TMCnet News
A.M. Best Assigns Indicative Rating to Hallmark Financial Services Inc.'s New Shelf RegistrationOLDWICK, N.J. --(Business Wire)-- A.M. Best has assigned an indicative rating of "bbb-" to the senior unsecured debt of the recently filed shelf registration of Hallmark Financial Services Inc. (Hallmark Financial) (Nevada). The outlook assigned to the rating is negative. All remaining ratings of Hallmark Financial and its subsidiaries are unchanged. As of today, the shelf is registered for senior unsecured debt only. As per A.M. Best's methodology (Insurance Holdings Company and Debt Ratings) the debt receives zero notching from the issuer credit rating of Hallmark Financial. Effective June 9, 2014, Hallmark Financial filed a shelf registration for a senior unsecured debt at a proposed maximum aggregate offering price of $30 million. Due to potential issuance f this new debt, Hallmark Financial's debt-to-total capital and adjusted debt-to-tangible capital measures have increased, but continue to remain within A.M. Best's guidelines for its current rating level. In addition, Hallmark Financial's interest coverage ratio is expected to remain adequate for its ratings. The methodology used in determining these ratings is Best's Credit Rating Methodology, which provides a comprehensive explanation of A.M. Best's rating process and contains the different rating criteria employed in the rating process. Best's Credit Rating Methodology can be found at www.ambest.com/ratings/methodology. A.M. Best Company is the world's oldest and most authoritative insurance rating and information source. For more information, visit www.ambest.com. Copyright © 2014 by A.M. Best Company, Inc. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
|
