Monday’s announcement that Paris-based BNP Paribas would acquire the remaining 55 percent of the shares it doesn’t already own in Hawaii’s BancWest for $2.5 billion brings closer the day when banks will compete directly with insurance agents. The “bancassurance” model …
Of the six new brokers admitted to Lloyd’s select fraternity five are based outside of the U.K., marking the first time that the venerable institution has given foreign brokers direct access to the Lloyd’s market. Beginning this year Lloyd’s revamped …
Despite the economic slowdown in the U.S., two of the U.K.’s largest insurers, CGNU and Prudential plc, reported strong first quarter sales growth with new business in the U.K. up over 20 percent. Measured by the U.K.’s “annual premium equivalent” …
After a week of intensive negotiations, Allianz AG and Dresdner Bank, Germany’s third largest, announced on April 1 that they have agreed to join forces to create Germany’s biggest financial institution. With capitalization of $87.55 billion, it would be roughly …
Lawyers representing Air France and La Réunion Aerienne, the insurance consortium covering the damages arising from last July’s crash of the supersonic Concorde near Paris, have submitted a “global settlement offer” to the families of the German victims of the …
Paris-based SCOR Group, France’s largest reinsurer, confirmed that it was holding talks with mutual insurer Groupama SA to acquire its unprofitable reinsurance subsidiaries Sorema SA and Sorema NA, the country’s fifth largest reinsurer.”If these discussions are brought to a successful …
After the U.S., Canada, France, Spain and Australia, ING, Holland’s giant banking and insurance group, has brought its one-stop bank, ING Direct, to Italy. The opening is the latest in ING’s efforts to build a global banking system based “direct …
“Allianz and Dresdner Bank confirm strategic talks concerning the creation of a leading integrated financial services provider for insurance, investment and banking services. The talks are in an advanced stage, but have not been completed yet,” said a brief announcement …
Italy’s Assicurazioni Generali SpA posted net profits of €1.452 billion ($1.28 billion) for the year 2000, a healthy 74.1 percent gain over 1999. A capital gain of €273 million ($245 million) from its sale of its interest in Spain’s Banco …
As the latest in a series of floods, which have ravaged France this winter, showed some signs of receding, insurers began counting the potential losses. Last October’s floods in Europe cost insurers an estimated $1.2 billion with about a quarter …
