S&P Global Market Intelligence offers our top picks of insurance news stories and more published throughout the week.
Across the industry
* A group of insurance associations are calling on the International Accounting Standards Board to delay the effective date of the new International Financial Reporting Standard, better known as IFRS 17, to Jan. 1, 2023, saying a one-year delay would not "unduly disrupt implementation projects."
* Allianz SE CEO Oliver Baete said at the United Nations Climate Action Summit in New York City that his company is part of the newly formed Net-Zero Asset Owner Alliance, which is composed of some of the world's largest pension funds and insurers that are collectively responsible for directing more than $2.4 trillion in investments. The alliance has committed to carbon-neutral investment portfolios by 2050.
Entries and exits
* Aviva PLC appointed Jason Windsor CFO and an executive director, effective Sept. 26. He had served as interim CFO since July 1 and was previously CFO of Aviva UK Insurance.
* Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance has entered the Spanish insurance market by opening an office in Madrid. The company appointed Ignacio Almazan country manager.
M&A corner
* About half a dozen insurance companies including Germany's Allianz Group are looking to acquire the Singapore and Vietnam businesses of British insurer Aviva for a combined deal value of between $2 billion and $2.5 billion, insiders told Reuters.
* Ireland-based Laguna Life DAC has completed its acquisition of local peer Inora Life Ltd. from French banking group Société Générale SA.
* British insurance and reinsurance broker Price Forbes & Partners Ltd. has acquired a minority stake in Hong Kong-based Sino Insurance and Reinsurance Brokers.
Contracts and proposals
* Rothesay Life PLC signed what it says will be the "largest full scheme buyout ever undertaken in the U.K.," agreeing with telecom company telent to a bulk annuity insurance buyout of the £4.7 billion GEC 1972 Plan. The scheme has approximately 39,000 members consisting of 28,000 pensioners and 11,000 deferred pensioners. The buyout is expected to complete before 2022-end.
* Rothesay Life also completed a deal to insure £3.8 billion of defined benefit liabilities for the Allied Domecq Pension Fund, describing the transaction as the largest scheme buy-in that incorporates deferred members and current pensioners. The insurance policy covers over 27,000 members, consisting of 17,000 pensioners and 10,000 deferred pensioners. Rothesay Life said its assets now exceed £50 billion, more than doubling from £24 billion at year-end 2017.
* Legal & General Group PLC will sell annuities to Prudential PLC customers with guaranteed annuity rates in a new deal it expects will boost individual annuity new business by 15% in 2020.
* French insurer CNP Assurances SA is among the finalists in the race to become partners in Caixa Econômica Federal's home insurance business, according to a report in Estadão's Broadcast column. The companies have until Nov. 11 to submit binding proposals.
In other news
* Prudential PLC is offering a one-off dividend of around £100 million, equivalent to about 3.85 pence per share, related to the proposed demerger of M&G Prudential, expected to be completed Oct. 21. The planned dividend is in recognition that M&G will be operating without incurring certain costs, such as debt interest costs, for the majority of the 2019 financial year.
* Generali has completed its offer to repurchase up to €1 billion aggregate principal amount of three series of its subordinated notes. The Italian insurer also launched a new €750 million fixed-rate Tier 2 bullet bond due Oct. 1, 2030, issued in the form of a green bond. The issuance represents the first green bond issued by a European insurance company.
* Aegis London, which is involved in the marine, energy, casualty, specialty and property segments, intends to drop its property treaty book, which sources say generates only about $15 million of income, from January 2020, The Insurance Insider reported.
* U.S. insurer Travelers Cos. Inc. will transfer the portfolios of in-force policies and historic liabilities written out of branches in Ireland, France, Germany and the Netherlands to newly established insurance subsidiary Travelers Insurance DAC, which was authorized by the Central Bank of Ireland in January.
Featured during the week on S&P Global Market Intelligence
Lloyd's CEO: Firms that don't toe culture line 'can't be part of our community': John Neal also told delegates at an insurance diversity and inclusion event that companies missing new gender targets could be named and shamed, and he said there was no excuse for failing to tackle gender equality.
