September 28, 2012
Capital charges for insurers in the European Union could be cut to encourage lending for long-term projects and help boost the flagging economy, the bloc’s executive body said in a high profile policy shift. The European Commission has written to …
September 27, 2012
Just when Spain, and the euro zone, needed it least, along comes the Catalan secession drama to remind us exactly how many parties, peoples and factions have the potential to undermine the single currency’s salvation. Not that Catalonia is likely …
September 17, 2012
The United States has renewed waivers on Iran sanctions for Japan and 10 European countries because they cut their purchases of the OPEC nation’s crude oil, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on Friday. The renewal means banks in the …
September 14, 2012
The good news is that Europe is no longer going the way of Greece. The sad news is that it is threatening to go the way of Japan. After years of hesitation punctuated by panic, Europe has finally accepted the …
September 4, 2012
Moody’s Investors Service has changed its outlook on the ‘Aaa’ rating of the European Union to negative, warning it might downgrade the bloc if it decides to cut the ratings on the EU’s four biggest budget backers: Germany, France, UK …
August 27, 2012
The euro zone debt crisis was born in Greece. Nearly three years and two bailouts on Europe must decide whether to give the country yet more help or cut it loose. For all its complexities, Greece’s problems essentially come down …
July 17, 2012
Newly released data from Finaccord, a London-based market research consultancy specializing in financial services, reveals that the market for commercial non-life insurance broking reached a value of €9.89 billion [$12.165 billion] in commissions and fees in 2011. The report said …
July 16, 2012
The European Union may be forced to put back the January 2014 start date for its Solvency II capital regime for insurers after talks to agree a final draft of the strict new rules collapsed, Europe’s top insurance sector lobby …
July 16, 2012
Direct Line, the UK’s largest motor [auto] insurer run by government-owned Royal Bank of Scotland, is a takeover target for private equity groups looking to pre-empt what would be one of the biggest initial public offerings in London this year. …
July 13, 2012
The European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA) has published its Final Report on draft Guidelines for Own Risk and Solvency Assessment (ORSA), which “underlines the purposes of the ORSA,” and provides “additional details on how the guidelines are to …