Insurers
UK life insurers pass BoE stress test with 64% hit to surplus capital
Sector deemed resilient, but plausibility of some management actions questioned
Covid chaos ate into EU insurers’ own funds
Aggregate ratio of own funds to SCR fell 14 percentage points in Q1
EU insurers’ fund holdings battered by Covid in Q1
Total asset portfolios declined 6% through Covid shock
Equity hedges bolstered Axa through Covid crisis
Economic hedges contributed €425 million to H1 income
Eurozone insurers dived back into bonds in Q2
Net purchases of debt securities amounted to €15.1 billion over Q2
Covid recession makes US insurers’ junk bond piles riskier
About $227.5 billion of firms’ debt holdings are BB+ rated or lower
Axa’s solvency ratio continues fall in Q2
French insurer’s core ratio has dropped 18 percentage points year-to-date
Market risks push Allianz’s Solvency II ratio lower in Q2
Whipsawing markets help take three percentage points of the firm’s core solvency ratio
Covid shock could topple US insurers’ exotic CLOs
Losses on “atypical” tranches could hit $899 million
Top European insurers bet on private equity
Allianz and Axa had a combined €29 billion at end-2019
Market risks push up top EU insurers’ capital charges
Allianz sees SCR for market risk surge 28% year-on-year
US insurers built up holdings of shaky bank loans in 2019
Non-investment grade loans make up 80% of insurer loan exposures
Generali’s solvency ratio savaged by Covid-19 turmoil
Italian sovereign exposures could force capital gauge even lower
Aegon, Allianz Solvency II ratios diverge under coronavirus stress
Aegon cites volatility adjustment for buoying capital position through the crisis
Top insurers mark down CLO holdings following Covid-19 tumult
MetLife discloses $773 million unrealised loss
Covid-19 chaos drains Axa’s Solvency II ratio
French insurer’s regulatory capital ratio is at its lowest since the Solvency II regime took effect
US life insurers exposed to $130bn of CMBS
Majority of exposures are to senior tranches
Munich Re’s capital requirement jumped 19% in 2019
Interest rate declines added €2.2bn to SCR
Sliding rates crimp Allianz’s Solvency II ratio
Solvency II ratio down 17 percentage points year-on-year
EU insurers pile into loans, funds and private equity
Fund investments make up 12% of exposures as of Q3 2019
EU insurers increase derivatives holdings
Greater interest rate swap values push up interconnectedness risk of insurance sector