Verdant Rock Limited is an insurance company headquartered in Bermuda and regulated by the Bermuda Monetary Authority. It has received Fitch Ratings’ BBB+ long-term insurance company financial strength rating with a stable outlook.
According to the credit rating agency, the rating reflects Verdant Rock’s strong initial capitalization and prudent financial profile, balanced by the execution risks associated with its start-up status and lack of operating track record.
The newly formed company operates under a Class 3B insurance company license issued by the Bermuda Monetary Authority (BMA), which is effective from 6 May 2026.
Verdant Rock specializes in providing irrevocable, unconditional financial guarantees for private corporate liabilities, structured finance and project finance in emerging markets. Its business model deliberately excludes coverage of sovereign, provincial or municipal debt.
Tolga Uzuner, co-founder and CEO of Verdant Rock Limited, said: “The infrastructure and capital markets we target have been underserved over the past decade.
“Verdant Rock enters this space with an investment-grade rating, strong capital position, regulatory position, technical capabilities and long-term commitment that the issuer and its advisors cannot find elsewhere.”
Fitch views Verdant Rock’s business profile as strong, driven by the board and senior management’s long experience in financial services, emerging markets (EM), structured finance and risk management, as well as a planned risk governance framework.
Additionally, its diversity framework demonstrates a good level of diversification initiatives across products and emerging market regions.
The assessment also takes into account the company’s lack of performance history, as well as risks related to market adoption, pipeline transitions and performance stability. Additionally, it considers potential challenges in underwriting, monitoring and expanding its niche business activities.
Fitch rates Verdant Rock’s portfolio risk as “Moderate” based on a five-year average policy life, a 40% recovery rate and credit quality classified as “BBB”, “BB” and “B” ratings. Despite the risks associated with focusing on non-investment grade, Fitch views reliance on guarantees and collateral structures as supportive of recovery.
The rating agency expects Verdant Rock to broadly achieve its base-case forecasts, including return on equity (ROE) of approximately 21% and a combined ratio of approximately 36% from 2027 to 2035. This reflects Fitch’s view of management’s ability to execute its business plan and maintain assumed underwriting, investing and expense performance over the forecast period.
However, Fitch views execution risk as higher than that of more mature peers, given Verdant Rock’s limited operating record and the sensitivity of expected results to assumptions such as issuance volumes, pricing discipline, loss occurrence and recovery in emerging market credit conditions.
