Competition watchdog warns of lack of competition in UK private healthcare market August 28, 2013 The UK Competition Commission has warned of a lack of competition among local private healthcare providers, leading to higher insurance premiums and patient charges (full report). The Commission said it had identified 101 hospitals facing little local competition, some in clusters under the common ownership of major hospital groups like BMI, Spire and HCA. Competitors [...]
Irish central bank appoints new financial regulator from Banque de France August 21, 2013 The Irish central bank has appointed Cyril Roux as deputy governor of financial regulation to replace Matthew Elderfield. Roux will join from the Banque de France, where he holds the position of first deputy secretary general of the French prudential supervisory authority for banks and insurance companies (Autorité de Contrôle Prudentiel et de Résolution) – [...]
Luton Airport snapped up by Aena and Axa August 1, 2013 LUTON Airport is set to expand after the rights to run the airport were snapped up by Spanish infrastructure group Aena and Axa’s private equity arm. Aena has teamed up with Axa to buy the remaining 90 per cent from fellow Spanish firm Abertis in a deal worth £433m. State-owned Aena already held 10 per [...]
City Moves for 19 July 2013 | Who’s switching jobs July 18, 2013 AXA Real Estate The real estate investment management company has appointed Nathalie Charles as regional head of asset management and transactions for the southern region. She joins from EDF, where she was managing director of corporate real estate. Shawbrook Bank The bank has made three hires to its wholesale lending division. Kieran McSweeney, Marc Sefton and [...]
Top insurers allay fears of dividend cut February 22, 2013 MAJOR European insurers yesterday hiked their year-end dividend, reassuring investors who feared the industry may cut returns in the face of low bond yields. Axa and Swiss Re both raised their payout as they announced bumper full-year results for 2012, while Germany’s Allianz maintained its healthy return to shareholders. Insurance investors were spooked on Wednesday when [...]
Landlord profits under threat from online growth, Axa warns February 18, 2013 ONLINE retail sales are endangering the profits of bricks and mortar stores and threatening to put commercial landlords out of business, a new report claims. The boom in web business means investors should tread carefully before investing in physical retail sales – because there is unlikely to be a return to the heyday of store [...]
City Moves for 16 January 2013 | Who’s switching jobs January 15, 2013 Amundi The asset management firm has appointed Christian Pellis as its global head of external distribution. He joins from LGT Capital Management, where he was head of distribution and a member of its executive board. Pellis has also held senior roles at Fleming Fund Management in Luxembourg, and at Threadneedle Investments. Pioneer Investments Jon Bailie [...]
What the other papers say this morning December 18, 2012 FINANCIAL TIMES Greek bet pays off for hedge fund One of the world’s most prominent hedge funds is sitting on a $500m (£308m) profit after making a bet that Greece would not be forced to leave the Eurozone, bucking the trend in a difficult year for the industry. Third Point, headed by the billionaire US [...]
Who’s switching jobs December 6, 2012 Robin Simon The law firm has appointed Darren Hannison partner and head of its reinsurance practice. He joins from Plexus Law. Hannison has over 19 years’ experience in the insurance and reinsurance sector, and has also served as an assistant general counsel at AIG in New York. Deloitte Angus Wildblood has been appointed analytics partner [...]
Who’s switching jobs November 29, 2012 Cordea Savills The international property investment manager has appointed Reynold Chan as business development director, Asia. Chan was most recently at Calista Consultants, and began his career in 1986 at Prudential providing real estate. He will be based in Hong Kong and report to Justin O’Connor, chief executive at Cordea Savills. BNY Mellon The investment [...]