First Glances - Sabadell; Poste; Erste eps upgrades; Love Actuary pension reform; HSBC sale; BBVA eps upgrades; ECB thoughts: Financials Sector Specialist Commentary Banks · Insurance · Diversified Financials

Research evidence excerpt

First Glances - Sabadell; Poste; Erste eps upgrades; Love Actuary pension reform; HSBC sale; BBVA eps upgrades; ECB thoughts: Financials Sector Specialist Commentary Banks · Insurance · Diversified Financials

us on guarantees. However, Riester policy numbers have been declining recently and the system is

viewed as low-return, complex and with overly-high charges. The new system creates some challenges for insurers, who could

see greater competition from neobrokers, direct banks and wealth management platforms. The standard default product will have

a 1% annual charge cap (far lower than Riester product expenses), with low upfront charges and an easier ability to switch, and

there is greater flexibility to take income in retirement without needing to purchase an annuity. However, we do overall view it as

a net positive. Existing Riester pensions will remain in force, and insurers already have great scale and experience in the German

pensions landscape. Consumers purchasing the product may still seek advice, where insurers are well placed with strong

distribution and advice models, and may still have a preference for guarantees and some annuitisation in retirement, which non-

insurers may find difficult to compete with. Note here.

HSBC: Note from Katherine - HSBC has announced it will sell 100% of HSBC Life Singapore to Allianz for US$2.1bn,

implying a valuation of c.1.55x HSBC Life Singapore’s FY25 comprehensive equity. We view this as a sensible move from a

financial perspective, as HSBC Life Singapore contributed only 0.2% of HSBC Group clean PBT in FY25, while the disposal

gain of US$1.8bn upon completion would lift FY27 Group clean PBT by ~4% and increase the CET1 ratio by 15bps, on our

estimate, potentially pointing to upside risk to share buybacks in FY27.