A.M. Best Assigns Rating to Fairfax Financial Holdings Limited’s Preferred Shares

A.M. Best has assigned an issue rating of “bb+” to the forthcoming floating rate cumulative preferred shares (Series J Shares) of Fairfax Financial Holdings Limited (Fairfax) (Toronto, Canada) [TSX: FFH]. The outlook assigned to the rating is stable. Fairfax’s issuer credit rating of “bbb”, its existing issue ratings and the ratings of its operating insurance subsidiaries are unchanged.

The Series J Shares are related to the Preferred Shares Series I - CAD 300 million cumulative five-year rate reset shares issued by Fairfax in October 2010 (Series I Shares), which were convertible into Series J Shares (on a one-for-one basis) at the option of holders of Series I Shares by tendering conversion notices no later than December 16, 2015 (subject to applicable restrictions on conversion), effective as of December 31, 2015. The quarterly floating rate dividends on the Series J Shares will be paid at an annual rate, calculated for each quarter, of 2.85% over the annual yield on three-month Government of Canada treasury bills.

This press release relates to rating(s) that have been published on A.M. Best's website. For all rating information relating to the release and pertinent disclosures, including details of the office responsible for issuing each of the individual ratings referenced in this release, please visit A.M. Best’s Ratings & Criteria Center.

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