Business
Transparency turning into premium item in Indian insurance sector?
Mixed views were expressed by insurance industry experts on the sectoral regulators recent decisions of permitting non-life insurers, foreign reinsurer branches (FRB) and Lloyd’s India not to disclose their underwriting performance or NL 40 statement to the public.
Similarly, the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) has also said foreign reinsurer branches (FRB) and Lloyd’s India need not publish their half yearly and annual accounts, analytical ratios in newspapers.
According to IRDAI, it has received representations on rationalisation of regulatory compliance needs and has taken action on them.
Transparency is turning into a premium item in the Indian insurance sector is one view while the contrary view is that wisdom has dawned on IRDAI albeit late.
“Any rationalisation is good. But transparency is important,” K.K. Srinivasan, former Member (Non-Life), IRDAI told IANS.
“Discontinuing uploading NL 40 appears to be a retrograde step in this era of transparency,” Srinivasan added.
On the IRDAI actions relating to FRBs and Lloyd’s India he added: “As long as FRB’s (including Lloyds) continue to upload their half yearly and annual revenue accounts, profit and loss accounts, balance sheets and key ratios on their website truthfully this purpose will perhaps be adequately be served. There should be severe penalties if the financials uploaded in the website are found to be false or misleading.”
On the other hand P.S. Prabhakar, Senior Partner of the accounting firm Rajagopal & Badrinarayanan and a former insurance industry official wholeheartedly welcomed the IRDAI’s moves.
“I wholeheartedly welcome such easing of restrictions which should not have been put in the first place,” Prabhakar.
“It is a good mindset change for IRDAI that has been hitherto only a trigger-happy regulator and has always irritated the insurers or FRBs (though none of them would have the courage to make this charge openly!) to give needless info and to make disclosures that could jeopardise the business interests in this competitive scenario. Wisdom dawns albeit late!” he said.
According to him, financial information of insurers is anyway published.
Prabhakar argues that insurers need not put their underwriting business strategies and sensitive information as to where they are doing reinsurance, the terms.
“Insurance has always involved public money. No one questioned the public sector insurance companies when they were frugal in disseminating even mandatory information in the pre IRDAI days,” Prabhakar said.
The IRDAI has also exempted FRBs and Lloyd’s India having a policy of not investing in Indian equities but invest only in government securities and debt markets from disclosing to the public their investment.
“Insurers do need data on FRBs and the reason why exemptions in disclosures are granted needs examination, especially on NL 40 and investments,” D.D. Singh, retired Member of IRDAI.
According to Srinivasan, the least transparent in the sector are the insurance intermediaries who are perhaps not even required to upload their financials on their website.
“That should be insisted upon,” Srinivasan said.
As regards ease of doing business, insurance officials have told IANS that the regulator should look at its process of approving new insurance products.
Curiously instead of looking at those items, the IRDAI has exempted the general and reinsurers from disclosure norms.
Business
Gold, silver gain up to 2 pc amid optimism over West Asia peace talks

Mumbai, June 12: Gold and silver prices traded higher on Friday, with precious metals surging by up to 2 per cent amid hopes of a peace deal in the ongoing West Asia conflict.
On the Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX), gold futures (August) increased as much as 1.11 per cent or Rs 1,668 to hit an intraday high of Rs 1,50,600 as of around 11:30 am.
The yellow metal was trading at Rs 1,49,916, up 0.66 per cent or Rs 948. It touched an intraday low of Rs 1,49,569, a gain of 0.42 per cent or Rs 637 from the previous close.
Meanwhile, silver futures (July) traded at Rs 2,42,143, higher by Rs 2,490 or 1 per cent.
The white metal touched an intraday high of Rs 2,44,817, jumping 2.15 per cent during the session so far. It recorded an intraday low of Rs 2,41,601, up 0.81 per cent or Rs 1,948 from the previous close.
Earlier in the day, gold and silver began the session at Rs 1,50,595 and Rs 2,42,776, respectively, on the commodity exchange.
According to commodity market experts, bullion remained under pressure overall and was headed for a second consecutive weekly decline as persistent inflation concerns and growing expectations of a US Federal Reserve rate hike continued to weigh on sentiment.
Analysts said precious metals rebounded sharply from six-month lows after US President Donald Trump indicated that the US and Iran could reach a peace agreement as early as this weekend.
However, gains remained limited amid continued uncertainty over the negotiations, with Iranian officials denying that a final agreement had been reached, according to them.
Optimism around a potential diplomatic breakthrough eased concerns over global energy supplies, triggering a decline in crude oil prices and improving broader market risk appetite, experts added.
Market participants will now track developments in US-Iran negotiations and upcoming commentary from the Federal Reserve for further direction in precious metal prices.
In international markets, COMEX silver traded at $66.94, up more than 4 per cent, while COMEX gold rose over 2 per cent to $4,203.70 per ounce.
Meanwhile, crude oil prices declined sharply, with US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude falling roughly 3 per cent to $85 per barrel. International benchmark Brent crude declined 1.59 per cent to $88.94 per barrel.
Business
Gold, silver prices fall up to 2 pc amid West Asia tensions

Mumbai, June 11: Gold and silver prices traded lower on Thursday, with precious metals falling by up to 2 per cent amid escalating tensions in the West Asia conflict.
On the Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX), gold futures (August) declined as much as 1 per cent or Rs 1,573 to hit an intraday low of Rs 1,46,444 as of around 12 pm.
The yellow metal was trading at Rs 1,47,860, down 0.11 per cent or Rs 157. It touched an intraday high of Rs 1,48,089, up 0.04 per cent or Rs 72 from the previous close.
On the other hand, silver futures (July) were trading at Rs 2,34,500, down Rs 1,005 or 0.43 per cent.
The white metal touched an intraday low of Rs 2,30,493, declining 2.12 per cent during the session so far. It recorded an intraday high of Rs 2,35,402, down 0.04 per cent or Rs 103 from the previous close.
Earlier in the day, gold and silver opened at Rs 1,46,518 and Rs 2,31,671, respectively, on the MCX.
In international markets, precious metals also remained under pressure. COMEX silver was trading at $63.90, down over 1.29 per cent, while COMEX gold was trading 0.68 per cent lower at $4,105.30 per ounce.
According to commodity analysts, precious metals remained under pressure as investors assessed the latest developments in the West Asia conflict. Gold stabilised near multi-month lows after the US military confirmed the completion of its latest strikes on Iran, raising expectations that diplomatic negotiations could resume.
They said easing safe-haven demand, coupled with expectations that US interest rates could remain higher for longer, weighed on bullion prices. Higher interest rates reduce the appeal of non-yielding assets such as gold and silver.
Market participants also continued to monitor inflationary pressures stemming from rising energy prices and their potential impact on the US Federal Reserve’s policy path.
Meanwhile, crude oil prices surged sharply, with Brent crude rising over 2 per cent to trade near $95 per barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude climbed 4 per cent to $93.64 per barrel.
Business
Indian markets trade higher despite West Asia tensions

Mumbai, June 10: Domestic equity markets traded higher on Wednesday in the morning session despite elevated geopolitical tensions and rising crude oil prices.
Sensex gained as much as 0.59 per cent or over 400 points to touch an intraday high of 74,356 in early trade, while the Nifty rose 0.46 per cent or about 100 points to 23,351.
Sectoral performance was largely positive, with FMCG stocks leading the gains. Nifty FMCG rose 1.5 per cent, followed by Nifty Chemicals (0.67 per cent), Nifty Oil & Gas (0.60 per cent) and Nifty Private Bank (0.50 per cent).
On the downside, metal stocks remained under pressure, with Nifty Metal declining more than 1 per cent. Nifty MidSmall IT & Telecom fell 0.62 per cent, while Auto, Media and PSU Bank indices traded marginally lower.
Among the Nifty 50 constituents, Hindalco Industries emerged as the top loser, shedding nearly 3 per cent. Eternal, Adani Enterprises, NTPC and Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles (TMPV) were among the other major laggards.
“While weak global cues and geopolitical tensions could keep markets volatile in the near term, technical indicators suggest signs of stabilisation after recent selling pressure. Nifty has strong support around 23,000-23,100, while 23,500-23,600 remains the immediate resistance zone. A decisive breakout on either side is likely to determine the market’s next directional move,” analysts said.
Investors and traders’ sentiment remained cautious amid escalating tensions in West Asia after the United States launched strikes on Iran, raising concerns about a broader regional conflict and its potential impact on global energy supplies.
On the commodities front, international benchmark Brent crude rose 0.75 per cent to around $93 per barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude gained 0.88 per cent to nearly $90 per barrel.
In Asia, markets traded largely in the red. Japan’s Nikkei and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng declined more than 1 per cent each, while South Korea’s KOSPI plunged nearly 4 per cent.
Overnight, Wall Street ended lower, with the S&P 500 slipping 0.26 per cent and the Nasdaq Composite declining 0.97 per cent.
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