capital requirements News

Fed Proposal Would Hike Capital Requirements to Discourage ‘Too Big to Fail’

Minneapolis Federal Reserve President Neel Kashkari unveiled a plan on Wednesday to prevent future government bailouts by forcing the largest U.S. banks to hold so much capital that they would probably decide to break themselves up. Kashkari’s plan would also …

Canada’s Regulator Tightens Capital Requirements for Mortgage Insurers

Canada’s financial services regulator released new draft capital requirements for federally regulated mortgage insurers to better reflect growing risks in the country’s housing markets. The Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions said Friday the new requirements, which will come …

Norwegian Insurer Eyes First Sale of Industry’s Riskiest Bonds

Gjensidige Forsikring ASA is on track to become the first insurer to issue a new type of bond that will become the industry’s riskiest debt. The Norwegian company may sell as much as 1 billion kroner ($120 million) of so-called …

Mutual Insurers Regain Some Global Market Share, but Threats Remain: Swiss Re

Mutual insurance companies have gained back some of the global market share they lost due to demutualizations in recent years. Those gains are threatened, however, by new financial regulations, changes in corporate governance and new technology, Swiss Re said in …

Kenyan Insurers Face New Capital Rules Which Could Lead to Market Shakeout

A push by Kenyan regulators to clean up the East African country’s insurance industry is poised to trigger stake sales or exits by underwriters unable to meet the new capital requirements, according to an industry group. Most companies missed a …

Liberty Kenya Holdings Targets Acquisitions of Kenyan Insurers to Bolster Foothold

Liberty Kenya Holdings Ltd. is considering as many as 10 acquisition targets as part of the insurer’s five-year strategy to increase its foothold in East Africa’s biggest economy. “That is on the cards if we can get a suitable candidate,” …

Britain’s Vote to Leave EU Hikes Concerns over UK Insurers’ Capital Strength

Market falls triggered by Britain’s vote to leave the European Union will hit British insurers’ capital, raising concerns over their ability to pay dividends or hand cash back to investors. New European capital Solvency II rules introduced in January require …

Ongoing Soft Market Tops Reinsurers’ Concerns: Xuber Survey

Soft market conditions continue to be the biggest concern for the industry, followed by regulation, competition from third party capital, low investment returns, cyber crime and maintaining underwriting discipline, according to a survey completed by Xuber, the insurance software business …

Delta Lloyd to Raise $226M with Sale of Stake in Van Lanschot

Delta Lloyd NV may raise as much as 198.4 million euros ($226 million) through the sale of its stake in wealth manager Van Lanschot NV after shares were priced at 16 euros apiece. The offering size was 180 million euros …

Solvency II Will Increase Reinsurance Buying Demand: Fitch

Solvency II will increase insurers’ demand for reinsurance products as they seek to strengthen their capital positions via risk transfer, according to a report published by Fitch Ratings. Reinsurance can help reduce volatility or improve the certainty of cash flows, …