London
Brookfield eyes pensions: Canada’s Brookfield, one of the world’s biggest private capital groups, has applied to the Bank of England’s Prudential Regulation Authority to set up a new insurer in Britain, say Ian Smith and Antoine Gara in the Financial Times. “Higher interest rates have radically improved the health of corporate pension plans, paving the way for companies to offload the liabilities and assets of the schemes to insurers.” Brookfield had wanted to buy an existing insurer rather than set up its own. Last year, it considered a bid for Pension Insurance Corporation (PIC), a provider that takes on pension plans through bulk annuity deals, but it “baulked” at the price. Starting from scratch has its challenges. It will have to “muscle in” on a market already dominated by big insurers. And while approval can take just six months, regulators may well delay the process by asking questions.
The British market
