ILS

London-listed collateralised reinsurer Catco has raised a net $121mn from a new share issue and is seeking to issue another 400mn new shares, according to a stock exchange announcement last week.

The news that sidecars are being readied once more to slice through some of the prime hard crust currently sitting on top of the property cat retro market is unlikely to surprise anyone well connected to the sector.

Lancashire's $250mn Accordion sidecar, launched last week, illustrates that the 2011 breed of sidecars have markedly different characteristics to the vintage marques of 2005-06 that emerged after hurricanes Katrina, Rita and Wilma.

Amlin has dropped its 2009 results forecast for sidecar Syndicate 6106 by 2% points, but still estimates a bumper profit of between 40.4% to 45.4% of capacity

Lancashire has announced the formation of a fully collateralised sidecar called Accordion Re, which will write a quota share of its property retro portfolio to augment its available capacity

Stalwart cat bond sponsor USAA has launched its latest Residential Re offering, seeking $200mn across three tranches of risk with two per-event and one aggregate.

If tornado losses continue to stack up the ratings on two cat bonds could be affected, Standard & Poor's (S&P) has warned.

The Johnston Re offer from the North Carolina wind pools was slightly upsized when it closed, Trading Risk understands.

Hedge fund-backed reinsurer Greenlight Re says it is holding its retro capacity in reserve as it reported a $43mn net loss for the quarter.

The cat bond market shrank in the first quarter of 2011 and uncertainty over traditional reinsurance rates may stall the sales pipeline for the rest of the year, according to GC Securities.

Standard & Poor's has slashed its ratings on reinsurer Platinum's Topiary Capital 2008 cat bond to CCC+ after modelling firm RMS confirmed that the 11 March Japan earthquake activated the bond.

The combination of a high volume of cat bond maturities and a lack of anticipated new issuance in the second quarter will depress pricing as investor capital supply outstrips demand, Aon Benfield Securities (ABS) predicts.