S&P cuts Friends Provident

Standard & Poor's said it lowered the long-term counterparty credit rating on Friends Provident plc to BBB from BBB+ and on Friends Provident Life and Pensions Ltd. to A- from A.

The outlook is stable.

Downgrades reflect the increased business concentration under the companies' new strategy and the increasingly difficult operating environment in the U.K. market segments, according to S&P.

Ratings also consider the group's strong capitalization and strong quality of investments, the agency said.

These are offset by uncertainties associated with the execution of the new strategy, S&P noted.

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