What is there to complain about this week?
Examined
Riverbourne’s directors could be ducking for cover again this week following the announcement by the collapsed broker’s administrators that a report into the conduct of its directors has begun. Wilkins Kennedy’s Anthony Cork said that while directors’ conduct was the sole target at the moment, further investigations could arise in future.
Poached
It has been a snatch-and-grab week at QBE, with poachers hot on the trail of RSA and Aviva’s finest. The first confirmed target was Aviva’s Robert Dodd, who will join QBE’s motor team in Manchester in mid-April; RSA’s SME trading director David Greaves swapped teams to head up QBE’s e-trading and fast flow operations, with an early focus on commercial property and casualty lines for small and micro businesses.
Loss
Another “worst year ever” shout from the London market, as Lloyd’s insurer Amlin stumbled under the weight of £150m loss after tax in 2011. After swinging a tidy £221.9m profit in 2010, chief executive Charles Philipps condemned the year as the company’s worst since 2001, blaming a £500.8m catastrophe bill.
Eurozone
Just when things couldn’t get any worse, they did, as Groupama boss Thierry Martel revealed that the business would take a €3.8bn (£3.16bn) hit from the eurozone crisis. Martel told French newspaper Le Figaro that stock market declines had cut €1.2bn off its stake in French bank Société Générale, €600m off utility firm Veolia and €2bn off Greek bonds.
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