Lower Liabilities Drive Improvement and Overcome Slide in Stock Markets BOSTON, Feb. 4 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Funding ratios at the typical U.S. corporate pension plan rebounded five percentage points in January as higher corporate bond yields drove liabilities 10.1 percent lower, according to BNY Mellon Asset Management. The improvement came despite a 5.5 percent decline for assets at moderate risk pension portfolios as stock markets fell. The higher funding ratios provided some relief to battered pension plans, which experienced a decline of 31.5 percentage points in funded status during 2008, as represented by the BNY Mellon Pension Liability Index. "Long-duration, high-quality corporate bond yields rose 70 basis points in January," said Peter Austin, executive director of BNY Mellon Pension Services. "Corporate bond yields remain at historically high levels and corporate spreads continue to be very wide. Plan sponsors are increasingly aware of the negative results that falling corporate yields would inflict on pension liabilities and are quite wary of the current environment." Austin noted that BNY Mellon Asset Management is seeing significant interest in its longer term corporate bond strategies from pension plans that are seeking to limit the impact that a sharp fall in bond yields would have on their funded status. "A substantial rally in the equity markets would help these plans. But given the volatility of the equity markets over the last year, many pension plans also are focusing attention on limiting the damage that can occur on the liability side," he added. The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation is a global financial services company focused on helping clients manage and service their financial assets, operating in 34 countries and serving more than 100 markets. The company is a leading provider of financial services for institutions, corporations and high-net-worth individuals, providing superior asset management and wealth management, asset servicing, issuer services, clearing services and treasury services through a worldwide client-focused team. It has $20.2 trillion in assets under custody and administration, $928 billion in assets under management and services more than $11 trillion in outstanding debt. Additional information is available at bnymellon.com. DATASOURCE: The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation CONTACT: Mike Dunn of The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation, +1-212-922-7859, Web Site: http://www.bnymellon.com/

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