Groupama chief rules out immediate listing

Groupama’s chief executive Jean Azema says the French insurer will not target a stock market listing while the financial markets remain turbulent.

Azema was speaking to Dow Jones Newswire about Greece’s debt crisis. The insurer has one of the largest exposures to Greek sovereign bonds of European insurers, worth €2bn.

Azema said last year that Groupama would target a listing within the next two years.

"Doing it now is out of the question," he said, adding that there is also a lack of visibility on new solvability rules for insurers.

"The calendar is still 'in the next two years'," he said.

On the Greece crisis, Azema said he expects a solution to involve the private sector, despite the situation remaining very complex and sensitive.

"I think we should be able to find a solution. We've found such solutions in the past, no reason we won't today.

"The search for a solution will be complex as it needs to avoid default of Greece at the same time as [being] compatible with efforts on [financial] rigor in Greece, and with the need to be socially acceptable," he said. "It is a delicate situation."