FBD rules out dividend for ‘foreseeable future’

FBD Holdings, the State's only publicly-listed insurer, has ruled out paying dividends for the "foreseeable future" as it concentrates on rebuilding profitability after years of losses.

In its first annual solvency and financial condition report, required under new EU rules, also revealed that its group solvency ratio, a measure of its ability to absorb shock losses, stood at 126 per cent of quantifiable insurable risks.

"While below peer levels, the ratio is towards the upper end of FBD's target range of 110-113 per cent," said Emer Lang, an analyst with stockbrokers Davy in a note to clients on Friday.

By contrast, the UK-based RSA Group, which owns RSA Insurance Ireland, targets a ratio of between 130-160 per cent and reported a figure of 158 per cent at the end of 2016, while Germany's Allianz Group, which also owns one the largest insurance businesses in Ireland, had a ratio of 218 per cent, Ms Lang noted.