Moody’s has announced that they have placed the ratings of
QBE under review for a possible upgrade.
The move follows QBE’s solid results,
announced last week, and reflects the moves made by the company to remove some of their least profitable global organisations.
The ratings under review are the issuer and senior debt ratings of QBE, alongside QBE Capital Funding LP and QBE Capital Funding II LP -- backed preferred securities Ba1(hyb) and QBE Capital Funding III Limited and QBE Capital Funding IV Limited -- backed subordinated debt Baa3(hyb).
Frank Mirenzi, a Moody's vice president and senior analyst, said that QBE’s moves to strengthen its business both in Australia and globally have spurred on the ratings move.
"The sustainability of QBE's current capital structure, with lower levels of financial leverage, and the sale of underperforming businesses, may, over time, improve the underlying performance of the group,” Mirenzi noted.
"The rating review will focus on the sustainability of QBE's improved capital structure and the path for sustainable improvement in the group's earnings and profitability profile in the future.”
Over the past several months, QBE has announced the sale of its
Australian agencies business,
its Argentinian workers comp business and
a struggling division of its American operation as the company looks to build for the future.
The Moody’s announcement comes
three months after a similar upgrade from Standard’s & Poor’s which saw an upgrade of the company’s outlook from ‘Negative,’ to ‘Stable.’
