Eurozone debt writedown could cost insurers €143bn

euro in black light

European insurers could lose as much as €143 billion (£122 billion)  if they were forced to write down the value of their peripheral eurozone government bonds, Swiss Re has estimated.

The loss, which assumes that insurers take a 50% haircut on bonds issued by Greece, Ireland, Portugal, Spain and Italy, would amount to nearly one quarter of shareholders' funds.

Insurers would be able to withstand losses on this scale, said Swiss Re senior economist Darren Pain. "Capital buffers appeared adequate

Only users who have a paid subscription or are part of a corporate subscription are able to print or copy content.

To access these options, along with all other subscription benefits, please contact info@risk.net or view our subscription options here: http://subscriptions.risk.net/subscribe

You are currently unable to copy this content. Please contact info@risk.net to find out more.

Sorry, our subscription options are not loading right now

Please try again later. Get in touch with our customer services team if this issue persists.

New to Risk.net? View our subscription options

Register

Want to know what’s included in our free membership? Click here

This address will be used to create your account

The future of life insurance

As the world constantly evolves and changes, so too does the life insurance industry, which is preparing for a multitude of challenges, particularly in three areas: interest rates, regulatory mandates and technology (software, underwriting tools and…

You need to sign in to use this feature. If you don’t have a Risk.net account, please register for a trial.

Sign in
You are currently on corporate access.

To use this feature you will need an individual account. If you have one already please sign in.

Sign in.

Alternatively you can request an individual account here