FONDIARIA-SAI LOOKS TO EASE SOLVENCY

Italian motor insurer Fondiaria-SAI is taking steps to strengthen its capital base, including considering establishing a separate vehicle to hold its equity stakes in other financial services companies. The insurer has stakes in Italy's largest insurer Generali, the country's largest bank UniCredit, investment bank Mediobanca, and publisher RCS MediaGroup. The transaction would enable the insurer to sell a stake in the holding company, freeing up capital. Italian media reported a banking partner could take a minority stake. The company has also considered a tax redemption operation on its goodwill to improve its solvency margin by 5.3 percentage points. The announcements helped lift Fondiaria's share price. According to Reuters, analysts say investment writedowns, mostly on equities, have wiped out a Euro450m capital increase Fondiaria carried out in July.