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£500 million raised by Swiss Re via hybrid capital

Posted On: Mar. 28, 2007 12:00 AM CST

ZURICH, Switzerland—Swiss Reinsurance Co. has raised £500 million ($982 million) in a hybrid capital offering.

The Zurich-based reinsurer said the funds will be used for general corporate purposes and have not been earmarked for specific uses, a Swiss Re spokesman confirmed.

Swiss Re increasingly is turning to hybrid capital instruments, instead of long-term debt financing it has used in the past, because the hybrid instruments are afforded "better rating agency treatment," the spokesman noted. "That's been going on for quite a while," he said of the reinsurer's preference for the hybrid issues.