Munich Re’s rating

For many years, Munich Re has been among the reinsurers given top ratings by the leading rating agencies. In 2008, the rating agencies did not make any changes to their ratings or their stable outlooks for Munich Re.

The high degree of confidence in our Group’s financial strength is reflected in trading with credit default swaps (CDSs). These tools enable investors on the capital market to hedge against the risk of an issuer’s default. The lower the CDS spread, the higher the assessment of the issuer’s security.

Munich Re continues to be among the companies with very low CDS spreads at both national and international level. At the end of 2008, the spread – and thus the implicit credit risk – was even lower than that of some western European states.