AM Best Assigns Indicative Issue Credit Ratings to Fairfax Financial Holdings Limited’s New Shelf Registration

OLDWICK, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--AM Best has assigned indicative Long-Term Issue Credit Ratings (Long-Term IRs) of “bbb+” (Good) to senior unsecured debt, “bbb” (Good) to subordinated debt and “bbb-” (Good) to preferred stock of the short-form base prospectus filed on Oct. 11, 2023 (base shelf prospectus) of Fairfax Financial Holdings Limited (Fairfax) (Toronto, Canada) [TSX: FFH]. The outlook assigned to these Credit Ratings (ratings) is stable. The existing ratings of Fairfax and its insurance subsidiaries are unchanged.

The assigned ratings for securities that may be issued under the shelf registration statement are consistent with the current ratings of Fairfax’s outstanding securities. The new base shelf prospectus replaces Fairfax’s previous shelf registration, which was set to expire on Nov. 8, 2023. Since Fairfax qualifies as a “Well-Known Seasoned Issuer” in Canada, new regulations have removed the CAD 8 billion cap imposed on prior shelf registrations. Consequently, the indicative Long-Term IRs for the previous shelf registration have been withdrawn. The company’s financial leverage and coverage ratios are within AM Best’s guidelines for Fairfax’s current ratings and are expected to remain so over the near term.

This press release relates to Credit Ratings that have been published on AM Best’s website. For all rating information relating to the release and pertinent disclosures, including details of the office responsible for issuing each of the individual ratings referenced in this release, please see AM Best’s Recent Rating Activity web page. For additional information regarding the use and limitations of Credit Rating opinions, please view Guide to Best's Credit Ratings. For information on the proper use of Best’s Credit Ratings, Best’s Performance Assessments, Best’s Preliminary Credit Assessments and AM Best press releases, please view Guide to Proper Use of Best’s Ratings & Assessments.

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