Swiss Re buys Barclays life arm for €948m

The world's largest reinsurer Swiss Re agreed to buy Barclays' life assurance arm for €948

The world's largest reinsurer Swiss Re agreed to buy Barclays' life assurance arm for €948.6 million (£753 million) to boost its Admin Re business in the United Kingdom.

Swiss Re also said today it made a mark-to-market loss on structured credit default swaps (CDS) of 362 million Swiss francs ($345.7 million) in the second quarter.

Its second-quarter net profit was 600 million Swiss francs, behind forecasts, and its combined ratio was 92.3 per cent.

Swiss Re said it maintained its targets for earnings per share growth of 10 per cent and return on equity of 14 per cent over the cycle.

Swiss Re had been expected to post net profit of 795 million francs in the second quarter and premiums earned of 6.53 billion, according to a Reuters poll. Its combined ratio was seen at 96 per cent.