Royal & Sun Alliance gets ready for rights issue 31 Aug 2003 The British insurer has been itching to raise funds for over a year. RSA has a stronger hand now. The bet is investors will believe a rights issue is worth it.
Swiss Re H1 beats expectations 29 Aug 2003 It's little wonder that investors were cautious about the reinsurer's results following CEO John Coomber's quasi profit warning in June. But the results show that the issues Coomber highlighted are not so serious after all. He should keep his head down in future.
S&P downgrades Munich Re to A+ 28 Aug 2003 A capital raising would not have averted the move. The agency s view of the reinsurer relative to its peers has clearly deteriorated. Munich Re has declared war on S&P. If the rating agency is taking a harsher view of the whole industry, the fireworks are just beginning.
Munich Re tests S&P’s patience 26 Aug 2003 The German reinsurer was spared a downgrade in June. Instead, S&P issued a verbal warning that more capital would be needed before long. But Munich Re is still procrastinating over a capital increase. That can only be justified if its operating performance has gathered pace.
Lloyds learns to live with Scottish Widows 22 Aug 2003 Eric Daniels, the UK bank s CEO, seems open to serious offers for the life business. But he is taking care not to look like a forced seller. Sticking with the business and fixing it may not be his first choice solution, but that s what management is all about.
Zurich Financial posts patchy first half 20 Aug 2003 One year on, and the insurance company's turnaround programme is delivering in most, if not all, areas. Zurich appears to be on track to sustain its return to profitability. The question is what it does for an encore.
Herbert Walter takes axe to Dresdner 14 Aug 2003 The bank s new boss has little choice. Dresdner s results may have stabilised in the first half. But its income is under pressure and costs remain too high.
Allianz posts Q2 net income of E622m 14 Aug 2003 The equity rally and a huge tax credit have helped the German insurer to overturn a firstquarter loss and enter the black at the halfyear. But Allianz wants to be judged on its operational performance. And it is not obvious that this justifies a terribly high rating.
Insurers pull rabbits out of the hat 14 Aug 2003 Allianz posted an interim profit by conjuring up a E850m tax credit. ING, its Dutch rival, unearthed E250m to boost its results. It just shows that the one thing you will never get out of an insurance company is a clean set of numbers.
Axa first-half earnings beat expectations 12 Aug 2003 Investors who have pushed up the insurer's shares this year have been rewarded with a dazzling result from its general insurance business. But the core life business is awaiting an upturn in consumer confidence.
Aegon sells financing arm to GE for $5.4bn 5 Aug 2003 Perhaps Aegon is worried that markets are heading down again. Selling the financing business will cut debt and cement its credit rating. And Aegon has even managed to make a profit despite selling to General Electric.
Prudential chops dividend by 40% 29 Jul 2003 The case for a deeper cut is not compelling the UK insurer still has proceeds from previous disposals squirreled away under the mattress. The Pru's growth strategy is proving very expensive. It will be some time before it can afford to jack the dividend up again.
Lloyds TSB hints at Scottish Widows sale 18 Jul 2003 Given Swiss Life's failure to sell its UK life unit, it would be hard to see Lloyds getting a good price for an asset the size of Widows. And quitting life assurance would trash Lloyds' bancassurance strategy. But Lloyds has a new CEO who may find it easier to bite the bullet.
Allianz needs another share sale 8 Jul 2003 But the German insurer would not get away with a second rights issue to combat lingering doubts over the solidity of its credit rating. Instead, it may have to offload some of its noncore investments. That could spell M&A activity among German midcaps.
Unipol pays E1.5bn for Winterthur Italy 23 Jun 2003 That s a massive bite for the Italian insurer, which will roughly double in size. And Unipol is paying a hefty price. One theory is that the historically leftwing groups that control Unipol could be strengthening the red financial alliance.
Swiss Re’s new boss issues profit warning 19 Jun 2003 John Coomber has made a bit of a gaffe in giving out a grim outlook in an interview with Reuters. Investors thinking that the market rebound means all the reinsurance sector's troubles are over need to think again.
Investors lap up Benfield IPO 13 Jun 2003 This is clearly encouraging for those seeking to take companies public. But it doesn't mean that the IPO market is open to allcomers.
Munich Re says the worst is over 2 Jun 2003 Given its performance in Q1, the world's number one reinsurer looks set to deliver a decent operating result this year. But Munich Re has yet to demonstrate that it will not need a rights issue.
Royal & Sun Alliance pleases in Q1 22 May 2003 The UK insurer's share price has warmed to a strong underwriting result. But the underlying performance may not be strong enough to guarantee RSA's return to the FTSE just yet.
Allianz writes down E2.3bn in Q1 16 May 2003 Claims that Dresdner has stabilised kid no one. Investors who thought Allianz s rights issue was the turning point should brace themselves. The German insurer says there will be additional gigantic impairment charges this year if markets hold flat, never mind if they fall.