Chinese insurer’s ascent raises known unknowns 3 Jun 2015 Anbang Insurance is vying to add Portugal’s Novo Banco to trophies including New York’s Waldorf Astoria. The group’s prodigious expansion raises questions about its backers and the health of China’s financial system. Whether its targets’ regulators are up to the task is unclear.
PartnerRe debt quirks may hinder Agnelli advances 2 Jun 2015 A deal by the Italians’ Exor vehicle could blow up the reinsurer’s credit ratings, the target claims. That’s debatable, but Bermudan law and other technicalities make PartnerRe’s preferred shareholders a key voting constituency. Some may find downgrade fears hard to ignore.
Generali finds logical response to low-yield pain 27 May 2015 The Italian group’s pledge to hike dividends may look bold: ultra-low bond yields are hurting insurers. But bigger players are relatively better placed, and Generali just hit a set of multi-year targets. Besides, a shift away from guaranteed-return products could help profit.
Resisting Exor’s $6.8 bln is futile for PartnerRe 12 May 2015 The Agnelli family vehicle sweetened its bid – and rattled a hostile sabre. The offer clearly outguns PartnerRe’s planned merger with Axis, and there are no interlopers so far. A parallel rise in Axis stock suggests that if Exor succeeds, bankers may get a bonus deal to work on.
PartnerRe manages to cede high ground to Agnellis 5 May 2015 The Italian dynasty’s vehicle, Exor, has offered $6.4 bln for the Bermudan reinsurer. PartnerRe’s rigid board is sticking with a sweetened but lower-value merger with Axis. Exor’s hostile stance may put PartnerRe in play – as it probably should have been from the start.
Agnellis pay up to claim mini-Buffett status 14 Apr 2015 Exor, the Italian family’s holding company, is offering a premium to buy PartnerRe out of a merger with fellow reinsurer Axis. The price is full and the bid lacks its rival’s synergies. But debt is cheap, and Berkshire Hathaway-style cash flow could fund further acquisitions.
Tidjane Thiam’s pay is insufficiently prudential 1 Apr 2015 The outgoing Prudential CEO was paid 8.3 mln stg in shares for hitting long-term targets. Given his record, the largesse can be defended. But the UK insurer - and fund manager – should follow peers in requiring such awards to be held until outperformance is proved sustainable.
Next Prudential chief’s job harder than it looks 10 Mar 2015 Tidjane Thiam’s successor inherits a business with a good strategy that generates lots of cash. As moving the Pru’s domicile is off the agenda, the new CEO’s plan should be more of the same. That makes it difficult to make a mark – but with plenty of downside if things slow down.
Aviva’s dividend and future get more sustainable 5 Mar 2015 The UK insurer’s 2014 results showed rising excess cash from operations. That’s reassuring, given tricky times for the sector and a 21 pct dividend hike. While the integration of Friends Life is a risk, Aviva doesn’t look to be doing the deal to cover up operating weakness.
Never mind Bill Gross: Allianz is thriving 26 Feb 2015 The star investor’s acrimonious departure from Pimco caused huge outflows and hurt operating profit at Allianz, the German owner of the U.S. bond-fund firm. That obscures Allianz’s real strength. Annual results underline the insurer’s renewal under outgoing CEO Michael Diekmann.
Prudential makes a drama out of capital surprise 6 Feb 2015 Investors wiped $2 bln off the U.S. insurer’s value after it reported a baffling Q4 drop in excess capital. The company’s belated explanation eventually helped the shares recover. But the episode suggests a failure to manage expectations that SIFIs like Prudential can ill afford.
Anthem investors don’t get cyber risks, either 5 Feb 2015 Data breaches at the likes of Target, Home Depot and Sony have put once-complacent managers on notice. But the small impact on the stock of the $37 bln No. 2 U.S. healthcare group after up to 80 mln records were compromised suggests shareholders are still not alert to the danger.
MetLife SIFI suit is risk for harried watchdogs 14 Jan 2015 U.S. courts have squelched a slew of securities and commodities rules. Systemic tags may be next as the insurer challenges its big-and-risky designation. Activist judges are often blamed, but sloppy, rushed regulators are likelier culprits. More watertight rulemaking is in order.
MetLife’s Snoopy takes on the regulatory Red Baron 13 Jan 2015 As JPMorgan showed, challenging Wall Street’s overseers can come back to haunt. Now MetLife boss Steve Kandarian is taking his insurer’s designation as a SIFI to a U.S. federal court. He may have a point, and the right to legal redress, but his stance carries risks of its own.
Wearable tech will go from novelty to necessity 31 Dec 2014 Activity trackers like Jawbone and Fitbit gather vast quantities of deeply personal data. Consumers aren’t always keen to overshare. But healthcare and insurance companies are finding ways to make it worth their while. Geeky gadgets could soon become too useful to ignore.
Bank cyberinsurance is overdue to come of age 23 Dec 2014 It’s a confusing market, but growing fast. No wonder with a huge breach at JPMorgan in 2014, never mind monsters at Sony and Home Depot. Add a Washington campaign, and insurance may become standard. As well as financial cover, that could improve security – but only at the margin.
Jefferies closes annus horribilis on wicked downer 16 Dec 2014 The Wall Street firm racked up a $93 mln fiscal Q4 loss. Boss Richard Handler says a senior banker’s messy public divorce had no material effect. Poor trading, a bum acquisition and one big bad debt took their toll. It’s a damaging concoction that should be limited to Jefferies.
EU insurers’ solvency is shakier than it looks 16 Dec 2014 A quarter of Europe’s insurers would fail to meet a basic gauge of capital health if Japan-style low-yield conditions were to persist, recent stress tests found. But actual euro zone yields are even lower. With the bloc on the brink of deflation, that’s not a reassuring sign.
Market too cool on Aviva-Friends tie-up 2 Dec 2014 Some investors see another value-destructive UK insurance merger. At about 20.5 bln stg, the pair is worth no more than before the deal leaked. But even if synergies are worth less than the 1.8 bln stg claimed, the fact they come from fund management as much as IT is cheering.
Friends Life deal terms make an auction tricky 25 Nov 2014 The UK insurer is a bite-sized acquisition for bigger European peers. But both foreign and domestic buyers can see that Aviva has offered Friends a full price that pays away lots of synergy value. And matching Aviva’s premium could be just as tough for consolidators like Phoenix.