Europe

Lloyd s to raise £500mn in long term debt

Lloyd s insurance market is to raise £500mn in long-term subordinated debt on the capital markets. Funding had previously been restricted to corporate members, individual names and bank lending. The sum raised will be used mainly to strengthen the central fund for regulatory purposes. Lloyd s chief executive Nick Prettejohn said that it would have been inconceivable a few years ago that Lloyd s would have embarked on this exercise . Rating agencies Standard & Poor s and Fitch gave the issue a preliminary rating of triple B plus, while AM Best rated the proposed issue at single A minus. The sum raised will be denominated in sterling and euro. UK newspaper The Guardian quoted an analyst at France s Soci t G n rale as saying that Lloyd s might find the bond issue difficult because it was a debut issue in a complex name not well-known or understood by European investors .