NSE exodus leaves underwriters exposed to government
Insurance companies have cut their exposure at the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) by 37 percent or Kes15.9 billion since 2019.
Underwriters held shares worth Kes42.6 billion which has come down to Kes26.7 billion on sale of shares and fall in stock prices.
Latest Insurance Regulatory Authority (IRA) data shows industry exposure to quoted shares has continued to drop from 6.0 percent in Q4 2019 to 2.8 percent in Q4 2022.
Long-term business which had the highest exposure as a proportion of total assets of 2.2 by the end of last year had seen a decline from Kes35 billion to Kes20.7 billion.
Meanwhile investment in governments securities has risen to Kes597 billion or 71.7 percent of investment portfolios that has left the industry exposed to sovereign risk at a time the government is talking restructuring.
