Latest Europe Headlines

All the headlines from our Europe Topic Page, ordered by recency.

ING Gets Rights Issue Boost Ahead of Asset Sales

Dec 16 2009 // ING won strong support from shareholders for a heavily discounted rights issue, helping the Dutch bancassurer cut its reliance on state aid and clearing the way for it to launch a program of mandated asset sales. ING said...

Norway’s Risk Management Association Becomes 20th FERMA Member

Dec 15 2009 // The Norwegian Risk Management Association (NORIMA) has been accepted as a member of the Federation of European Risk Management Associations (FERMA), bringing the total to 20 associations from 18. Risk management...

Ratings Recap: XL Europe, Wagram, NAGICO, AGS, ARIG

Dec 15 2009 // Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services announced that it withdrew its ‘A’ counterparty credit and financial strength ratings on XL Europe Ltd. on Dec. 10, 2009. “We withdrew the ratings because of...

Aon to Acquire Construction Insurance Broker FCC Global of Spain

Dec 15 2009 // Aon Risk Services said that it has agreed to acquire FCC Global Insurance Services, the in-house captive brokerage subsidiary of FCC. FCC Global Insurance Services is a subsidiary of Fomento De Construcciones Y Contratas,...

FERMA Comments on Proposed EU Insurance Block Exemption Changes

Dec 14 2009 // The Federation of European Risk Management Associations, has issued a bulletin welcoming the opportunity to comment on the European Commission’s latest draft of the block exemption requirements (BER) for the...

EU Presses IMF to Support Financial Transaction (Tobin) Tax

Dec 11 2009 // The European Union increased pressure on the International Monetary Fund on Friday to consider a global tax on financial transactions to limit the risk of another economic crisis. In a draft statement expected to be...

‘Fog in Channel’ – The Disconnect between England and France

Dec 4 2009 // The rest of that phrase, from a long ago Times headline, reads “- Continent Cut Off.” It succinctly summarizes the past, present and probably future state of relations between two of Europe’s oldest...

Bakker to Head Willis European Capital Markets, Advisory Unit

Dec 3 2009 // Willis Group Holdings announced that Michiel Bakker has been appointed Managing Director and Head of Europe for its Willis Capital Markets and Advisory unit, formed earlier this year to expand the broker’s capital...

China, Other Big Developing Countries Reject Copenhagen Climate Plan

Dec 3 2009 // China and other big developing nations rejected core targets for a climate deal such as halving world greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 just five days before talks start in Copenhagen, diplomats said Wednesday. China, the...

France Tries to Calm Britain’s Angst over Regulation Threats

Dec 3 2009 // France tried to reassure Britain on Thursday that its push for tougher financial regulation in the European Union would not undermine the City of London, saying new rules would not hurt anyone system in...

House Advances Sweeping Overhaul of Financial Services Regulation

Dec 3 2009 // Lawmakers in the House of Representatives voted Wednesday to give government regulators the power to break up financial firms that threaten economic stability, and to expose the Federal Reserve to unprecedented...

UK’s Darling Backs Stronger European Regulation

Dec 2 2009 // The UK’s Chancellor of the Exchequer, Alistair Darling, backed tougher Europe-wide financial regulation in a Times article on Wednesday, but stressed that the UK’s financial services industry must not be...

American Bar Ass’n. Antitrust Section Approves EU’s Block Exemption Reg

Dec 2 2009 // The Antitrust Section of the American Bar Association has given its view of the European Union’s Block Exemption Regulation (BER). In a notice on its web site (www.abanet.org) the Section said it “appreciates...

Swiss Re Economists See Gradual Recovery; Regulation Concerns

Dec 1 2009 // Swiss Re’s Economic Forum, held today at the reinsurer’s iconic London headquarters, presented a far more encouraging picture of the world’s financial condition than a year ago. However, there may be...

Customer & Credit Risks top Agendas for European Business, Says Marsh

Nov 24 2009 // New research, conducted by Marsh, has found that senior executives in Europe’s leading organizations are most concerned about customer-related risks and access to credit, as they plan their recovery from the global...

De La Rochefoucauld to Head Lloyd’s French Office

Nov 23 2009 // Lloyd’s announced the appointment of Guy-Antoine De La Rochefoucauld as the new Country Manager for its French office, effective the 7th of December. The bulletin noted that he “has over 25 years experience in...

Chubb Encourages Chinese Firms to Adopt Risk Management Practices

Nov 18 2009 // Chubb Group recently co-hosted a seminar near Shanghai, which focused on the “increasing number of Chinese exports exposed to product liability claims and litigation in the United States and Europe.” As a...

ACE Europe Appoints UK Corporate P/C Underwriting Managers

Nov 17 2009 // ACE Europeannounced the appointment of John Stanway as Corporate Property & Casualty Underwriting Manager for the UK North region and Graeme McGeachie as Corporate Property & Casualty Underwriting Manager for the...

ACE Tempest Re Names Mann Sr. Underwriter for Structured Risks

Nov 13 2009 // ACE Tempest Re Europe has announced the appointment of David Mann in the newly created role of Senior Underwriter for Structured Risks. The appointment “further enhances ACE’s commitment to expanding its...

Somali Pirates Demonstrate Long-range Menace

Nov 11 2009 // Anti-piracy measures off Somalia appear to be forcing pirates to extend their range to strike deep into the Indian Ocean, shifting the menace even further from the protection of international naval forces. Gunmen on Monday...