trending Market Intelligence /marketintelligence/en/news-insights/trending/8xjnqm2fzduvvi7v5kbwoa2 content esgSubNav
In This List

Axa agrees to buy XL Group for $15.3B; Germany's Merkel secures 4th term

Podcast

Street Talk Episode 87

Blog

A New Dawn for European Bank M&A Top 5 Trends

Blog

Insight Weekly: US banks' loan growth; record share buybacks; utility M&A outlook

Blog

Banking Essentials Newsletter 2021: December Edition


Axa agrees to buy XL Group for $15.3B; Germany's Merkel secures 4th term

* French insurer Axa has entered into an agreement to acquire the entire shareholding of XL Group Ltd, a Bermuda-based global insurance and reinsurance company, for a total consideration of $15.3 billion in cash. The transaction is expected to complete in the second half.

* The ECB launched a consultation on proposed guidelines on how much capital and cash banks must hold to ensure their resilience to risks and shocks. The consultation closes May 4, with the proposed guidelines set to be implemented from 2019.

* U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May said any trade deal with the EU will be tailored to suit the needs of both economies, in response to criticism that she is trying to cherry pick. May said Britain wants the freedom to negotiate trade deals with other countries while maintaining "as frictionless a border as possible" with the bloc. May also said that financial services must be part of a future trade deal with the EU, City A.M. reported.

UK AND IRELAND

* Cryptocurrencies must be subject to regulations like the rest of the financial system, Bank of England Governor Mark Carney said. The BoE's view is that it is better to regulate parts of the cryptocurrency ecosystem in order to "combat illicit activities, promote market integrity, and protect the safety and soundness of the financial system."

* Rothesay Life Plc is leading the race to acquire a minimum of £10 billion of U.K. annuity assets from Prudential Plc, insiders told Bloomberg News. Others to have shown interest are Legal & General Group Plc, Lloyds Banking Group Plc's Scottish Widows Group Ltd. and Pension Insurance Corp. Plc.

* Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc is set to meet with the U.S. Department of Justice this month to discuss the final amount of penalty for the settlement of the British lender's mis-selling of retail mortgage-backed securities prior to the 2008 financial crisis, insiders told Sky News. A deal is expected to be finalized within weeks and the amount is said to be much higher than the estimated $3.5 billion RBS set aside.

* Property Alliance Group is considering an appeal to the Supreme Court after the Court of Appeal dismissed the group's claims that RBS mis-sold interest rate swaps and manipulated the London Interbank Offered Rate that underpinned the products, the Financial Times wrote.

* London Stock Exchange Group Plc has asked Simon Collins, the former U.K. chairman of audit firm KPMG, to conduct an independent investigation into the group's boardroom crisis, which prompted the exit of former CEO Xavier Rolet, according to Sky News.

GERMANY, SWITZERLAND AND AUSTRIA

* German Chancellor Angela Merkel has secured a fourth term after Social Democratic Party members voted to form a coalition with her conservative Christian Democratic Union. Officials said the parties would form a new government by March 14.

* Allianz Group has appointed Solmaz Altin, currently its chief digital officer, executive board member of the Allianz Asia executive board from June 1, 2018, and regional CEO effective May 1, 2019, succeeding George Sartorel, who is retiring.

* Former Deutsche Bank AG trader Guillaume Adolph has reached a settlement with the U.K. Financial Conduct Authority and is expected to be fined £180,000 today and be banned from working in London, The Times wrote.

* German investment manager MPC Capital AG completed the placement of 3,042,790 new no-par-value ordinary bearer shares at €5.70 apiece, generating gross proceeds of €17.3 million. The capital increase takes the company's nominal share capital to approximately €33.5 million from €30.4 million.

* Thomas Wiedmer, alternate governing board member of the Swiss National Bank, is leaving the central bank at the end of June.

* Pierin Vincenz has been held in custody as prosecutors investigate private deals during his time as CEO of Raiffeisen Schweiz Genossenschaft, Finews.com wrote. Investigators took him in for questioning on Tuesday on suspicion of breach of trust linked to cashless payments business Aduno and private equity firm Investnet.

* Meanwhile, Patrik Gisel, current CEO of Raiffeisen Schweiz Genossenschaft, said he would not step down in relation to the criminal probe against Vincenz, his predecessor, Reuters reported.

* Swiss insurer Helvetia Holding AG reported full-year 2017 profit attributable to shareholders of CHF405.3 million, up from CHF376.6 million in 2016.

* Credit Suisse Group AG said that it will review its handling of an alleged sexual assault of a female employee by a male manager in 2010.

* A unit of Zurich Insurance Group AG is said to be leading the race to purchase insurance intermediary Blue Insurance, which is expected to fetch around €50 million, according to The Sunday Independent.

FRANCE AND BENELUX

* French insurance regulator ACPR has warned against failure by some insurance companies in complying with the Solvency II directive, according to L'Agefi.

SPAIN AND PORTUGAL

* Bankia SA Executive Chairman José Ignacio Goirigolzarri said the Spanish lender, which the government committed to sell its entire 60% stake in the bank by 2019-end, would be "the perfect fit" with its main domestic rivals, the Financial Times wrote.

* Ibercaja Banco SA reported profit attributable to the controlling entity of €138.4 million in 2017, down 3.2% from €142.9 million a year ago.

* Portugal's government has approved a state guarantee of €156 million for the credit recovery fund established to compensate former customers of failed lender Banco Espírito Santo SA who bought commercial paper issued by BES group companies, ESI and Rioforte, Jornal de Negócios reported.

* Meanwhile, Álvaro Sobrinho, former CEO of BES' Angolan unit, is suspected of having diverted $615 million from the bank, Expresso reported as part of a joint investigation with Germany's Der Spiegel.

ITALY AND GREECE

* Italy's March 4 national election produced no outright winner as exit polls showed voters backing anti-establishment and far-right parties, Reuters reported. A rightist alliance emerged with the biggest bloc of votes, ahead of the anti-establishment 5-Star Movement, with the ruling center-left coalition coming in third. A vote projection released by state TV showed that the country is on course for a hung parliament, with final results expected later today, BBC News and Reuters reported.

* Angelo Caloia, who served as the president of the Vatican Bank from 1999 to 2009, was charged with embezzlement and money laundering of over $61 million, The New York Times reported. Caloia's lawyer, Gabriele Liuzzo, will also stand trial on charges brought up by the bank, also known as Istituto per le Opere di Religione, arising from losses on real estate sales.

* Credito Emiliano SpA's common equity Tier1 ratio increased to 13.69% from 13.32%, more than 6 percentage points above the ECB's 2018 minimum regulatory requirement of 7.375%, after the regulator allowed it to not deduct its stake in Credemvita from the calculation of its capital ratios.

* Iccrea Holding SpA and Cassa Centrale Banca, the two holding companies for Italian cooperative credit banks, are set to present their proposed governance reform to the ECB by March-end, Affari & Finanza wrote.

* Banca di Credito Cooperativo di Roma SC is ready to take on new acquisitions, chairman Francesco Liberati told Affari & Finanza.

NORDIC COUNTRIES

* Bank Norwegian AS is conducting a review linked to Norway's proposed new legislation on the implementation of a revamped bank deposit guarantee scheme, e24.no wrote. The Ministry of Finance is adding new statutory mechanisms to the scheme.

* Per Nørgaard Nielsen, Sønderhå-Hørsted Sparekasse's new CEO, plans to reform the Danish savings bank's cost-base, FinansWatch reported.

EASTERN EUROPE

* The ECB will no longer supervise the Austrian unit of JSC VTB Bank after the Russian state-owned lender merged its European operations into a single subsidiary based in Germany, with branches in France and Austria, Reuters reported.

* The Polish Office of Competition and Consumer Protection allowed Bank Zachodni WBK SA to acquire the demerged part of Deutsche Bank Polska SA and take sole control of DB Securities SA, Parkiet said.

* Polish debt collector GetBack SA decided to consider various potential strategic options, including finding a strategic investor or forming a strategic alliance. News agency PAP also reported the company plans to raise around 1 billion Polish zlotys in capital via two share issuances.

IN OTHER PARTS OF THE WORLD

Asia-Pacific: China plans economic supervision overhaul; Australian asset manager mulls M&A

Middle East & Africa: Angola hikes capital requirements for banks; Netanyahu opposes early elections

NOW FEATURED ON S&P GLOBAL MARKET INTELLIGENCE

Danske Bank could face fines after fresh Estonian money laundering claims: Denmark's largest bank could be hit with fines and legal costs following an investigation by Estonian authorities into possible failures of anti-money laundering controls, according to analysts.

OTP surges past target as Hungary's biggest bank eyes mortgage growth, IT spend: The profit surge was accompanied by an increase in expenses, as wage growth in Hungary reached 9.5%, the bank said.

London Stock Exchange's Warren plays down likelihood of becoming permanent CEO: David Warren, who is serving as interim CEO of London Stock Exchange Group in addition to his CFO role, confirmed his "very strong ambitions" to remain group CFO while not offering specific comment on LSE's ongoing CEO search.

Sheryl Obejera, Ed Meza, Meike Wijers, Gerard O'Dwyer, Beata Fojcik, Yael Schrage, Stephanie Salti, Praxilla Trabattoni and Helen Popper contributed to this report.

The Daily Dose has an editorial deadline of 7 a.m. London time. Some external links may require a subscription.