XL Capital Rating Lowered By S&P; Outlook Stable

On Jan. 14, 2004, Standard & Poor's Ratings Services lowered its counterparty credit and financial strength ratings on the core operating companies of XL Capital Group to 'AA-' from 'AA' and removed them from CreditWatch. At the same time, Standard & Poor's lowered its counterparty credit rating on XL Capital Ltd. (NYSE:XL) to 'A' from 'A+' and removed it from CreditWatch. In addition, Standard & Poor's lowered its counterparty credit and financial strength ratings on the subsidiaries of XL Group, which had not been on CreditWatch, to 'AA-' from 'AA' because these companies are considered core...