In response to an outcry from angry policyholders, the British government said Friday it will launch an investigation into the collapse of Britain's oldest mutually owned insurance company, the Equitable Life Assurance Society.
The investigators hope to draw lessons about how to improve the conduct, administration and regulation of Britain's life insurance industry in the wake of a cash squeeze at Equitable Life that forced the company to slash pension annuities to many of its customers.
The probe, to be led by Scottish judge Lord George Penrose, comes on top of an inquiry by the Financial Services Authority -- Britain's financial watchdog agency -- into the sequence of events that caused 239-year-old Equitable to close its doors last year.
"Equitable Life raises important issues which deserve consideration by a full independent inquiry," said Economic Secretary to the Treasury Ruth Kelly.
Equitable is saddled with liabilities of ?1.5 billion (US$2.2 billion) as a result of its sale of pension policies offering guaranteed annuity payments of up to 11.5 percent. Equitable found the policies too costly to honor after interest rates fell sharply in the 1990s and caused its investment income to plummet. With expenses outstripping income, it announced plans in 1994 to slash payments to 90,000 policyholders.
RETHINK? The defense ministry and Navy Command Headquarters could take over the indigenous submarine project and change its production timeline, a source said Admiral Huang Shu-kuang’s (黃曙光) resignation as head of the Indigenous Submarine Program and as a member of the National Security Council could affect the production of submarines, a source said yesterday. Huang in a statement last night said he had decided to resign due to national security concerns while expressing the hope that it would put a stop to political wrangling that only undermines the advancement of the nation’s defense capabilities. Taiwan People’s Party Legislator Vivian Huang (黃珊珊) yesterday said that the admiral, her older brother, felt it was time for him to step down and that he had completed what he
Taiwan has experienced its most significant improvement in the QS World University Rankings by Subject, data provided on Sunday by international higher education analyst Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) showed. Compared with last year’s edition of the rankings, which measure academic excellence and influence, Taiwanese universities made great improvements in the H Index metric, which evaluates research productivity and its impact, with a notable 30 percent increase overall, QS said. Taiwanese universities also made notable progress in the Citations per Paper metric, which measures the impact of research, achieving a 13 percent increase. Taiwanese universities gained 10 percent in Academic Reputation, but declined 18 percent
UNDER DISCUSSION: The combatant command would integrate fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups to defend waters closest to the coastline, a source said The military could establish a new combatant command as early as 2026, which would be tasked with defending Taiwan’s territorial waters 24 nautical miles (44.4km) from the nation’s coastline, a source familiar with the matter said yesterday. The new command, which would fall under the Naval Command Headquarters, would be led by a vice admiral and integrate existing fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups, along with the Naval Maritime Surveillance and Reconnaissance Command, said the source, who asked to remain anonymous. It could be launched by 2026, but details are being discussed and no final timetable has been announced, the source
CHINA REACTS: The patrol and reconnaissance plane ‘transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,’ the 7th Fleet said, while Taipei said it saw nothing unusual The US 7th Fleet yesterday said that a US Navy P-8A Poseidon flew through the Taiwan Strait, a day after US and Chinese defense heads held their first talks since November 2022 in an effort to reduce regional tensions. The patrol and reconnaissance plane “transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,” the 7th Fleet said in a news release. “By operating within the Taiwan Strait in accordance with international law, the United States upholds the navigational rights and freedoms of all nations.” In a separate statement, the Ministry of National Defense said that it monitored nearby waters and airspace as the aircraft