Articles by Elizabeth Dexheimer and Katherine Chiglinsky

Financial Industry Files Suit Against Obama Fiduciary Standard for Retirement Plan Brokers

Wall Street and business lobbying groups have teamed up to fight the Obama administration’s new rules for U.S. brokers managing retirement accounts, saying the regulations include a ” deliberately unworkable” fiduciary standard. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce joined groups including …

Anbang Withdraws Application for New York Review of FGL Deal

Anbang Insurance Group Co. withdrew its application to the New York Department of Financial Services to acquire Fidelity & Guaranty Life and plans to refile “in the near future,” according to a regulatory filing. The Chinese insurer, which agreed in …

Insurers Rethinking $17.7 Billion Invested in Hedge Funds

Insurers have had about enough of hedge funds. Stung by market-trailing returns, the insurance industry in the U.S. is reversing course after more than doubling its hedge fund allocation over five years, to $17.7 billion as of Dec. 31, according …

CEO’s Departure at Mortgage Insurer Radian May be Rival’s Opportunity to Acquire: Analyst

Essent Group Ltd. may have an opportunity to buy Radian Group Inc., the rival mortgage insurer whose chief executive officer is stepping down, an analyst at BTIG LLC said. “Radian has no clear successor,” for S.A. Ibrahim, who said last …

AIG Pursues $4.1B from Hedge Funds After Q1 Loss

American International Group Inc., the insurer burned by losses on hedge funds, has submitted notices of redemption for $4.1 billion of those holdings through the end of the first quarter. “As of today, we have received $1.2 billion of proceeds …

Greenlight Re Reports Q1 Net Income of $28.7M in 1st Profit Since 2014

Greenlight Capital Re Ltd. posted a quarterly profit for the first time since 2014 on a rebound in the reinsurer’s investment portfolio, which is overseen by hedge fund manager David Einhorn. Net income of $28.7 million in the three months …

NYS Department of Financial Services Names Fischer to Lead Insurance Division

New York’s financial regulator promoted Scott Fischer to be the state’s top insurance watchdog, a position that involves overseeing about 1,700 companies with more than $4 trillion of assets. Fischer, 44, a former corporate attorney, was named executive deputy superintendent …

Hartford CEO Compensation Reaches $10M with Stock Awards, Bonus

Hartford Financial Services Group Inc. said that Chief Executive Officer Chris Swift’s pay package nearly doubled to $10 million for last year as stock awards climbed. The compensation included a $2.45 million bonus and more than $6 million in stock …

Judge Calls FSOC Review of MetLife ‘Fatally Flawed;’ Government Vows Appeal

The U.S. government panel that decided MetLife Inc. was too big to fail erred in not analyzing the insurer’s vulnerability to financial distress, according to the federal judge who rescinded that designation last week. U.S. District Judge Rosemary M. Collyer …

S&P: Two-Thirds of Insurance M&As Fail to Improve Financial Strength

The flurry of insurance mergers and acquisitions that yielded about $150 billion of transactions globally in 2015 may endure even after years of “patchy” results for some companies making deals, according to ratings firm Standard & Poor’s. “We believe the …