28th Jun 2016 07:41
LONDON (Alliance News) - Life insurer and investment manager Legal & General Group PLC on Monday said it has appointed Whitehall veteran John Kingman as its new chairman and expressed its confidence in its ability to navigate through any post-Brexit volatility.
Kingman's appointment has been approved by UK financial industry regulators the Prudential Regulation Authority and Financial Conduct Authority, L&G said.
He will take over from Rudy Markham, who has been interim chairman since John Stewart stepped down on June 1.
Kingman is the former Second Permanent Secretary of HM Treasury and is the former chief executive of UK Financial Investments, the body managing the UK government's stakes in Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC and Lloyds Banking Group PLC.
In a separate statement, L&G said its planning scenario prior to the UK's referendum on its EU membership was for a 50-50 probability of a vote to leave. As a result, the group positioned its balance sheet accordingly in order to reduce the risk for its customers and shareholders.
This included taking a number of de-risking actions in its asset portfolios, including traded equities held in shareholder funds, prior to the vote taking place to mitigate downside risk of a vote to leave.
L&G estimated its surplus Solvency II capital was GBP4.9 billion at the end of London equities trading on Monday, demonstrating its resilience against the volatility that has gripped markets since the vote to leave was announced.
By Sam Unsted; [email protected]; @SamUAtAlliance
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