The summer sale of UK life assurers could include Scottish Widows. Owner Lloyds Bank is coming under pressure from shareholders to sell Scottish Widows, which could fetch the banking giant about £7bn.
Under new EU banking rules in 2012/13, banks will be not be able to count capital in their insurance subsidiaries as capital for banking operations. So some institutional shareholders want the bank to sell Scottish Widows. The Resolution acquisition vehicle is one possible buyer, but it may be too expensive for them. Asian groups see now as a good time to buy European insurers on the cheap.
Life insurance: News update: 8 July 2010
