Moody's lowers Prudential's rating a notch.

National Underwriter Life & Health-Financial Services Edition, February, 1992 by Crosson, Cynthia

Moody's Lowers Prudential's Rating A Notch

A decision by Moody's Investors Service to downgrade Prudential from the "exceptional" to the "excellent" category took the huge life insurer by surprise and is not warranted, said Prudential spokesman Scott Peterson.

Moody's lowered Prudential's financial strength rating to Aa1 (the high end of "excellent") from Aaa ("exceptional"). The rating agency cited concern about the company's risk asset concentration in commercial real estate and its above-average holdings in high-yield and leveraged buyout securities.

Prudential's portfolio is heavily weighted in office properties, "a particularly troubled product-type," said the Moody's release.

"While we feel confident that Prudential's...

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