Articles by Andrea Mandala, Sudip Kar-Gupta and Pablo Mayo Cerqueiro

Credit Agricole Strikes Long-Term Bancassurance Deal with Banco BPM

Credit Agricole on Friday struck a long-term bancassurance partnership with Italy’s Banco BPM, strengthening ties with the country’s number three lender, in which it is already the top investor. The French bank, which took a 9.2% stake in Banco BPM …

AXA Tightens Policy for Insuring, Investing in Oil & Gas Ahead of COP26 Summit

AXA, France’s biggest insurer, said on Friday it would tighten its policy regarding investing in and insuring the oil and gas sector, as pressure builds on finance to help curtail new production. The announcement, which comes before global leaders meet …

Ex-UniCredit CEO Teams Up with France’s Richest Man to Form SPAC for Financial Deals

PARIS – Former UniCredit boss Jean-Pierre Mustier is teaming up with France’s richest man Bernard Arnault to launch a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) aimed at European financial deals, as a boom in blank check vehicles spreads from the United …

Update: AXA to Pay Business Interruption Claims to Restaurants After Court Ruling

A Paris court ruled last week that AXA should pay a restaurant owner two months of revenue losses caused by the virus pandemic. AXA had argued its policy did not cover business disruption caused by the health crisis. Stephane Manigold, …

Renault Is Investigated for Suspected Emissions Cheating: Source

French prosecutors are investigating Renault over suspected cheating on vehicle exhaust emissions, a source at the Paris prosecutor’s office told Reuters on Friday, sending shares in the automaker lower. The probe follows the Volkswagen diesel emissions scandal, which emerged in …

European Insurance Stocks Hit by Hurricane Sandy Fears

European shares fell for the first time in four sessions on Monday, with insurance stocks hit by concern about their exposure to the U.S. hurricane, while a backdrop of weak company results also weighed. Traders added that the bias was …

UK Banks Hit by Compensation Capitulation for Mis-selling PPI

British banks gave up a fight over compensating customers wrongly sold insurance, forcing Barclays Plc and HSBC to take a combined hit of more than $2 billion in the latest blow to the industry. Barclays said it would make a …

Lloyds Bank Takes $5.3 Billion Hit for Mis-selling Payment Protection Insurance

Lloyds, the UK’s state-backed bank, which has no affiliation with Lloyd’s of London, took a shock £3.2 billion ($5.3 billion) charge against its profits on Thursday to cover compensation for people sold insurance they would never be able to claim. …

UK Probes Banks over Prudential’s Failed AIA Bid Say Sources

Britain is probing investment banks over insurer Prudential Plc’s failed $35.5 billion bid for rival AIG’s Asian business, AIA, last year, two people familiar with the matter said. The probe, ordered by the Financial Services Authority (FSA), would examine the …

RBS Recovery Undermined by Irish Losses

Royal Bank of Scotland’s high bad debt charges in Ireland and a drop in investment banking income overshadowed the bank’s return to profit in the final months of 2010. Stephen Hester, chief executive of the partly nationalised bank, said on …