MILAN, (Reuters) – Standard & Poor's placed Europe's third-biggest insurer Generali on credit watch negative on Tuesday, pending an examination of its sovereign exposure, the ratings agency said.
The agency also put Poland's Powszechny Zaklad Ubezpieczen and South Africa's Santam on credit watch negative as they await the same test.
Standard & Poor's said it was conducting its own stress test on the insurers' sovereign exposure.
“Our preliminary analysis of their domestic assets' exposure indicates that they might not pass the stress test,” Standard & Poor's said in a statement.
The three insurers are currently rated by the agency above the foreign currency rating of their respective countries.
Generali and Santam carry “A-” ratings, while Powszechny has an “A” rating.
(Reporting by Isla Binnie, editing by Silvia Aloisi)
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