DESJARDINS’ PROPERTY/CASUALTY EARNINGS JUMP 61% IN Q4

Canadian financial-services co-operative Desjardins Group saw fourth-quarter surplus earnings (before member dividends) rise 10.2% to C$509m, as its property/casualty insurance segment’s earnings jumped 61% to C$182m. The Quebec-based group attributed the result to favourable prior-year reserve development in its motor lines. For the full year, Desjardins’ surplus earnings fell 9.5% to C$1.77bn owing to additional IT investments, outlays for severance benefits and adjustments to actuarial assumptions in its life/health insurance operations. The property/casualty segment’s full-year surplus earnings dropped 17.8% to C$296m, reflecting the first-quarter 2015 gain that the group realised on the acquisition of State Farm’s Canadian operations.