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Mercury General settlement; Ameriprise sale completion; Allianz circles BBVA biz

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Mercury General settlement; Ameriprise sale completion; Allianz circles BBVA biz

Mercury General Corp. will pay $41.2 million to the California Department of Insurance to settle a case and a related false advertising action that had been pending the outcome of that case. As a result of the settlement, the company will recognize approximately $5 million of incremental expense, net of tax benefit, in its third-quarter results.

Allianz Group is in pole position to invest in Spain-based Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria SA's bancassurance business, although it must still fend off a U.S. rival, Reuters reported, citing two sources close to the deal. However, the German insurer must still contend with Liberty Mutual, which is also eyeing a bid.

Meanwhile, Generali CEO Philippe Donnet disclosed that the Italian insurer could invest at least €3 billion to grow inorganically by making mid-size acquisitions in the insurance and asset management spaces, Bloomberg News reported.

Assured Guaranty Ltd. subsidiary Assured Guaranty US Holdings Inc. closed its acquisition of BlueMountain Capital Management LLC for about $160 million in cash. The acquisition included all the outstanding equity interests in the alternative asset management firm and its associated entities.

Ameriprise Financial Inc. completed the sale of De Pere, Wis.-based Ameriprise Auto & Home to American Family Insurance Mutual Holding Co. for gross proceeds of about $1.14 billion in cash.

Reinsurer Markel International will sell its Brazilian unit, Markel Seguradora do Brasil SA, to the unit's existing management team, making them the sole shareholders, Reinsurance News reported. Subject to ratification from the Susep private insurance regulator, the unit will change its name to NEWE Seguros.

The European insurance industry's AUM went down slightly to €10.3 trillion in 2018 from a year ago, according to data from trade group Insurance Europe. The insurance sector is the largest institutional investor in the EU as its AUM is equivalent to 58% of the GDP of the EU, Insurance Europe noted.

A wholly owned subsidiary of Enstar Group Ltd. has reinsured a number of U.S. asbestos and environmental liability insurance portfolios of Zurich North America, a Zurich Insurance Group AG unit.

Special purpose insurer Cerulean Re SAC Ltd. issued and listed $25 million of notes on the Bermuda Stock Exchange under its insurance-linked securities note program, Artemis reported.

BETA Healthcare Group CEO Tom Wander will retire in May 2020. He has been at the helm since 1993.

SITE Centers Corp. agreed to sell its 15% stake in the DDRTC joint venture to its partner Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America based on a $1.14 billion gross fund value.

Now featured on S&P Global Market Intelligence

Changes at top US variable annuity writer to go beyond product diversification: A goal of generating higher remittances to Prudential PLC has led Jackson National Life into the fixed indexed annuities market in a more meaningful way and will lead to the end to a permitted accounting practice that had been dragging on capital.

In other parts of the world

Asia-Pacific: IL&FS presents resolution plans; South Korean banks face regulatory sanctions

Europe: Danske exits Estonia; Credit Suisse sees $250M income boost; UniCredit loan sale

Middle East & Africa: Pioneers Holding plots 3-way split; StanChart trims UAE jobs; Fitch cuts Namibia

The day ahead

Early morning futures indicators pointed to a lower opening for the U.S. market.

In Asia, the Hang Seng declined 0.19% to 26,042.69, and the Nikkei 225 was down 0.49% to 21,778.61.

In Europe, around midday, the FTSE 100 fell 2.01% to 7,211.84, and the Euronext 100 slid 1.56% to 1,067.79.

Click here to read about today's financial markets, setting out the factors driving stocks, bonds and currencies around the world ahead of the New York open.

On the macro front

The U.S. ADP employment report and the U.S. EIA petroleum status report are due out today.

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