Insurers and banks are both suppliers of financial services and constitute together thebulk of the financial services industry. As such, they share certain common traits and,consequently, are often analyzed together. At the same time, they differ markedly in certainrespects, insurance and...

At the time of writing this article, the credit crisis that has had its origins in the subprime markets in the US is more than a year old and has spread to other countries and other asset classes as well as the wider economy with a vengeance. Already last year, when some banks and financial...

There are no indications whatsoever that insurers have contributed to the systemic issues that many banks are facing today. Insurers have not originated and repackaged subprime mortgages. They did not act as major investors in mortgage-based financial instruments...