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Shelling out, but not in Europe

Bellwether Europe brought together the well-heeled elite of the world’s financial community. Brothers of recently ousted French presidents rubbed shoulders with trillion dollar investors; future governors of the Bank of England mingled with future European commissioners; past Chancellors of the Exchequer ate nibbles with past Presidents of the ECB. All in all it was a star-studded affair (for the world of finance).

Who will foot the bill?

With the focus in Europe on the capitalisation of banks, and the connection between the security of banks and nations, few outside of the financial industry are considering the capital adequacy of insurers. But just as Basel III will set new standards for banks, Solvency II will give European Union insurers new requirements.

Solvency II Survey 2012

The 2012 survey polled 60 insurers, of which 25 were non-life and 35 were life companies. Respondents were grouped in size from the very largest with more than £1bn in net written premiums (NWP); medium-sized-companies with between £300m and £1bn in NWP; and the smallest insurers with less than £300m in NWP. 

Our thanks to Tristan Garnons-Williams and Jonathan de Beer, policy advisers at the Association of British Insurers, for their insights.

Putting a price on regulatory experience

Peter Smith, the Financial Services Authority’s head of investment policy, is the latest high profile departure from the regulator. He will leave in June, along with chief executive Hector Sants, who announced his departure in March - when managing director Margaret Cole left the regulator.

Innovating our way out of the pensions crisis

Pensions and innovation are not usually two words you would put together, as the first generally makes people yawn while the second makes people think of whizz-bang gadgets like iPads.

UK must find financing solution before economy is starved of funding

Keeping an eye on the news of the financial world, this week I was struck by the number of often contradictory stories relating to financing. Governments everywhere are struggling to find the right balance between ensuring banks hold enough capital to be secure, while still being able to lend to people and businesses to help the economy expand.

Balancing risk, return and capital requirements

Report Summary

Insurers have just one year until the proposed implementation date for Solvency II and preparations for the new Directive are well under way.

The Europe-wide legislation will impose stringent new capital requirements across the insurance industry, creating a more risk-focused approach to better protect policy holders and investors from future financial crises. Data management will be overhauled, while many players will be forced to rethink their product range and investment strategies.

Insurers and society

As discussion of the details of the Solvency II regime rolls on, insurers are thinking long and hard about how they will manage and monitor their risk strategies and capital bases. But the implications of their decisions will reach far beyond the boardroom, affecting both their relationships with corporate and individual policyholders, and also their role as major investors in the debt and equity capital markets.

The convergence challenge

In September 2009, the Economist Intelligence Unit carried out a global survey on behalf of KPMG International, assessing the convergence of governance, risk management and compliance (GRC).The research looks at the driving forces behind convergence, the costs and perceived benefits and the barriers to achieving this goal.

The convergence evolution

Report Summary

In June 2011, the Economist Intelligence Unit carried out a global survey on behalf of KPMG International to assess the extent to which companies are adopting a co-ordinated approach to their governance, risk and compliance (GRC) activities. It explored the costs and challenges associated with this initiative and the benefits that companies can expect to gain from better alignment of their risk and compliance functions within an overall governance framework. 

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