Ratings firm S&P raised the financial strength rating of Bermuda-based Validus Reinsurance Ltd to ‘A’ from ‘A-’ and their counterparty credit rating on its holding company, Validus Holdings Ltd, to ‘BBB+’ from ‘BBB’. The outlook is stable.According to the firm, Validus “has shown strong operating performance since inception, with earnings volatility somewhat mitigated through its strong catastrophe research and modeling functions”.“Validus has built a strong competitive position under its two underwriting platforms, Validus Re and Talbot, providing diversification in terms of reinsurance versus primary business, geographic spread, and specialised short-tail lines of business,” S&P said in its commentary.S&P added that it expects Validus’s 2012 gross premiums written to grow “organically, in the mid-single-digit range”.