Swiss Re selling minority stake to SoftBank credit positive – Moody’s

Talks of Swiss Re selling a minority stake to Japanese conglomerate SoftBank Group Corp were mooted last week, and now Moody’s has stated that the move would be credit positive for Swiss re over the longer-term.

According to the ratings agency: “Selling a significant minority stake to SoftBank would be credit positive for Swiss Re over the longer-term, as Softbank’s communication and technology expertise and network of hi-tech investments would give the reinsurer a competitive advantage as the (re)insurance sector adapts to transformational technologies that will over time test its business model.”

Moody’s believes that the partnership would give Swiss Re access to “an additional deep capital base, supplementing Swiss Re’s existing strong financial flexibility”.

Moody’s said: “We would nonetheless expect Swiss Re to diligently retain its risk-focused culture if SoftBank were to become a significant shareholder, given the substantial differences between the two companies.”