderately over the next several years with additional issuances.
If notes are issued in a foreign currency, Guardian Life will hedge the foreign currency risk by issuing funding agreements that are denominated in the same currency to back the issuance. Each series of notes will have its own terms including, without limitations, its own final maturity, interest rate and issue date.
Guardian Life, through its subsidiaries, provides a full range of insurance products and financial services to customers throughout the United States. The product offerings and services include individual insurance (individual participating whole life, individual disability, multi-life), group life and health insurance, retirement solutions (annuities, 401(k), mutual funds), and other related products and services specifically targeting pension, retirement-related investments and administration, asset management and securities brokerage.
The following issue rating has been assigned with a stable outlook:
Guardian Life Global Funding—“aa+” program rating
— “aa+” on all outstanding notes issued under the program
This press release relates to rating(s) that have been published on A.M. Best’s website. For all rating information relating to the release and pertinent disclosures, including details of the office responsible for issuing each of the individual ratings referenced in this release, please see A.M. Best’s Recent Rating Activity web page.
A.M. Best is the world’s oldest and most authoritative insurance rating and information source.