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non-life insurance Five Irish insurers have been warned that they face downgrades to their credit ratings by Standard & Poor's, the rating agency, following its decision to downgrade Ireland's sovereign [...]

general financial Hong Kong IPO to net $20.5bn pay-out Fed loan could be settled in full An eclectic group of Middle Eastern and Asian sovereign funds and Hong Kong tycoons [...]

IPO will enable AIG to repay Fed loan An eclectic group of Middle Eastern and Asian sovereign funds and Hong Kong tycoons and retail investors will help the US government [...]

Mainland groups seek shares in $20bn IPO Reluctance over AIG's Asia arm overcome China Investment Corpand Ping An are among the big institutional investors from the mainland who are pursuing [...]

Mainland groups seek shares in $20bn IPO Investors had shunned AIG's Asia arm China Investment Corpand Ping An are among the big institutional investors from the mainland who are pursuing [...]

life assurance AIG is set to sell more than 50 per cent of AIA in the Hong Kong listing of the Asian life assurance group due to a special clause [...]

life assurance October 29 marked for planned IPO Price range expected early next week AIA has set October 29 for its planned $15bn-plus share sale on the Hong Kong Stock [...]

life assurance Pact with ICBC bolsters market role AIG Asia arm pushes ahead with IPO plans AIA has struck a distribution deal with Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, the [...]

non-life insurance AIG has dropped plans to secure strategic investors ahead of the Hong Kong listing of its Asian businesses, which could raise up to $20bn, as it presses ahead [...]

UK group plans IPO ahead of $20bn issue Move could encourage investors on AIG deal Prudentialplans to list in Hong Kong ahead of its $20bn ([euro]14.6bn) rights issue, in a [...]

banks Group says sale is still an option Analysts value arm at up to [euro]16bn ING, the Dutch financial services company, will work towards an initial public offering of its [...]

Wave of groups to offer buybacks Lowest losses after lack of hurricanes Investors in reinsurance companies look set to benefit from a wave of share buybacks and special dividends following [...]

Insurer hopes to raise [pounds sterling]1bn from IPO Buoyant markets spur group to move quickly Aviva will today launch a listing of its Dutch subsidiary, Delta Lloyd, in which it [...]

Dutch unit stake could raise [pounds sterling]600m-[pounds sterling]850m Insurer would have capital for acquisitions Aviva plans to explore a partial sale next year of Delta Lloyd, its Dutch subsidiary, which [...]

Life Assurance News analysis Plan to sell stake in Dutch arm cheers investors, write Paul J Davies and Adam Jones Andrew Moss is probably still smiling. The Aviva chief executive [...]

non-life insurance Aviva could raise almost [euro]1bn ($1.4bn) from a partial sale of its Dutch subsidiary, Delta Lloyd, which the UK insurance group said yesterday that it would look at [...]

LIFE ASSURANCE Chief emphasises risk reduction Standard Life underscored its position as one of the stronger UK life and pensions companies by raising its interim dividend, in spite of reporting [...]

News analysis L&G will be among the hardest hit by new requirements scheduled to be introduced in 2012, says Paul J Davies Legal & General's first-half results yesterday set the [...]

European banks are boosting their capital bases by repaying billions of euros worth of junior bonds at hefty discounts to face value and booking the difference as profits that can [...]

banks Buy-backs aim to boost capital bases Deals at discounts to face value European banks are aiming to boost capital bases by repaying billions of euros' worth of junior bonds [...]

Complex loan investment funds worth $46bn were hit with multiple ratings downgrades from Moody's Investor Service yesterday, spelling losses of hundreds of millions of dollars for investors. The agency said [...]

Hugh Osmond's Pearl Group has deferred making a [pounds sterling]33m interest payment on some of its bonds, angering some holders of the debt. The deferred payment was on [pounds sterling]500m [...]

Credit rating agencies face being regulated in Europe by a single body after proposed ground-breaking legislation was given the go-ahead by a key parliamentary committee in Strasbourg. The legislation, which [...]

BANKING UBS is offering to buy back up to [euro]1bn ($1.36bn) of its junior bonds at discount prices in a move that would be a small boost to the Swiss [...]

Investment Companies Big investment-grade companies appear to be hoarding cash in the face of economic uncertainty as they raise record amounts of debt in the bond markets while cutting dividends, [...]

Large companies build war chests and buffers Bond boom fails to revive the economy Big investment-grade companies appear to be hoarding cash in the face of economic uncertainty as they [...]

Single-A tranches set for downgrades The complex structured funds that dominated investment in risky loans to private equity buy-outs have been put under greater pressure after Moody's said it had [...]

Roche took another step closer to raising all the cash needed for the Swiss pharmaceuticals company's proposed $42bn takeover of US biotech group Genentech when it sold more than [euro]11bn [...]

A number of banks and the leading rating agencies have agreed to a set of principles designed to govern reporting standards and improve transparency in the moribund securitisation industry. The [...]

Missed payments by UK credit card borrowers surged in the last three months of 2008 and lifted delinquency rates in bonds backed by such debt to a historical high, according [...]

The European market for the short-term debt used to fund bank conduits has halved in size since its end-of-year peak in December 2006, as these lending and investment vehicles have [...]

News analysis Big differences can arise between the cash coming in and going out, writes Paul J Davies Investors holding the equity of complex structured loan funds have had some [...]

A collapse in UK house prices of 30 per cent from peak to trough would not lead to any downgrades of the most senior, top-rated mortgage-backed bonds, according to Fitch [...]

The forecast rate of debt defaults among risky companies for the end of this year has increased by almost half in the past month to a level not seen since [...]

GENERAL FINANCIAL Glencore aims to buy back some of its bonds to boost confidence in the creditworthiness of the world's largest commodities trader after the cost of insuring its debt [...]

Glencore aims to buy back some of its bonds to boost confidence in the creditworthiness of the world's largest commodities trader after the cost of insuring its debt against default [...]

Investment banks, mostly in Europe, face losses of [euro]8.4bn ([pounds sterling]7.5bn) on exposure to a group of specialist bond insurers that operate solely in the derivatives markets, according to analysts [...]

Investment banks, mostly in Europe, face losses of [euro]8.4bn ($11.5bn) on exposure to a group of specialist bond insurers that operate solely in the derivatives markets, according to analysts at [...]

Default rates for speculative grade companies are forecast to jump threefold next year following the fall of Lehman Brothers, the world's biggest bankruptcy, according to Moody's, the US ratings agency. [...]

More downgrades likely for CMBS Moody's warns on refinancing risks Bonds backed by loans to office blocks and retail parks in Europe took a serious turn for the worse in [...]

Ireland has raised [euro]4bn via a new three-year bond issue, but had to pay a relatively high coupon to attract investors, illustrating the difficulties facing cash-strapped European governments while sentiment [...]

Complex bonds backed by mortgages and other debt will cause further writedowns among European banks in the second quarter and could lead to large losses in some cases, according to [...]

Complex bonds backed by mortgages and other debt will cause further writedowns among European banks in the second quarter and could lead to substantial losses in some cases, according to [...]

The number of specialist investment managers in the European leveraged loan markets is set to drop almost as quickly as it grew, with up to 20 per cent of firms [...]

Private equity groups will soon have more financial information disclosed publicly about the performance of the European companies they invest in under changes to Standard & Poor's debt ratings. From [...]

News Analysis Radical move will push Europe closer to US model, write Anousha Sakoui and Paul J Davies The European market for risky loans used in private equity buy-outs will [...]

Sigma Finance, the last member of a once $400bn ([pounds sterling]200bn) plus specialist debt investment industry, has been downgraded by Moody's in a move that could further hinder its attempts [...]

Private equity recap has been stymied No European deals so far this year The credit crunch has cut off a big source of profits for private equity groups in Europe [...]

US senator calls for investigation by SEC Moody's has initiated an external review of its ratings of $4bn of complex debt products after revelations that it had awarded incorrect ratings [...]

Schumer calls for investigation by SEC Agency gave incorrect rating to complex debt Charles Schumer, the powerful New York senator, called yesterday for the Securities and Exchange Commission to investigate [...]