The European Central Bank has turned government bonds into one of the riskiest asset classes, prompting Swiss Re AG to move more of its investments into corporate debt, according to the reinsurer’s chief investment officer. “If you’re looking for a …
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 …
Munich Re, the world’s second-biggest reinsurer, plans to spend 1 billion euros ($1.1 billion) by 2020 restructuring operations at its loss-making primary insurance unit in Germany. The plan for ERGO’s German operations includes cutting 1,835 jobs, or about 13 percent …
NN Group NV, the second-biggest Dutch insurer, said it will buy back as much as 500 million euros ($559 million) of shares over the 12 months from June as it returns excess capital to investors. First-quarter operating profit was little …
A fragmented Internet, continued experimentation with monetary policy and another round of economic crises in emerging markets top Swiss Re’s latest roundup of emerging risks to watch out for. Beyond those top three, the reinsurance giant covers everything from human-induced …
The chorus of global financial leaders warning about the fallout from negative interest rates is getting bigger. Nobuyuki Hirano, president of Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc., lambasted the Bank of Japan’s negative rates last week for putting banking stability at …
The negative impact of low interest rates and soft market pricing on London market insurers has been partially offset by low levels of large claims, according to Fitch Ratings in a special report. London market insurers tend to hold a …
Evan Greenberg, the chief executive officer of insurer Chubb Ltd., said companies may find it difficult to obtain financing after central banks have propped up economic growth for years, likening their stimuli to a drug. “We may be at the …
Weak business conditions in the reinsurance industry are being masked by a low level of catastrophes and a high level of reserve releases, said Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services and Fitch Ratings in new reports. “Stripping out these two factors, …
Lloyd’s of London reported a 30 percent drop of full-year profit as the world’s largest insurance market was hurt by continued pressure on pricing and the lowest investment returns since at least 2001. Earnings declined to 2.1 billion pounds ($3 …
