Three insurers have ended up on Standard & Poor's list of 46 downgraded companies that have fallen below investment grade rating.
On the list as of early December are PXRE Group Ltd., Scottish Re Group Ltd.--both of which fell from "triple-B-minus" to "double-B-plus"--and Scottish Annuity & Life Insurance Co., a part of the Scottish Re Group, which fell from "triple-B-minus" to "B-plus."
Eighteen more companies were downgraded than upgraded. Last year the firm's upgrades outnumbered downgrades.
Utilities, homebuilders/real estate companies and consumer products were more vulnerable to generating "fallen angels" than other sectors.
The number of companies that have fallen below investment grade represents slightly more than 2 percent of issuers. The historical peak, S&P said, was 2002, when 146 fallen angels were recorded, representing close to 5 percent of issuers that year.
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