Eurozone insurers dived back into bonds in Q2

Eurozone insurers restarted bond purchases in the second quarter after selling billions in Q1, but continued to offload equities, even as a rally in global stock markets helped push up the value of their portfolios.

Data from the European Central Bank shows that insurers’ assets hit €8.72 trillion ($10.42 trillion) as of end-June, up 3% on end-March, having fallen some 3% over the first quarter. Net purchases of debt securities amounted to €15.1 billion over Q2, compared to net sales of €5.8