Fitch Downgrades Stewart's Title Subsidiaries

The insurer financial strength ratings of Stewart Title Guaranty Co. and its wholly owned subsidiary Stewart Title Insurance Co. have been downgraded from A-plus to A by Fitch Ratings. The rating outlook is stable. Fitch said the downgrade stemmed from deterioration in the profitability of the companies' parent, Stewart Information Services Corp. The previous rating had been based partly on an assumption that Stewart Information Services' technology-related investments might enable it to "show better margins than peers in a down market, which has not been the case," Fitch said. The two Stewart companies are now the only title insurers rated by Fitch to have a stable outlook, the rating agency said. Fitch can be found online at http://www.fitchratings.com, and Stewart can be found at http://www.stewart.com..