October 2009/1

Global life settlement (LS) representative bodies have hit back at recent press coverage that suggests the asset class is a new sub-prime scandal in waiting. A September New York Times article compar

Former RBS executives Henry Kus and Bjorn Schmolck have launched dedicated ILS vehicle Traymar Capital Ltd and are understood to be in negotiation with potential capital providers to start a series o

Secondary trading accelerated towards the end of September, as ILS investors realigned their cat bond holdings in anticipation of $2.5bn of new issuance in the coming months. “Investors are tra

Ratings agency Moody’s Investors Service has further downgraded and withdrawn the ratings on Scottish Re-sponsored life securitisations due to dismal asset performance in the structures. In Sep

Moody’s Investors Service has downgraded the underlying rating of approximately $721mn of UNUM Group’s Northwind life securitisation to Baa1 from A2, citing the “adverse impact of i

Hedge fund participation in 2009 ILS transactions has increased more than four-fold since 2008, although their slice of the overall pie has shrunk by more than half since 2007, according to industry

The Bermuda Monetary Authority (BMA) has finalised its new regulatory regime for Special Purpose Insurers (SPIs) in a push to become the  ILS jurisdiction of choice. On 5 October the BMA published a

Perennial ILS issuer the California Earthquake Authority (CEA) has not renewed its $650mn specific cat bond layer with Swiss Re Capital Markets (SRCM) at its 2010 reinsurance renewal, Trading Risk ca

Deutsche Bank’s mooted Evergreen vehicle – which aims to transfer $1bn of (re)insurance risk to the capital markets – will target equity investors in a bid to create more liquidity

The secondary market pricing of two cat bonds struck by the bankruptcy of total return swap (TRS) counterparty Lehman Brothers has increased by a third since mid-summer, after a rally in underlying c

The ILS market may be in line for its fabled $2-2.5bn new issuance in the latter months of 2009, as real deals begin to hit the market, Trading Risk understands. With more than $3bn of ILS capacity m

The twin impact of the financial markets turmoil and the recession are clear to see in first half figures for the US property and casualty industry, with both the top and bottom line heavily hit. Acc