Fitch Eyes Fidelity

The A-minus insurer financial-strength ratings of Fidelity National Financial Inc.'s title insurance underwriting subsidiaries have been placed on Rating Watch Negative by Fitch Ratings.FNF's BBB-minus long-term issuer rating has also been placed on Rating Watch Negative. The rating actions followed the announcement that FNF plans to partially spin off its title operations and that a new title insurance holding company will borrow $500 million from a new bank facility and pay a special dividend to FNF. Fitch said the watchlist placements reflect the increased financial leverage at the title insurance operations and FNF overall. The company's restructuring followed the recent recapitalization of FNF and Fidelity National Information Services, in which FNIS raised capital through a bank facility and paid a large dividend to FNF. Fitch said its primary concern is with the "increasing willingness" of the non-FNIS entities to leverage the consolidated balance sheet. The rating agency can be found online at http://www.fitchratings.com.