in Bermuda (IOD) will cater to service providers who do not have accounting backgrounds, the organisation said yesterday.

"In the past, we have offered several Directors and the Law courses which have been oversubscribed and which have been very successful,'' IOD said.

"In those courses, we asked participants to provide us with input in relation to what other areas of interest they may have in relation to topics which should be covered in future seminars.

"The area of financial statement analysis for those service providers who do not have accounting backgrounds was an area of interest,'' the IOD said.

The course, dubbed Basic Financial Statement Analysis for Companies, will be held on Wednesday, January 10 from 8:15 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Waterloo House on Pitt's Bay Road.

The course has space for 25 participants.

Morning speakers will be Mr. Roger Titterton and Mr. Terry Carson of Deloitte & Touche who will discuss understanding and interpreting financial statements, reporting issues and questions which should be asked of management and external auditors.

Afternoon workshops will be led by Mr. Steve Green and Mr. Charles Kett of KPMG Marwick.

Mr. Green will focus on insurance company financial analysis while Mr. Kett will tackle mutual fund company financial analysis.

Course fee is $110 for members and $130 for non-members.

EXEL LTD. PLEASED WITH S&P RATING BUC EXEL Ltd. pleased with S&P rating Bermuda-based EXEL Ltd. reported on Wednesday that Standard & Poor's Ratings Group has assigned a AA- claims-paying ability rating to EXEL's wholly-owned subsidiaries, XL Insurance Company, Ltd., XL Europe Insurance and XL Reinsurance Company, Ltd.

"We are very pleased with this rating which reflects our strong capitalisation, excellent earnings and solid market position in our core lines,'' said EXEL president and CEO Mr. Brian O'Hara.

EXEL, through its subsidiaries, provides general liability, directors and officers liability, professional liability and excess property insurance and reinsurance coverage to industrial, commercial and other enterprises including insurance companies, directors and officers of such enterprises and professional service firms worldwide.

NOBEL, GHS MANAGEMENT REACH DEAL BUC Nobel, GHS Management reach deal Nobel Insurance Ltd. said it reached an agreement with a major shareholder group, GHS Management Inc., to repurchase 397,000 shares held by GHS for $11.96 a share.

Prior to this transaction, the Bermuda company had authorisation to repurchase up to 1.4 million shares of its stock.