ILS

Standard & Poor's (S&P) has put the ratings of Munich Re's $150mn Queen Street III cat bond under review for a potential downgrade after the political deadlock over the US debt ceiling triggered the liquidation of a Treasury bill holding its investors' capital at a loss.

Montpelier Re aims to raise $125mn from the initial public offering of its new Blue Capital Re subsidiary, which could take the vehicle's launch capital to $193.75mn, according to an updated prospectus filed yesterday (29 October) with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Validus's reinsurance fund manager AlphaCat Managers made an underwriting profit of $11.9mn in the third quarter despite taking a $15.6mn catastrophe-related hit.

Intense competition for limited property catastrophe risk has started to deter fresh alternative capital from entering the reinsurance sector, Validus CEO Ed Noonan told The Insurance Insider.

Everest Re president Dominic Addesso said the company is on track to meet its $250mn target for its Mt Logan Re sidecar by year-end, after the vehicle began writing premiums in the third quarter.

UK-listed (re)insurer Catlin is set to close its Galileo Re cat bond 70 percent above its initial target at $300mn, as pricing on the deal settled below initial forecasts.

The onslaught from the capital markets on the property cat sector has reopened the debate about the future for reinsurers with a heavy focus on this line of business.

The governor of the Bank of England, Mark Carney, has said the UK is open for business in a positive bid to reinforce London's position as a global financial hub and reinvigorate globalisation in the face of declining cross-border capital flows.

London-listed (re)insurer Catlin has expanded its planned Galileo Re catastrophe bond issue by more than two thirds to $300mn, reflecting strong investor demand for the notes.

New York-based private equity firm Southport Lane has announced that Brandon Young has been appointed chief operating officer of its Southport Re reinsurance holding company.

New York-headquartered Two Sigma is the prime candidate to buy out SAC Capital's stake in the Bermudian reinsurer it founded last year and save the business from the orderly wind-up some were expecting, The Insurance Insider revealed last week.

Lloyd's (re)insurer Catlin is returning to the cat bond market for the first time since 2008 and hopes to raise $175mn of aggregate industry loss-based cover from its new Galileo Re transaction