Premium income for the first nine months up 17.6% to €24,551 million

Advances in all operating regions 

(Paris – 6 November 2009) – CNP Assurances, the leading personal insurer in France, with operations in the rest of Europe and in South America, has announced its premium income for the first nine months of 2009.

Highlights  Gross new money up 17.6%.  Strong momentum in France, up 13.7%.  Sustained growth in international markets, up 39.3%. Net new money in France at €7.4 billion Further growth in technical reserves, up by around 6% vs. 30 September 2008.

Gilles Benoist, Chief Executive Officer, said:

“In a less morose economic and financial environment, CNP Assurances reported growth in all its markets. In France, La Banque Postale maintained its solid performance, while the Savings Banks achieved a resounding return to growth in a more vibrant savings and pensions market. Premiums also increased outside France, particularly in Italy, Spain and Brazil.”

1 - BUSINESS REVIEW FOR THE FIRST NINE MONTHS OF 2009  

1.1 – Consolidated revenue

Premium income under French GAAP rose by 17.6% to €24,551 million. In France, CNP Assurances’ main market, premium income was up 13.7%. Outside France, Italy rebounded, with premiums up 57.7%, and Brazil reported sustained growth of 22% in local currency.

Revenue under IFRS amounted to €24,287 million, representing an increase of 21% over the year earlier period.

Technical reserves were around 6% higher at 30 September 2009 compared to 30 September 2008.

1.2 – Revenue by business segment

French GAAP premium income rose significantly, led by:

• a 19.9% increase in the Savings segment, reflecting growth of 14.7% in France and 64.6% in Italy; and
• a 29.8% increase in the Pensions segment. Pensions revenue in France surged by 43.3% following a change in the law requiring companies that had their own supplementary pension institution (IRS) to transfer their commitments to an insurance company. A major transfer during the period concerned the Shell IRS. Outside France, pensions revenue in Brazil was up by a strong 14%.

The personal risk segment declined by a slight 5.5%, due primarily to the loss of a re-insurance treaty with mutual insurance companies, already mentioned in the first quarter report.

Unit-linked sales contracted by 54.4% over the first nine months to €1,829 million; however, the trend slowed in the latter part of the period. The lower sales were mainly due to clients’ continued preference for lower risk products despite an upturn in the financial markets.

1.3 – By country and partner network

(1) Italian branches, Cofidis business in Italy and CNP Vita.

(2) Based on exchange rates at 30 September 2009.

(3) Global, Global Vida and Cofidis business in Portugal.

(4) Spanish branches, Cofidis business in Spain and CNP Vida.

(5) Argentina  and Cofidis business in Belgium, Czech Republic, Greece and Hungary.

France

According to estimates published by the industry federation (FFSA), the French savings and pensions market generated €104 billion in new money under French GAAP, representing an increase of 10% over the nine-month period. The trend towards insurance-based products was mainly driven by low short-term interest rates, including on Livret A passbook savings accounts which offer a yield of just 1.25%. Net new money for the French market as a whole climbed a strong 37% over the nine-month period to €41.5 billion, and market technical reserves were 6% higher than at 30 September 2008.

CNP Assurances’ premium income for the first nine months of 2009 rose by 13.7% to €20,086 million under French GAAP and by 13.6% to €20,061 million under IFRS. The Group continued to outperform the French savings and pensions market, thanks to strong performances from the La Banque Postale and Savings Banks networks, as well as sustained growth in the Companies & Local Authorities segment.

Net new money in France amounted to €7.4 billion, a year-on-year increase of 48%, and the ratio between withdrawals and technical reserves remained unchanged.

Unit-linked sales fell 68% to €576 million due to clients’ continued marked preference for lower risk products. However, the drop was less steep than in the six months to 30 June, and the proportion of unit-linked sales in the three main networks’ savings and pensions revenue was up a slight 3.4% over the first half.

In France, the main growth areas for the nine months to 30 September 2009 were:

Ø         La Banque Postale

After achieving strong growth in the first half, La Banque Postale continued to perform well, reporting a 10.2% increase in premium income for the first nine months of 2009 to €8,037 million Various marketing initiatives have been deployed to sustain the growth dynamic in the last quarter, in both the personal risk and unit-linked savings segments.

Ø         Savings Banks

With sales growth accelerating in the third quarter, the Savings Banks generated premium income of €7,999 million in the nine months to 30 September 2009, up 17.1% over the period. The successful launch of the Livret Assurance Vie savings product was a significant growth driver. Personal risk premiums rose by 8.3%.

Ø         Companies & Local Authorities

Premium income from the Companies & Local Authorities partnership centre surged 40.6% to €1,685 million, with the personal risk business enjoying sustained growth thanks to a new contract with Veolia. The strong performance by the pensions segment during the nine-month period reflected the fact that CNP Assurances was selected by the AFD-IEDOM and Shell IRS supplementary pension institutions to take over their obligations following a change in the law.

International operations

New money from international operations rose by 39.3% to €4,465 million under French GAAP and by 75.2% to €4,226 million under IFRS. Unit-linked sales fell 42.5% due to a collapse in demand in the Italian market, but increased in Brazil (up 14.3%) and Spain (CNP Vida up 122.3%).

Ø         Europe – Italy – CNP Vita

The Italian life insurance market achieved record growth of 34% in the first eight months of year, generating total revenue of €42 billion thanks to a strong surge in sales of non-unit-linked products, which accounted for 80% of new business. Index-linked and unit-linked products have waned in popularity and the major banking networks are now focusing on products whose performance is not linked to that of the financial markets.

Benefiting from this trend, CNP Vita reported premium income of €2.3 billion for the nine-month period, an increase of 60.9% under French GAAP and 164.8% under IFRS [1]. Growth was driven by the considerable success of the non-unit-linked Unigarantito product, which generated more than €2 billion in revenue during the period.

[1] The difference between the 60.9% growth under French GAAP and the 164.8% growth under IFRS is due to a strong distortion that appeared in the 2008 accounts as a result of a shift in CNP Vita’s product mix. While a large part of the product mix came under IAS 39 in 2008, the Unigarantito product, sold widely in 2009, is accounted for in accordance with IFRS 4.

CNP Vita Premium Income – First Nine Months of 2009

Ø         Europe – Spain – CNP Vida

Premium income from CNP Vida increased by 86.2% to €200 million. Nearly all segments reported growth, which was driven mainly by the campaigns currently underway with two savings banks, Cajasol and Caja Canarias.

Ø         Europe – Greece and Cyprus – CNP Marfin Insurance Holding

This subsidiary, acquired in late 2008, generated premium income of €140 million in the nine months to 30 September 2009, representing an increase of 13.5% compared to the prior-year period (when it was not consolidated by CNP).

Ø         Latin America – Brazil – Caixa Seguros

Caixa Seguros generated premium income of BRL 4,522 million in the first nine months, up 22.0%. All segments reported gains, and the pensions segment maintained its momentum with an increase of 24.3%.

Caixa Seguros Premium Income – First Nine Months of 2009

2. FINANCIAL POSITION

At 30 September 2009, the estimated solvency capital requirement under Solvency I was covered around 2 times [2] including unrealised gains and  around 1.14 times by equity and quasi-equity alone.