Author: Greg Winterton

The trustee of the TotalEnergies UK Pension Plan has concluded a second buy-in with PIC, a specialist insurer of defined benefit pension schemes, for £1.2bn.  The transaction is the largest completed buy-in announced to date this year. It follows the plan’s first buy-in with PIC for £1.6bn in 2014; PIC has now insured all £2.8bn of the plan’s defined benefit liabilities. The latest buy-in secures the pensions of over 2,000 pensioners and dependants and 3,500 deferred policyholders.  “Securing the benefits for our members has been the aim of the trustee for many years. We are pleased to have reached this…

NSK, a global manufacturer of bearings, automotive and precision machinery products, has completed a £309m bulk purchase annuity transaction for around 3,700 pensioner and deferred members of the NSK Pension Scheme with M&G. The insuring entity is The Prudential Assurance Company Limited, M&G’s wholly-owned subsidiary offering life and pensions solutions.  The deal is the third buy-in transaction completed by M&G since re-entering the bulk annuity market in September 2023, with total new business written by the firm now at approximately £930m.  “This transaction sees us take on the future pension obligations of the 3,700 pensioner and deferred members of NSK’s…

Just Group has completed a £260m buy-in for the Menzies Pension Fund, which is sponsored by John Menzies Limited. The scheme completed a previous, pensioner-only buy-in in 2018.  The transaction was completed in March this year and secures the benefits of more than 3,000 members, including almost 1,400 pensioners and more than 1,650 deferred members.  The transaction included dovetailing the process with a secondary market sale of an illiquid asset and deferral of premium to enable the buy-in shortfall to be met by a continuation of the existing schedule of contributions.  “This was a collaborative process to achieve a positive…

HomeEquity Bank, a provider of reverse mortgages in Canada, has hired Katherine Dudtschak as its new CEO. Dudtschak joined the Bank as President on 1st May following the announcement that former President and CEO Steven Ranson planned to retire at the end of June.  “With Katherine’s extensive experience across the financial services industry and with developing high-performing teams, we believe she is well positioned to build for the future and make a positive impact for the Bank’s customers,” said Daniel Jauernig, Chair of the Board of HomeEquity Bank.   “As the Canadian population ages, it has become increasingly important to look…

The HMBS new issue market fell slightly in June, according to New View Advisor’s latest blog post analysing the data. HECM Mortgage-Backed Securities issuance totalled $497m, $29m lower than May’s $526m.   This year (2024), total issuance through June totals $2.8bn; $328m lower than at this time last year and $5.6bn lower than at this time in 2022.  The 86 pools issued in June consisted of 24 first-participation or original pools and 62 tail pools. HMBS issuance remains near historical lows, comparing monthly issuance dating back to 2010. 

Ginnie Mae has announced a term sheet for its proposed Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM) Mortgage-Backed Securities (HMBS) 2.0 program, initiating a comment period ending July 31st. The proposed program aims to enhance liquidity access for HMBS Issuers by allowing the re-pooling of active and non-active buyouts into new custom, single-Issuer pools.  “The team at Ginnie Mae works hard to promote st​ability and growth for our markets, communities, and families alike.” said HUD Acting Secretary Adrianne Todman.   “It is critical that we enhance our existing tools so we can better support seniors and the reverse mortgage industry. We look forward…

Hudson Structured Capital Management has appointed Katherine Park as Head of Capital Formation and Investor Relations.  Park has more than 20 years of debt and equity advisory experience, working with alternative investment managers and public and private companies ranging from early-stage to complex global institutions.  Prior to joining HSCM, Park served as the Head of Business Development at several early-stage investment firms, and previously, at Goldman Sachs, she launched and led the US fund and private capital raising businesses for the firm’s investment banking and securities divisions.  “We are thrilled to welcome Kathy to the HSCM family,” said Michael Millette,…

Harte Hanks, Inc., has divested and terminated its obligations related to Qualified Pension Plan I, effective as of August 2024, via a bulk purchase annuity contract with Nationwide.  “We pride ourselves on offering a seamless transition experience for plan participants, helping them feel confident that their pension benefit will continue under our management,” said Paula Cole, vice president of Nationwide’s Pension Risk Transfer business. “We’re excited to welcome these new plan members to Nationwide and look forward to providing extraordinary care to them beyond just this transition.”  In accordance with the commitment letters with Nationwide, Harte Hanks made a one-time…

British luxury interior design and furnishings company Sanderson Design Group has finalised an agreement with the trustees of the Abaris Holdings Limited Pension Scheme in which it has paid £2.3m in cash to enable the transfer of the scheme’s risks to an insurer under a buy-in insurance policy investment.  In addition to the agreed cash amount, which was funded from the group’s existing resources, the insurer has also received the Abaris Scheme’s existing investments as part of the buy-in investment.  Scheme administration and advisory costs, estimated to be approximately £700,000 in total, will continue to be paid by the group…

Aviva has announced a £165m bulk purchase annuity full scheme buy-in with the Sibelco UK Occupational Pension Scheme. The deal, completed in April 2024, secures the benefits of all of the around 1,200 members of the scheme in full.  “In today’s climate it’s more important than ever for schemes to be well-prepared when approaching the market,” said Toby Holmes, Senior Deal Manager at Aviva.  “This process has highlighted just how quickly and smoothly a transaction can run when it follows a well thought-out and crisply executed transaction process.  The trustees had a clear strategy to secure member benefits, and their…