2015-12-31

China's Insurers Draw Regulator Attention

WSJ: China Regulators Seek to Cover Risks Posed by Aggressive Insurers
Analysts say Beijing is most concerned about the smaller companies, which are pitching investment products with promised annual returns as high as 8%, to savers who are frustrated with China’s volatile stock market and with low interest rates offered by bank savings accounts. China has cut interest rates six times since November last year, dropping deposit rates to 1.5% from 3%.

The regulators appear to have two main concerns. They worry that insurers, which need to boost their own returns to meet the promised high payouts, have been scooping up stocks, helping to drive the market to a one-month high and adding volatility. They are also uneasy about the products themselves, and the risk of a mismatch between the insurers’ investments and their promised payouts.
Last year, the concern was real estate and overstated assets. Another Insurance Company in Financial Trouble. This year stocks. Maybe next year bonds and currency?

No comments:

Post a Comment