Axa to be 'more ambitious' on in-force life insurance deals, says deputy CEO

Axa SA is planning to step up its efforts to reinsure or off-load some of its in-force life insurance business.

"We are committed to being more ambitious on this front," Axa Group Deputy CEO Frédéric de Courtois said on a conference call, though he did caution that it usually takes 18 months to complete deals.

Group CFO Alban de Mailly Nesle told analysts that Axa was aiming to cede between €30 billion and €50 billion of its €280 billion of general account reserves, either through reinsurance or sales of books or legal entities. The deals would free up capital tied up in the life insurance business.

Axa unveiled a €1.7 billion share buyback program along with its nine-month trading update, as well as an intention to launch a further €500 million repurchase in 2022 to offset earnings dilution from sales of businesses announced after Dec. 1, 2020, including its operations in Greece, Malaysia and Singapore.

De Courtois said that the closing process in Singapore should be rapid and the company expects completion around 2021-end. For Malaysia, he said the company was targeting the second quarter of 2022, though there is some uncertainty around the time frame.

He also said he is confident that the insurer would close the long-running sale of AXA Bank Belgium NV, announced back in 2019, by the end of this year.

"All signals we have are positive on that," de Courtois said.