HighTable Insights: Financial & Business Services

Saudi Arabia readies for foreign investors: Fact or fiction?

Mark Townsend — Fri, 24 Feb 2012 15:20:47 EST

The Saudi Capital Markets Authority (CMA) recently revised regulations to allow foreign companies to cross list on the local Tadawul exchange. This is widely seen as a precursor to allowing the direct purchase of shares in Saudi listed companies by non-resident investors. Despite being the largest capital market in the Persian Gulf, it is by no means certain that there will be headlong rush by institutional investors.

E-Insurance: When will the insurance industry adopt modern communication tools?

GLG Expert Contributor — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 10:17:11 EST

The insurance industry is well-known for being conservative and reluctant to innovate. It was one of last sectors to adopt e-mail communication and it took until early this century for it to move into e-commerce. These practices are now well established, but the industry is still far away from using social media for client communication or the cloud for data storage.

ATMs could distribute prepaid Visa cards

GLG Expert Contributor — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 11:24:23 EST

The market for prepaid cards is expanding rapidly, but it is difficult to judge whether ATM-distributed prepaid cards will become popular. The prospect of ATMs distributing credit cards opens up a host of new opportunities. It will be interesting to see how the technology will be fully implemented.

PayPal can thrive as a standalone company

GLG Expert Contributor — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 13:30:20 EST

As many analysts and investors have pointed out, PayPal and eBay need to separate. PayPal is brilliantly positioned for growth, and eBay can’t help but keep PayPal from achieving its potential.

Europe's CO2 Emissions Trading System works, but it can be improved

GLG Expert Contributor — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 11:26:32 EST

More than 10.000 companies in Europe participate in the mandatory CO2 Emissions Trading System (ETS). Since the mid-2008 financial and economic crisis, the CO2 price has dropped more than 50%, from €25 per ton of CO2 to about €7. Many doubt whether the system works. Are CO2 prices simply too low to make low-carbon investments profitable and spur innovation?

European women wonder why their insurance premiums will increase

GLG Expert Contributor — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 15:44:40 EST

In March 2011, the European Court of Justice ruled that gender could no longer be a risk factor for the calculation of insurance premium rates. Following this decision, motor insurance premiums for women will increase dramatically while premiums for male insureds will decrease.

Can Verisk Analytics sell its advisory loss cost products overseas?

GLG Expert Contributor — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 11:15:55 EST

At present, only Israel rates auto insurance the way it is done in the U.S. China’s explosive growth in vehicles may represent an opportunity to expand that universe.

Climate change dilemma: Farm bureaus, USDA and crop insurance entities

GLG Expert Contributor — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 12:07:20 EST

Driven in part by the multi-year financial crisis and extreme weather patterns, the art and science of risk capture has become a desirable skill and an obvious next step for agribusiness. As in crop insurance management, past results are not good indicators for hedging future events. Better predictive indicators are needed.

What banks can learn from casinos: Telling whales from sharks

GLG Expert Contributor — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 17:01:20 EST

When a “whale” (a.k.a. a high-roller) walks into a casino they are recognized, greeted at the door and shown to their free suite and their favorite VIP gaming tables. When a "shark" (a cheat or fraudster) shows his face he is greeted with an entirely different response.

Racing to claim the NFC mobile payment market

GLG Expert Contributor — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 16:58:23 EST

Near field communication (NFC) mobile payment is going mainstream quickly. Google and Visa have each released “digital wallets” while other companies are trying to keep pace in this rapidly developing market. There are still a number of challenges that must be faced before widespread adoption, however.

Verisk Analytics introduces its first new risk assessment product in a decade

GLG Expert Contributor — Fri, 28 Oct 2011 11:25:26 EST

Verisk Analytics has struggled to produce new product internally but it may have finally come up with a way to increase revenue.

Federal regulation of the insurance industry looks increasingly likely

GLG Expert Contributor — Thu, 20 Oct 2011 10:54:01 EST

For decades the insurance industry has been regulated by the individual states rather than by the federal government. For several reasons, including the extra costs state regulation imposes on 50-state writers of insurance and the 2008 implosion of AIG, the federal government is taking a larger role in overseeing the industry. This has implications for Verisk Analytics.

The run-off insurance market: Is it flourishing?

GLG Expert Contributor — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 11:33:23 EST

Run-off specialized businesses are growing. Solvency II in Europe is expected to provide a further spin to the market. Some value the market at more than $500 billion of liabilities in run-off. The latest transaction was done between ZFS and Swiss Re for $950 million. This article will illustrate a few ways to structure these transactions.

How much will Solvency II cost the insurance industry?

GLG Expert Contributor — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 11:27:33 EST

European political authorities are expected to postpone again the implementation of Solvency II until January 2014. S2 projects are sources of huge expenses for the insurance industry. The total cost for the implementation and monitoring of S2 at one company is probably in the area of tens of millions of euros. For a first tier insurer the charges are not a huge issue but for medium and small-sized companies they are burdensome. And what if S2 is never implemented or is delayed further?

Cigna Gets Serious About Individual Coverage

GLG Expert Contributor — Thu, 29 Sep 2011 14:05:40 EST

A little more than a week ago Cigna Corp. launched a national ad campaign targeted at individual consumers. This highlights and gives further credence to the thought that all major health insurance providers are beginning to shift their focus from group plans to individual coverage. The changes are a direct result of expectations that many employers will stop offering group plans when the health reform legislation is fully implemented in 2014.

Segments of the residential mortgage market offer strong risk adjusted returns

GLG Expert Contributor — Tue, 23 Aug 2011 17:34:44 EST

Until recently many fixed income investors feared a sharp move higher in rates due to lax monetary policy. One defensive strategy was to keep investment maturities short. That strategy will need review after the FOMC announcement about “exceptionally low” rates through mid-2013. Considering the shape of the credit curve, investors might want to consider a segment of the residential mortgage market which can offer strong risk-adjusted returns with marginal increases in credit/principal risk.

Evolution of ATM frauds and provisions: from physical to logical attacks.

GLG Expert Contributor — Fri, 19 Aug 2011 09:52:38 EST

Since their introduction 40 years ago, ATMs have always been object of criminal attacks.Once directed to the safe, new ATM attacks are mainly targeting the identity of the cardholder.This new kind of attacks has initially caused concerns to cardholders, banks and ATM manufacturers.Manufacturers are now equipping ATMs with provisions to both detect and prevent these new attacks.The extent of the installed base, and its grow rate, drop any doubt about the robustness of today’s ATM technology.

Brazil: Business Development Strategies for Banks and Brokers

GLG Expert Contributor — Thu, 18 Aug 2011 14:24:26 EST

The below analysis is an excerpt of an article published by New Amsterdam Advisory Services in July 2011; the full text can be found by clicking here.

The Back Office in Brazil: Go Global Or Stay Local?

GLG Expert Contributor — Thu, 18 Aug 2011 13:55:11 EST

The below analysis is an extract of an article published by New Amsterdam Advisory Services in October 2010; the full text can be found by clicking here.

Medical Tourism Insurance

GLG Expert Contributor — Thu, 18 Aug 2011 10:16:48 EST

Medical Tourism is a growing industry across the globe, around 50 destinations are considered today as valid places to be treated for cosmetic, dental or other types of surgery. The most popular ones are India, South-Africa, … The industry global revenues are estimated to be in excess of $ 100 bio in 2012, whilst 700’000 patients will be traveling for medical reasons in one year.What are the risks incurred by the international medical patients and what are the insurance solutions ?