Latest Germany Headlines

All the headlines from our Germany Topic Page, ordered by recency.

Spain’s Santander Eyes Dresdner Bank – Sources

Jun 20 2008 // Spanish retail bank Santander is considering buying Dresdner Bank in the latest twist of Germany’s bank merger frenzy, according to people with direct knowledge of the matter.The German banking industry is the throes...

New York and German Regulators Sign Insurance Pact

Jun 13 2008 // Insurance officials in New York and Germany have inked a deal to work together and more closely share regulatory information.The agreement is the basis for a memorandum of understanding signed yesterday by New York...

New Round of Climate Talks Opens in Germany with Uphill Battle

Jun 3 2008 // Some 2,000 delegates from 162 countries and dozens of specialist agencies opened a two-week conference Monday to start tackling the details of a new global warming agreement slated to take effect after 2012.The meeting...

Aon Re Global Names Thofern as CEO of German Branch

May 21 2008 // Aon Re Global has named Jan-Oliver Thofern as the new CEO and Chairman of its German subsidiary, Aon Ruck, the largest reinsurance broker in the country. He was previously a member of the Company’s Executive...

Allianz in Talks on Dresdner Bank

May 21 2008 // Germany’s Allianz is in talks about the future of its Dresdner Bank unit and sees a real chance for banking consolidation in Germany, its chief executive said on Wednesday in remarks that boosted German bank...

Dresdner Posts Q1 Loss; Allianz Confirms Profit Decline

May 9 2008 // Dresdner Bank stayed in the red in the first quarter after writing down €845 million ($1.3 billion) on structured finance investments, keeping it in the spotlight as parent Allianz works to split it in two.Dresdner...

Germany Says EU Must Be Firm in WTO Talks

May 5 2008 // The European Union must be firm in World Trade Organization trade talks despite the global rise in food prices, a German official was quoted as saying on Sunday.“Due to the food crisis, we could face new...

German Environment Minister Calls Bush’s CO2 Plan ‘Neanderthal’

Apr 18 2008 // U.S. President George W. Bush’s plan to halt a rise in U.S. greenhouse gas emissions by 2025 could undermine, rather than support, efforts to combat climate change, German Environment Minister Sigmar Gabriel...

Ratings Roundup: DBV-Winterthur, Sul America, PXRE, Electro Re

Apr 7 2008 // Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services has assigned its ‘AA’ counterparty credit and insurer financial strength rating to German insurers DBV-Winterthur Lebensversicherung AG, DBV-Winterthur...

Thalidomide Victims Seek $6.3 Billion

Apr 3 2008 // Half a century after the launch of the notorious morning sickness pill thalidomide, its surviving victims are demanding €4 billion ($6.3 billion) in compensation from the German government and the drug’s maker.A...

Allianz Estimates ‘Emma’ Claims Will Exceed $300 Million

Mar 14 2008 // Germany’s Allianz reported that it now estimates that net claims before taxes caused by windstorm “Emma” will be more than €200 million ($311 million).Allianz noted: “Damages are less severe than...

Allianz to Break Up Troubled Dresdner, Source Tells Reuters

Mar 14 2008 // Allianz is preparing Dresdner Bank for a break-up and possible sale, a source told Reuters on Friday, a move that could end the marriage of the bank and insurer which many investors wished never happened.Allianz has hacked...

AIR Estimates Emma Insured Losses at $1.15 to $2 Billion

Mar 7 2008 // AIR Worldwide’s preliminary estimates of onshore wind losses for Windstorm Emma are between €750 million and €1.3 billion ($1.15 and $2 billion), significantly higher than the insured loss estimates released by...

AIR Assesses Damages from European Windstorm Emma

Mar 4 2008 // Boston-based AIR Worldwide is assessing the damages caused by windstorm Emma, which swept across Western and Southern Germany, as well as Austria and the Czech Republic on Saturday, March 1. No damage estimates have yet...

Ratings Recap: BluePoint Re, Channel Re, RAM Re, Assured Guaranty, Steamship Mutual, Hannover Ltd., ARAG

Feb 19 2008 // Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services has placed its ‘AA’ rating on BluePoint Re Ltd., its ‘AAA’ rating on Channel Reinsurance Ltd., and its ‘AAA’ rating on RAM Reinsurance Co....

Baloise and Gothaer in Merger Talks on German Insurance Operations

Feb 1 2008 // The Baloise Group and Gothaer Versicherungsbank VVaG are negotiating about a strategic partnership and a merger of their German insurance activities. A letter of intent has been signed, the companeis said.Both companies...

Munich Re Expects $5.77 Billion 2007 Profit

Jan 30 2008 // The Munich Re Group announced that it expects a record profit for 2007 of €3.9 billion ($5.77 billion) on the basis of preliminary figures. The amount exceeds the profit guidance of €3.5-3.8 billion ($5.18 to $5.62...

Ratings Recap: National Grid, HDI (Belgium), HDI (Germany), HDI (Italy)

Dec 19 2007 // A.M. Best Co. has affirmed the financial strength rating of ‘A’ (Excellent) and the issuer credit rating of “a” of National Grid Insurance Company Ltd. (NGICL), which is based on the Isle of Man, a...

Ratings Recap: Temple, Munich Re, ERGO, Ecclesiastical, Ansvar, Unipol, Paris Re

Dec 14 2007 // A.M. Best Co. has assigned an issuer credit rating (ICR) of “a+” and affirmed the financial strength rating (FSR) of ‘A’ (Excellent) of Canada’s Temple Insurance Company; has revised its...

Munich Re’s ERGO in Joint Venture with Indian Insurer HDFC Ltd.

Nov 2 2007 // In a joint statement Indian housing finance pioneer HDFC Ltd. and Germany’s ERGO (Munich Re’s primary insurance division) announced that they have agreed to form a general insurance joint venture.The...