DBRS Confirms Ratings of Manulife and Affiliates

DBRS Limited has today confirmed its ratings on Manulife Financial Corporation (Manulife or the Company) and its affiliates, including The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company (MLI), its primary operating company. The trend is Stable.

The ratings reflect the Company’s strong position in a number of geographic and product markets, including Canada and the fast-growing Asian market, through the Manulife brand, and in the United States, through the John Hancock brand. The Company is also well-diversified by customer, distribution channel and product line. Risk management policies and procedures are rigourous, giving rise to a high-quality asset portfolio, though legacy issues associated with the Company’s policy liabilities continue to be a potential source of adverse reserve development, given the macroeconomic and regulatory environments. While DBRS regards the Company’s reduction of market-related risks over the past few years as having been critical to maintaining its high rating, it also notes that, with unexceptional financial risk metrics, under DBRS’s methodology it is the company’s franchise strength and business which provide most of the rating strength.

Notes:
All figures are in Canadian dollars unless otherwise noted.

The related regulatory disclosures pursuant to the National Instrument 25-101 Designated Rating Organizations are hereby incorporated by reference and can be found by clicking on the link to the right under Related Research or by contacting us at info@dbrs.com.

The applicable methodology is Rating Companies in the Canadian Life Insurance Industry (January 2013), which can be found on our website under Methodologies.

This rating is endorsed by DBRS Ratings Limited for use in the European Union.

DBRS will publish an interim report shortly that will provide additional analytical detail on this rating action. If you are interested in receiving this report, contact us at info@dbrs.com.