S&P Global Market Intelligence offers our top picks of insurance news stories and more published throughout the week. Please note that some entries may have links to third-party sources that may require a subscription.
Deal news
* Nippon Life Insurance Co. is acquiring an approximately 85.1% stake in MassMutual Life Insurance Co. from Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Co. unit MassMutual International LLC for ?104.2 billion. The company said the completion of the transaction is expected to take place around May or June.
* Australia's QBE Insurance Group Ltd. is selling its Latin America operations to Zurich Insurance Group AG for US$409 million. The sale will include QBE's operations in Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador and Mexico. The insurer said it will not undertake significant asset sales in the near term.
* India-based consumer electronics maker Videocon Industries Ltd. will off-load its 51.32% stake in insurance unit Liberty Videocon General Insurance Co. Ltd. for an undisclosed sum.
* Germany-based Allianz SE, through its unit Allianz Insurance Lanka Ltd., completed the acquisition of Janashakthi Insurance PLC subsidiary Janashakthi General Insurance Ltd. for 16.39 billion Sri Lankan rupees.
* U.S.-based American International Group Inc. and Hong Kong's AIA Group Ltd. are reportedly considering acquiring AMP Ltd.'s assets including its life insurance, wealth management and New Zealand operations.
Regulatory developments
* The China Insurance Regulatory Commission fined several insurers, including PICC Property & Casualty Co. Ltd., Ping An Property & Casualty Insurance Co. of China Ltd., China Pacific Property Insurance Co. Ltd. and Taiping General Insurance Co. Ltd., for creating unfair competition in commercial auto insurance and for doctoring financial reports.
* China's insurance regulator also said Ping An Life Insurance Co. of China Ltd., New China Life Insurance Co. Ltd. and China Re Asset Management Co. broke regulations published in 2012 governing overseas investments. Meanwhile, the regulator plans to categorize insurers into four classes based on their asset-liability management performance.
* New Zealand's central bank said CBL Insurance Ltd. was placed in interim liquidation after paying NZ$55 million to two overseas companies against regulatory orders. The insurer's parent company, CBL Corp. Ltd., earlier placed itself in voluntary administration.
* Further, Ireland's central bank appointed Kieran Wallace as a provisional administrator of CBL Corp. Ltd's unit CBL Insurance Europe dac to "assist in the maintenance, in the public interest, of the proper and orderly regulation and conduct of insurance business."
Earnings corner
* QBE Insurance Group posted net losses after tax of US$1.25 billion in the aggregate for 2017, compared to an after-tax profit of US$844 million for 2016.
* AIA Group said its consolidated net profit for the fiscal year ended Nov. 30, 2017, rose year over year to US$6.12 billion from US$4.16 billion.
In other news
* TOWER Ltd. will receive NZ$22 million as part of a settlement agreement with Peak Reinsurance Co. Ltd. regarding an adverse development cover policy entered into in 2015.
* India's Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. and XL Catlin agreed to form a general insurance joint venture. Mahindra & Mahindra will own a 51% stake in the joint venture, while XL Catlin will hold the remaining 49%.
* Anbang Insurance Group Co. Ltd. has no plans to reduce its stake in China Minsheng Banking Corp. Ltd. and China Merchants Bank Co. Ltd. following the Chinese government's takeover of the insurer.
* Taiwan's financial regulator approved Allianz Taiwan Life Insurance Co. Ltd.'s sale of part of its life insurance portfolio to Taiwan's China Life Insurance Co. Ltd. The transfer is expected to complete in May.
