Dominion To Join NAIC Stable Of Rating Firms

By Jim Connolly

NU Online News Service, Oct. 22, 1:40 p.m. EDT?Regulators have decided to recommend that Dominion Bond Rating Service, Toronto, be recognized as a rating organization for purposes of rating bonds filed with the Securities Valuation Office of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners.

The New York arm of the NAIC, based in Kansas City, Mo., is where companies file securities that they purchase for their investment portfolios.

Dominion would receive the status of Nationally Recognized Securities Rating Organization, similar to other rating agencies including Fitch Ratings, Standard & Poor's Corp., and Moody's Investors Service.

The SVO oversight working group agreed that the status should become effective immediately. Wording will be developed for the NAIC purposes and procedures manual later this year, and systems would be adjusted in 2004 to reflect this change.

During the discussion, it was noted that if Dominion's status was not automatically reflected in the SVO's system, a financial examiner would just request affirmation from the company. The company could receive written confirmation of the rating from Dominion.

Dominion Bond Rating Service is a credit rating agency established in 1976.

Mr. Connolly is a senior editor with NU's Life-Health Edition

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Dominion To Join NAIC Stable Of Rating Firms

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