confidence and said that it believes that the company will meet its goals for the second quarter of the year.

Standard & Poor's has also assigned its triple `B' preferred stock rating to new $300 million trust preferred securities issued by Ace Capital Trust II and guaranteed by ACE Ltd.

The ratings agency also affirmed its counterparty credit rating on ACE Ltd and said the outlook for the company is stable.

The preferred stock issue is part of a series of refinancing steps through which ACE Ltd. is terming-out its borrowings for the $3.45 billion purchase of ACE INA Holdings Inc., formerly CIGNA Corp.'s property/casualty operations, completed on July 2, 1999.

The securities have a 30-year maturity and interest deferment for up to five years. Redemption provisions are limited to specified changes in law.

In a statement Standard and Poor's said: "Financial leverage, with debt to capital at 29.2% following the close of this transaction, remains elevated for the nonstandard gap between the single `A' minus counterparty credit rating on ACE Ltd. and the single-`A'-plus financial strength rating on its insurance operations. Although recent acquisitions have strained the managerial and capital resources of the group, Standard & Poor's believes ACE Ltd. is continuing to perform within expectations for this rating.

"Standard & Poor's believes ACE Ltd. will issue additional preferred and equity securities that, coupled with earnings, will enable the company to meet or exceed Standard & Poor's financial leverage guidelines for nonstandard notching by the end of the second calendar quarter.''