Fitch lifts Bupa Finance IDR to A

Fitch Ratings said it affirmed Bupa Insurance Ltd.'s insurer financial strength rating at A+ and long-term issuer default rating at A, both with stable outlooks.

The agency also affirmed Bupa Finance plc's senior and subordinated debt issue ratings.

At the same time, Fitch upgraded Bupa Finance’s long-term issuer default rating to A from A- and short-term long-term issuer default rating to F1 from F2.

The upgrade reflects the agency’s view that the increased diversification provided by Bupa group's non-insurance operations allows the alignment of the issuer default ratings at the operating and holding companies.

S&P upgrades Fingrid, debt to AA-

S&P said it raised its long- and short-term corporate credit ratings on Fingrid Oyj to AA-/A-1+ from A+/A-1.

The outlook is stable.

At the same time, the agency affirmed its K-1 Nordic regional scale rating on Fingrid.

S&P also upgraded its issue ratings on Fingrid's senior unsecured debt to AA- from A+ and its local currency short-term issue rating on the commercial paper to A-1+ from A-1.

S&P said the upgrade primarily stems from the positive impact on Fingrid's earnings from modifications in the regulatory model for TSOs in Finland. These changes have increased Fingrid's allowed regulatory return, and made it more stable.

Thanks to these changes, alongside previous tariff increases and the company's modest capital spending program, Fingrid has seen an improvement in its credit measures, which the agency said it believes should be sustainable.

S&P forecasts, for example, funds from operations (FFO) to debt of at least 20% over 2016-2018, compared with 18% on average over 2013-2015.

Moody’s: IG Seismic in limited default

Moody’s Investors Service said it confirmed the B3 corporate family rating of IG Seismic Services plc.

The probability of default rating also was confirmed at B3-PD and a limited default (LD) indicator was assigned, Moody’s said.

The outlook is negative.

This action concludes a review that began in September, the agency said.

The LD designation reflects a view that the recent bond exchange constitutes a distressed exchange under a definition of default, Moody’s said.

Moody’s said it will remove the LD designation from the probability of default in two business days.

The ratings reflect the recently announced refinancing of IG Seismic’s RUB 3 billion bond due in 2018 via the exchange for an amortizing RUB 3 billion bond due in October 2019.

The bond exchange allowed the company to successfully remove the risks related to the put option on the existing bond that could be exercised as of Oct. 24.

The company’s liquidity profile still remains fairly weak, given the negative free cash flow expected in 2016 to 2017 and substantial debt-service requirements, which will require additional financing in 2017.

The agency said it positively acknowledged the evidence of the company’s strong relationship with its key creditor, Bank Otkritie Financial Corp. PJSC and expects that it will continue to support IG Seismic going forward by providing the necessary financing.

S&P puts NXP on positive watch

S&P said it placed the BBB- long-term corporate credit ratings on NXP Semiconductors NV on CreditWatch with positive implications, along with its subsidiary NXP BV.

The agency also said it put the debt ratings of various NXP entities on CreditWatch positive.

The positive watch follows news that Qualcomm Inc. has agreed to acquire NXP for $47 billion, S&P explained.

The transaction will likely close in late 2017, the agency said.

The agency said there is a high likelihood that the long-term rating on NXP could be upgraded by several notches to match Qualcomm’s ratings, if the deal is completed.

The combined entity will have much larger scale with annual pro forma revenues of more than $33 billion, compared with about $8.5 billion for NXP, S&P said.

The combined entity also will have stronger profitability and a somewhat lower adjusted debt-to-EBITDA ratio than NXP on a stand-alone basis, the agency said.

DBRS rates American Express notes A (high)

DBRS said it assigned a rating of A (high) to the $750 million 1.7% fixed-rate senior notes due October 2019 and the $250 million floating-rate senior notes due October 2019 issued by American Express Credit Corp. (Amex CredCo).

The trend is stable.

Proceeds will be included in the general funds of American Express and available for general corporate purposes.

S&P applies BBB to Whirlpool notes

S&P said it assigned its BBB debt rating to Whirlpool Corp.'s euro-denominated senior unsecured notes due 2026.

The notes will be issued by Whirlpool Finance Luxembourg Sarl, a wholly owned European finance subsidiary of Whirlpool. This entity holds no material assets and does not engage in any business activities or operations other than intercompany financings.

Whirlpool Corp. will guarantee the notes.

Whirlpool intends to use the net proceeds for general corporate purposes, including the repayment of a portion of its commercial paper borrowings.

As of Sept. 30, the company had roughly $5.6 billion of adjusted debt outstanding.

S&P said the ratings reflect Whirlpool’s strong market position as the largest major appliance manufacturer in the world, supported by its portfolio of well-recognized brand names, breadth of product offerings and geographic diversity.

Moody’s: Whirlpool Finance notes Baa1

Moody's Investors Service said it assigned a Baa1 rating to the €500 million senior unsecured notes issuance of Whirlpool Finance Luxembourg Sarl.

Proceeds are expected to be used primarily for general corporate purposes, including the repayment of euro commercial paper borrowings.

The notes will be guaranteed by parent Whirlpool Corp., making them pari passu with existing unsecured obligations of Whirlpool Corp.

Moody’s said the Baa1 senior unsecured rating reflects Whirlpool’s significant scale with revenue of approximately $21 billion, considerable geographic diversification, strong brand names and good liquidity.

Credit metrics are solid with retained cash flow/net debt around 25% and interest coverage over 7 times.

The agency expects both metrics to improve over the next two years with retained cash flow/net debt nearing 40% in 2017.

S&P assigns BBB to Sirius notes

S&P said it assigned its BBB rating to the $400 million senior notes issued by Sirius International Group Ltd.

The senior debt matures in November 2026 and pays a fixed coupon of 4.6% until maturity.

Sirius will use the proceeds to repay $400 million of its 6.375% senior notes maturing in March 2017 and for general corporate uses.

The rating is at the same level as the long-term counterparty credit rating on the issuer, in line with the agency’s standard approach to assigning ratings to senior debt issues.

While the issuance does not qualify for equity content under its methodology, S&P said it does incorporate it in the calculation of Sirius' total adjusted capital (TAC). The full amount of the senior debt issued by Sirius' holding company is eligible to be part of Sirius' TAC because it does not exceed 20% of total capital (the maximum tolerance in the methodology).

S&P no longer includes the outstanding senior debt due to be redeemed in March 2017 in its TAC calculation.

Moody’s rates JBIC bonds A1

Moody’s Investors Service said it assigned a rating of A1 to up to $2.8 billion senior unsecured bonds due 2021 and 2026 issued by Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC).

The outlook is stable.

The debts are guaranteed by the Government of Japan, Moody’s said.

The specific issues with A1 ratings include a $1 billion fixed-rate senior unsecured bonds, series 18 JBIC government-guaranteed global dollar-denominated bond due 2021 and a $1.8 billion fixed-rate senior unsecured bonds, series 19 JBIC government-guaranteed global dollar-denominated bond due 2026.

The A1 rating reflects the company’s strong links with the government of Japan, the agency said, and that its creditworthiness reflects that of the sovereign, given the integration of its mandate with the government’s foreign economic policies and high level of government oversight of its operations, Moody’s said.

The law establishing JBIC stipulates that the government shall hold all of its shares, ensuring continued 100% ownership, the agency added.

Moody’s rates Merlin notes Baa2

Moody's Investors Service said it assigned a Baa2 rating to the €800 million senior unsecured notes issued by Merlin Properties Socimi, SA under its €2.7 billion euro medium-term note program (unrated).

The instrument rating assigned to the senior unsecured notes is in line with Merlin’s long-term issuer rating of Baa2.

The outlook is stable.

The company intends to use the proceeds to repay an outstanding €500 million bridge to bond facility signed by Metrovacesa SA last April and maturing in 2018, with the remainder to be used for general corporate purposes.

The issue of the notes, which have a 10-year maturity, allows Merlin to extend its average debt maturities to 6.8 years from 5.7 years, lower its cost of debt to 2.28% and increase the percentage of fixed rate debt to 91.8%.

As per the terms of the note program prospectus, the notes rank pari passu with all other existing and future unsecured obligations of the issuer and benefit from a negative pledge, a cross default clause, as well as financial covenants that limit the group's loan-to-value, establish minimum interest coverage levels and minimum amount of unencumbered assets.

Moody’s said the Baa2 senior unsecured rating primarily reflects: (a) The REIT's sizeable asset base of around €10 billion pro forma for the merger with Metrovacesa (Baa2/stable); (b) its diversification across asset classes with leading positions in office and shopping centers in Spain; and (c) the long lease maturity of its contract with Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria, SA (senior unsecured: Baa1/stable) representing 21% of gross assets excluding non-core assets.

Moody’s rates QBE Insurance notes Baa2(hyb)

Moody’s Investors Service said it assigned a provisional Baa1 senior unsecured medium-term note rating and provisional Baa2 subordinate medium-term note rating to the $4 billion medium-term note program of QBE Insurance Group Ltd.

The agency also said it assigned a Baa2(hyb) rating to the dollar-denominated fixed-rate subordinated notes due in 2043 issued under this program.

The outlook is stable.

Moody’s said it expects the terms and conditions of QBE’s subordinated notes will allow the notes to qualify as tier 2 capital in accordance with standards of Australian law.

Moody’s rates Scana, subsidiaries loans Baa3, A3, Baa2

Moody's Investors Service said it affirmed the ratings of Scana Corp. (Baa3) and its two primary subsidiaries South Carolina Electric & Gas Co. (Baa2), and Public Service Co. of North Carolina, Inc. (A3) and changed the outlooks for each company to stable from negative.

Concurrently, the agency assigned ratings to a total of $2 billion of unsecured credit facilities at Scana ($400 million, Baa3), Public Service ($200 million, A3), South Carolina Electric ($900 million, Baa2) and South Carolina Fuel Co. Inc. ($500 million, Baa2). The South Carolina Fuel credit facility is guaranteed by SCE&G.

Moody’s said the ratings and stable outlooks reflect several risk mitigating developments that have occurred over the past year in conjunction with South Carolina Electric’s construction of the V.C. Summer new nuclear units.

The favorable developments started with an October 2015 settlement with the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) consortium that resolved prior disputes, improved project terms, and provided an option to fix future project costs – thus significantly reducing the company's exposure to additional cost overruns, the agency added.

Fitch rates United Technologies notes A-

Fitch Ratings said it assigned an A- rating to United Technologies Corp.’s $4 billion of senior unsecured notes expected to close on Nov. 1.

The notes consist of a mix of fixed and floating rates with maturities of between three and 30 years.

Proceeds will be used to repay long-term debt and commercial paper and for general corporate purposes.

The outlook is stable.

Fitch said the ratings incorporate United Technologies’ cash deployment plans, which include $16 billion of share repurchases during the three-year period between 2015 and 2017.

The company repurchased $10 billion in 2015 and plans to repurchase $2 billion to $3 billion of shares in 2016. It also has a $1 billion placeholder for acquisitions.

The agency said it believes additional increases in debt are possible to help fund the company's high cash usage, including in the fourth quarter of 2016 to fund additional share repurchases, which totaled $528 million through the first nine months of the year.

S&P gives A-/A-2 to Eaton

S&P said it assigned its A-/A-2 corporate credit rating to Eaton Corp. plc.

The outlook is negative.

The Ireland-based entity guarantees the notes and debentures issued by Eaton Corp. (aside from its privately placed debt), Eaton Capital Unltd. Co., Cooper U.S. Inc., and Aeroquip-Vickers Inc. (aside from their medium-term notes).

"Our corporate credit rating on Eaton Corp.'s parent holding company, Eaton Corp. plc, reflects that we consider the company to be a core group member under our group rating methodology," S&P credit analyst James Siahaan said in a news release.

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