Allianz sets aside €3.7bn to pay for collapsed fund lawsuits, following talks with US authorities February 17, 2022 German insurer and asset manager Allianz has set aside €3.7bn (£3.1bn) to settle lawsuits arising from the collapse of its Structured Alpha funds, following talks with US authorities. Allianz, the world’s largest insurance company, said it had set aside €3.7bn in “anticipation of settlements with major investors.” The comments come after the US Department of [...]
Crypto lending products flourish in UK amid pushback from US regulators February 17, 2022 This week crypto platform Blockfi was ordered to pay $100m in a settlement with US regulators, the SEC's first enforcement against crypto lending accounts.
Moneysupermarket revenue hit by soaring energy costs as home services impacted February 17, 2022 Price comparison website Moneysupermarket has posted a revenue loss thanks to soaring wholesale energy prices. Revenue was down eight per cent from £344.9m in 2020, to £316.7m, in results for the year ended 31 December posted on Thursday. The company said its home services had been “heavily impacted” by wholesale energy prices, while performance in [...]
Starmer says entitled to ask for pay rise in rebuke of Bank of England February 16, 2022 Workers have every right to ask for a pay rise amid the UK’s surging inflation rate and cost of living crunch, Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has said. In a direct rebuke of comments made by Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey, the Labour leader said “it’s very difficult to universally say” to workers that [...]
Bank of England to look through weaker growth and send rates to financial crisis levels February 16, 2022 The Bank of England will look through weaker than expected economic growth this year and send interest rates to levels not seen since the financial crisis, experts are betting. Zeroing in on eradicating rampant inflation in the UK at the expense of providing a floor for the economy will drive the Bank to launch the [...]
Editorial: Truss lets the cat out of the bag on ruinous NI hike February 16, 2022 Lest there had been any suspicion about the feline characteristics of the four-legged creature in the sack, Foreign Secretary Liz Truss confirmed what we had all suspected last night. The cat, as they say, is out of the bag. In a radio interview with LBC yesterday Truss – when asked about the coming National Insurance [...]
City Moves: Who’s switching jobs in the Square Mile this week? February 16, 2022 City A.M.’s Millie Turner provides a roundup of the most important hires and job moves across the City, every morning. Email citymoves@cityam.com to be featured. Puma Investments Puma Investments has poached its new marketing director from Legal & General and is the fifth key appointment in the past few months. After holding the same position in the insurance giant’s retail retirement division, [...]
Axa buys Ageas’ commercial insurance business and takes 100 of its staff in deal worth £47.5m February 15, 2022 Axa’s UK and Ireland subsidiary has purchased the “renewal rights” for Belgian insurer Ageas’ commercial business, in a deal worth £47.5m. Parisian insurer Axa said the deal will see around 100 of Aeges’ UK employees move into Axa’s City of London offices. In a statement, Axa said the deal will help it expand its commercial [...]
UK must ‘get used to’ soaring inflation eroding living standards February 15, 2022 Soaring inflation eroding Brits’ living standards is something the country needs “to get used to,” the City’s top economists warned yesterday. The alert was sparked by fresh jobs figures published yesterday indicating take home pay already being squeezed by the cost of living crisis is a sign of things to come. Real earnings slid 1.2 [...]
The tumultuous tale of LV= has given us a masterclass in how not to negotiate February 15, 2022 For those of us who teach modern negotiation theory, the stalled sale of mutual insurer London Victoria (LV) to Bain Capital, then to Royal London, has been a wonderful case study on how not to conduct deal talks. The journey started well for LV’s board. Their competitive process flushed out bids not only from Bain [...]