UK insurance: shares in Aviva and Admiral shrug off Bank of England’s warnings of a ‘prolonged’ recession in the sector January 10, 2023 The UK’s insurance companies were told to brace themselves for a “prolonged” recession by boosting their risk management processes, the Bank of England (BoE) has said in a letter to sector CEOs. In a letter to insurance chief executives, the BoE’s insurance watchdog warned that various risks might stem from the downturn as it called [...]
Sunak and Starmer offer little new year cheer on ailing UK growth path January 10, 2023 This brand new weekly column, published every Tuesday, will drill down into the stories behind the numbers to reveal what makes the UK – and global – economy tick. But, today, inspired by what resembled soon-to-broken new year’s resolutions by political leaders last week, it will make the case for why a stable government economic [...]
Lloyd’s of London syndicate Beazley launches world’s first ‘cyber catastrophe bond’ January 9, 2023 Lloyd’s syndicate Beazley has launched the world’s first ‘cyber catastrophe bond’. The insurer’s catastrophe bond protects Beazley’s balance sheet in the event it is forced to pay out more than $300m (£246m) in insurance on any cyber risk policy. Catastrophe bonds have traditionally been used to protect insurers from natural disaster risks, through deals that [...]
Millennials ignored by UK’s financial institutions as boards stumble towards gerontocracy January 9, 2023 The boards of banks, asset managers and fintechs are outstripping their European rivals at female representation, but failing to take on any millennials, according to new research. EY’s report found that there were no board members under 40 in any of the UK’s top financial services firms. The report on board diversity shows that in [...]
Comparethemarket owner backs London ‘insurtech’ Superscript in £45m funding round January 9, 2023 London-based insurance fintech Superscript announced it had bagged a £45m funding round led by the owner of Comparethemarket.com today, in a boost to the UK’s burgeoning ‘insurtech’ sector after a flurry of investment in the past two years.
‘Divorce Day’: Why cash-strapped couples are looking at putting off their split amid money woes January 9, 2023 Over a third of married couples who had been considering a divorce are now opting to stay in their relationship because of the cost-of-living crisis, according to a survey. The first working Monday of the new year has been dubbed ‘Divorce Day’ by lawyers, but many couples are thinking twice before splitting from their partner [...]
The Notebook: Dogs in the office, Next’s triumph, and the Madoff documentary January 8, 2023 The Notebook is a new addition to City A.M.’s daily offering, giving the City of London’s movers and shakers the chance to let a few things off their chest. In this first edition – it’s our editor, Andy Silvester, penning his thoughts. ONE of the things that fascinated me as a child were ant farms [...]
Decentralised open source protocols = freedom January 8, 2023 Dr Kacher explains how Web3 enables decentralised DAOs which offer open source protocols that are funded by DAOs and NFTs.
Covid variant, China invasion of Taiwan and more inflation: What shocks will 2023 bring? January 8, 2023 A new Covid-19 variant that escapes vaccines is among the biggest risks threatening to sharpen the UK recession, City economists surveyed by City A.M. suspect. Asked what wildcard trends could spring up to hit the economy this year, experts warned another deadly strain of the virus spreading is one of the biggest headwinds that would [...]
Fintech overhaul: Jack Ma to relinquish control of Chinese giant Ant January 7, 2023 Ant Group’s founder Jack Ma will give up control of the Chinese fintech giant in an overhaul that seeks to draw a line under a regulatory crackdown that was triggered soon after its mammoth stock market debut was scuppered two years ago. Ant’s $37bn IPO, which would have been the world’s largest, was cancelled at the last minute in November [...]