Articles by Jan-Henrik Förster and Patrick Winters

Zurich Insurance Raises Dividend as Cost Cuts Bear Fruit

Zurich Insurance Group AG overcame a record year for natural-disaster claims in the industry to deliver its first dividend increase since 2011. The shares rose the most since August 2016. Switzerland’s biggest insurer raised its dividend for 2017 by 6 …

Zurich’s Acquisition of ANZ Life Unit Designed to Boost Dividends

Zurich Insurance Group AG’s decision to acquire the life-insurance businesses of Australia & New Zealand Banking Group Ltd. should help Switzerland’s biggest insurer fulfill its ambition to increase its dividend. Already famous as a dividend stock, Zurich signaled last month …

Zurich Insurance Plans to Double Allocation to Impact Investments, Earmarking $5B

Zurich Insurance Group AG plans to more than double its allocation to impact investments, earmarking $5 billion for a broader range of assets after devoting $2 billion to green bonds in recent years. While it didn’t specify a period, Zurich …

Update: Zurich Returns to Profit in Q4 2016 with Net Income of $685M

Zurich Insurance Group AG fell in Zurich trading after posting a quarterly profit supported by one-time gains as Chief Executive Officer Mario Greco presses ahead with an overhaul of Switzerland’s largest insurer. Net income for the three months through December …

Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank Settle Subprime Mortgage Probes with U.S.

Deutsche Bank AG and Credit Suisse Group AG agreed to pay a combined $12.5 billion to resolve U.S. investigations into sales of the toxic debt that fueled the financial crisis, putting behind them a major dispute that undermined confidence in …

Zurich to Cut Costs by $1.5B with Simplification ‘Name of Game’: CEO Greco

Zurich Insurance Group AG plans to cut costs by $1.5 billion from 2015 through 2019 as Chief Executive Officer Mario Greco overhauls Switzerland’s largest insurer and seeks to boost the firm’s dividend. The new plan replaces a previous goal to …

Most Italians Uninsured for Earthquake as Economic Cost of Tremblor Mounts

The magnitude 6.2 earthquake that struck Italy’s Umbria region this week, killing at least 250 people, is estimated to have cost the country anywhere from $1 billion to $11 billion in economy-related losses. The insurance bill will be a lot …

Soft Prices May Bring Reinsurer Losses when Typical Cat Levels Return: Execs

It won’t take another Hurricane Katrina for reinsurers to face losses from covering the cost of storms and earthquakes. Competitors such as hedge funds have eroded prices so much that a typical year of claims could move the industry into …

Zurich Insurance Q2 Net Income Declines 12% on Restructuring, Nat Cats

Zurich Insurance Group AG said second-quarter profit fell 12 percent on higher restructuring charges and claims from natural catastrophes as Chief Executive Officer Mario Greco overhauls the company’s biggest unit. Net income declined to $739 million from $840 million a …

Europe Insurers’ Stress Tests Could Lead to Higher Capital Requirements

European insurers, whose profits are being eroded by Mario Draghi’s* quantitative easing program, face a stress test headache that risks requiring them to set aside more capital, further hurting their ability to make money. The timing of the regulator’s “stress …