Manulife ratings upgraded

Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services has raised the financial-strength rating on Manulife Financial’s rated insurance subsidiaries to ‘AAA’ from ‘AA+,’ including that of The Manufacturers Life Insurance Co. (MLI), the parent company of The Manufacturers Life Insurance Co. (Phils.), Inc. (Manulife Philippines).

This upgrade makes Manulife Financial one of only two publicly traded life-insurance companies in the world with ‘AAA’-rated insurance subsidiaries, the highest level among 21 rating categories at Standard & Poor’s.

The highly-coveted ‘AAA’ rating by Standard & Poor’s is a recognition of Manulife Financial’s financial and operational strength and further signifies its position as a global leader in the life insurance industry.

The upgrade reflects the group’s leading and highly diverse business positions in Canada, the US, Hong Kong, the Philippines and other locations within the Pacific Rim. It also demonstrates its high quality and consistent operating performance, very strong and highly diverse investment portfolio, extremely strong capital adequacy, and excellent enterprise risk management framework.

MLI’s AAA rating with a stable outlook represents the outlook for the group, according to Standard & Poor’s, who says they believe the company can maintain its extremely strong operating performance, business franchise and capital adequacy position.

"This top-of-the-class rating from such an established ratings agency underscores not only our financial strength — which should be a source of reassurance to our customers — but also the operational skills and outstanding service standards that have led to it," Carl Gustini, Manulife Philippines president and chief executive officer, said.

Manulife Financial is a leading Canadian-based financial services group serving millions of customers in 19 countries and territories worldwide. Operating as Manulife Financial in Canada and Asia, and primarily through John Hancock in the United States, the company offers clients a diverse range of financial protection products and wealth management services through its extensive network of employees, agents and distribution partners.