Friday, August 8, 2008

S&P: Multiple Ratings Actions Taken On Title Insurers

NEW YORK, NY--Standard & Poor's Ratings Services has revised its outlook on Fidelity National Financial Inc. (FNF) to negative from stable and at the same time affirmed its 'BBB' counterparty credit rating on FNF and its 'A' counterparty credit and financial strength ratings on FNF's title insurance subsidiaries (FNF Title).

At the same time, Standard & Poor's affirmed its 'A-' counterparty credit and financial strength ratings on First American Title Insurance Co. (FATICO) and removed FATICO from CreditWatch. The outlook is negative. The counterparty credit rating on First American Corp. (FAF) remains on CreditWatch negative, where it was placed on Jan. 16, 2008.

The CreditWatch placement followed FAF's announcement that it planned to spin-off its title insurance and specialty insurance operations. FATICO is the flagship carrier of FAF's title insurance division (FAF Title). The affirmation reflects improvement in FAF Title's recent operating results.

In addition, Standard & Poor's affirmed its 'AA-' counterparty credit and financial strength ratings on Old Republic International Corp.'s (ORI) title insurance subsidiaries (ORTIG). The outlook remains negative. The ratings on ORTIG reflect Standard & Poor's view that the title insurance division is a core business unit of ORI. The negative outlook is primarily due to the very challenging environment for ORI's mortgage insurance subsidiaries.

Lastly, the ratings on LandAmerica Financial Group Inc. (LFG) and its title insurance subsidiaries (LandAmerica) remain on CreditWatch negative, where they were placed on July 25, 2008. The CreditWatch placement followed the announcement of unfavorable operating results by LandAmerica's peers and news on macroeconomic factors that affect title insurers, such as mortgage originations. Subsequently, LFG reported a pretax loss of $72 million for the second quarter of 2008. The resolution of the CreditWatch could be a downgrade of up to two notches.

For a complete copy of S&P's news release, please contact Jeff Sexton, New York, (1) 212-438-3448, jeff_sexton@standardandpoors.com

Analyst Contacts:
James Brender, New York (1) 212-438-3128
Rodney A Clark, FSA, New York (1) 212-438-7245

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