July 2009/1

Tony Ursano – CEO of Willis capital markets and advisory – has hired seven former colleagues from Banc of America (BofA) Securities to boost the new group. Former co-head of equity capita

US law firm Cozen O’Connor has flagged its interest in the trading risk universe by launching a capital markets group with expertise in insurance-linked securities (ILS). The group will advise

Senior convergence industry experts have contributed to a comprehensive teaching and reference guide to the sector – The Handbook of Insurance-Linked Securities (ILS) – published this mon

Ratings agency Moody’s Investor Service has withdrawn its ratings on the notes and loans of Hannover Re’s 2008 hybrid sidecar vehicle – the $133mn Globe Re – on repayment of t

Changes in the accounting treatment of insurance-linked securities and derivatives are set to boost the convergence sector, as the European directive Solvency II recognises the instruments as “

Cat bond pricing is likely to face more downward pressure after reinsurance rate increases were kept subdued at the key 1 July renewal date by adequate traditional capacity. US catastrophe rates for

The reinsurance and risk-linked investments team (RLI) at alternative asset manager Stark Investments is spinning out of the mothership in a management buy-out, led by portfolio managers Tony Rettino

Ratings agency Standard & Poor’s (S&P) has downgraded six cat bonds and placed a further four on CreditWatch with negative implications in a move which stems from a hardening of its rating crit

Convergence pioneer Nephila Capital raised an additional $800mn in the second quarter of this year for its insurance-linked investment funds, evincing a strong demand for non-correlated assets. Nephi

Hannover Re’s proposed EUR75mn European windstorm catastrophe bond, Eurus II, will incorporate BNP Paribas’ (BNPP) repurchase agreement (repo) collateral structure. As reported by Trading

North Carolina’s state-backed catastrophe insurance plans, the Joint Underwriting Association and the North Carolina Insurance Underwriting Association, (NCJUA/IUA), have securitised $125mn of

Former Magnetar Capital portfolio manager Pete Vloedman is launching his own insurance-linked investment vehicle, Anchor Risk Advisors LLC, Trading Risk can reveal. Vloedman left alternative asset ma