February 2009/3

Maurice 'Hank' Greenberg, chairman and CEO of CV Starr & Co and founder and former CEO of troubled American International Group (AIG) expressed deep criticism of the impact mark-to-market, or fair value, accounting has had on the insurance industry.

After weeks of speculation, Jacques Aigrain resigned as CEO of Swiss Re just days after the troubled reinsurance giant confirmed a hefty full-year 2008 loss and a series of measures to shore up its balance sheet.

Xchanging - the company that runs the London market bureau on behalf of the market - is set to close its wholly-owned consulting operation, Xchanging Insurance Professional Services Ltd (XIPS) The Insurance Insider can reveal.

While the future looks challenging for the global financial markets as a whole, the (re)insurance industry is currently "the most stable financial industry in the world", according to CEO of Willis Joe Plumeri.

After 2008's string of natural and man-made catastrophe losses triggered one of the costliest years on record, a succession of disasters including the Australian wildfires, European winter storm Klaus and two plane crashes have started...

All three major global broking groups' annual results were well received by investors as the results of tight cost control plans offset negative or patchy growth in the soft market-affected top lines at Aon, MMC and Willis.

It was a busy week for fundraising on Lime Street as M&A target Chaucer Holdings saw its proposed £75mn net equity placing approved by shareholders (see article 16), while larger rivals Beazley...