AMB Country Risk Report August 18, 2015 Our Insight, Your Advantage. Italy Country Risk Tier • The Country Risk Tier (CRT) reflects A.M. best’s assessment of three categories of risk: Economic, Political and Financial System Risk. CRT-2 • Italy, a CRT-2 country, is a founding member of the European Union (EU) and of the Eurozone. • Following 3 years of economic contraction (2012-2014), Italy’s economy is expected to return to growth in 2015 at a rate of 0.5%. The mild recovery is being driven by a weaker euro, lower commodity prices, and easy monetary policy that allows for refinancing. While positive, concerns remain over geopolitical situations in and around the Eurozone that could derail the fragile economic recovery. Economic Risk Moderate Low High Very Low Very High • The majority of countries below are categorized as CRT-1 and CRT-2. The notable exceptions are the Eastern European countries of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Belarus and the Ukraine. Political Risk Moderate Low High Iceland Greenland Finland Iceland Greenland Sweden Very Low Finland Sweden Very High Norway Norway Estonia Financial System Risk Isle of Man Isle of Man Russia Latvia Denmark Denmark Latvia Lithuania Low High Belarus Ireland United Kingdom Netherlands United Germany Kingdom Belgium Guernsey Very Low Liechtenstein Guernsey Luxembourg Jersey Very High Switzerland France San Marino Croatia France Andorra Andorra Portugal Azores Market Outlooks Copyright © 2015 by A.M. Best Company, Inc. as Dominican Monaco Gibraltar Canary Islands Montenegro Malta Tunisia Turkey Greece Cyprus Malta Syria Cyprus Lebanon Iraq Israel Morocco Algeria Azerbaija Turkey CRT 1 2 3 4 5 Canary Islands Georgia Armenia Albania Monaco Tunisia Russia Bulgaria Macedonia Greece Gibraltar Morocco Bosnia & Serbia Herzegovina Italy Albania Spain Portugal Azores For information on companies followed Macedonia Romania Croatia Bulgaria Republic of Moldova Hungary Slovenia Bosnia & Serbia Herzegovina San Marino Italy Ukraine Republic of Switzerland Romania Montenegro Spain Czech Ukraine Republic Slovakia Moldova Austria Hungary Slovenia Poland Germany CzechBelgium Republic Slovakia Liechtenstein Luxembourg Austria Jersey Belarus Poland Netherlands Russia Lithuania Moderate Ireland Estonia Lebanon Israel Jordan Libya Algeria Libya Egypt All rights reserved. No part of this report may be reproduced, stored inWestern a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means; electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise. Sahara (Occupied by Morocco) Western Sahara (Occupied by Morocco) Jordan Kuwa Bahrain Egypt Saudi 1 Arabia Qat AMB Country Risk Report Italy Regional Summary: Western Europe Vital Statistics 2014 • Western Europe is a highly developed and affluent region. The 28 countries of the European Union (EU) accounted for 25% of world GDP in 2014. The EU is facilitating a single European market with standardized regulatory systems and free movement of people, goods, services and capital. The 17 EU members of the eurozone use the euro as their currency. Nominal GDP Population GDP Per Capita Real GDP Growth Inflation Rate Premiums Written (Life) Premiums Written (Non-Life) Premiums Growth (2013 - 2014) USD bn mil USD % % USD mil USD mil % 2147.95 60.0 35,823 -0.4 0.2 145,292 49,443 15.3 Regional Comparison • Western Europe has been experiencing a prolonged period of slow economic growth, with the EU growing 1.4% in 2014. Growth is largely expected to remain muted at 1.8% and 1.9% in 2015 and 2016 respectively. On-going concerns over Greece’s economic and political future have increased the potential downside risks to growth and stability throughout the European Union. Country Risk Tier CRT-2 CRT-1 CRT-1 CRT-2 CRT-1 CRT-1 Italy France Germany Spain Switzerland United Kingdom Source: IMF, Axco, Swiss Re and A.M. Best • In March 2015 the European Central Bank (ECB) launched a program of Quantitative Easing, expected to last through September 2016.The program entails the purchase of 60 billion EUR of assets monthly in an effort to boost growth, encourage lending and increase inflation. Economic Growth Economic Risk: Low • Italy is a large, modern economy that supports one of the largest manufacturing sectors in the world. However, industrial investment, restructuring and labor reforms are necessary to remain competitive in Europe. 4 Real GDP 2 1 0 • Political instability, high debt, low productivity and a large shadow economy have been headwinds to economic growth. In addition, unemployment remains stubbornly high (12%) and the country is prone to labor strikes. • Easing credit conditions and an improved outlook in the Eurozone should help to support Italy’s growth. CPI Inflation 3 % 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 -1 -2 -3 -4 -5 -6 Source: IMF World Economic Outlook and A.M. Best 2 AMB Country Risk Report Italy Political Risk: Moderate Political Risk Summary • Italy has a large and cumbersome bureaucracy and an inefficient public sector supporting a modern and advanced business infrastructure. Score 1 (best) to 5 (worst) Italy World Average International Transactions Policy 5 4 Legal System • The government’s current agenda focuses on the structural issues preventing it from reaching full economic potential including reforms in the labor market, judicial system, public sector, and electoral law. A proposed “Jobs Act” would promote hiring and reduce employers tax burdens. Monetary Policy 3 2 1 Regional Stability Fiscal Policy 0 Social Stability Business Environment Government Stability • Measures to reduce the deficit face political challenges and doubts surrounding sustainability. Political infighting has halted much needed reforms. Electoral reforms effective in July 2016 may ease instability with the transition to a two-party system. Labor Flexibility Source: A.M. Best Financial System Risk: Moderate GDP Per Capita and Population for Selected Countries • The Institute for the Supervision of Insurance Companies took over regulation of the insurance market in January 2013. 90 100,000 GDP Per Capita • Italy is under pressure from the ECB and EU to rein in its high government debt, which surpassed 132% of GDP in 2014. Population 90,000 80 80,000 • Italy’s stock exchange, Borsa Italia, is large by global standards, but small relative to its European neighbors. Italian banking standards are adequate. 70 70,000 60 60,000 40 40,000 30 30,000 20 20,000 • The ECB’s Outright Monetary Transaction program and quantitative easing has stabilized the Italian sovereign debt market over the past 3 years, boosting investor confidence and greatly reducing yields. 10 10,000 0 Millions USD 50 50,000 Italy France Source: IMF and A.M. Best Germany Spain Switzerland United Kingdom 0 • Banks have made progress in governance reforms and private capital raising, but the Non-Performing Loans ratio reached a record 16%. 3 AMB Country Risk Report Italy GUIDE TO BEST’S COUnTry rISk TIErS A.M. Best defines country risk as the risk that country-specific factors could adversely affect the claims-paying ability of an insurer. Country risk is evaluated and factored into all Best’s Credit Ratings. Countries are placed into one of five tiers, ranging from “CRT-1” (Country Risk Tier 1), denoting a stable environment with the least amount of risk, to “CRT-5” (Country Risk Tier 5) for countries that pose the most risk and, therefore, the greatest challenge to an insurer’s financial stability, strength and performance. A.M. Best’s Country Risk Tiers are not credit ratings and are not directly comparable to a sovereign debt rating, which evaluates the ability and willingness of a government to service its debt obligations. Country risk Tiers Country risk Tier Definition CRT-1 Predictable and transparent legal environment, legal system and business infrastructure; sophisticated financial system regulation with deep capital markets; mature insurance industry framework. CRT-2 Predictable and transparent legal environment, legal system and business infrastructure; sufficient financial system regulation; mature insurance industry framework. CRT-3 Developing legal environment, legal system and business environment with developing capital markets; developing insurance regulatory structure. CRT-4 Relatively unpredictable and nontransparent political, legal and business environment with underdeveloped capital markets; partially to fully inadequate regulatory structure. CRT-5 Unpredictable and opaque political, legal and business environment with limited or nonexistent capital markets; low human development and social instability; nascent insurance industry. Country risk reports A.M. Best Country Risk Reports are designed to provide a brief, high-level explanation of some of the key factors that determine a country’s Country Risk Tier assignment. It is not intended to summarize A.M. Best’s opinion on any particular insurance market or the prospects for that market. Categories of risk Country Risk Reports provide scores for three categories of risk for each country. These scores are (1) Very Low; (2) Low; (3) Moderate; (4) High and (5) Very High. Category of risk Definition Economic Risk The likelihood that fundamental weaknesses in a country’s economy will cause adverse developments for an insurer. A.M. Best’s assessment of economic risk evaluates the state of the domestic economy, government finances and international transactions, as well as prospects for growth and stability. Political Risk The likelihood that government or bureaucratic inefficiencies, societal tensions, inadequate legal system or international tensions will cause adverse developments for an insurer. Political risk comprises the stability of the government and society, the effectiveness of international diplomatic relationships, the reliability and integrity of the legal system and of the business infrastructure, the efficiency of the government bureaucracy, and the appropriateness and effectiveness of the government’s economic policies. Financial System Risk Financial system risk (which includes both insurance and non-insurance financial system risk) is the risk that financial volatility may erupt due to inadequate reporting standards, weak banking system or asset markets, and/or poor regulatory structure. In addition, it includes an evaluation of whether the insurance industry’s level of development and public awareness, transparent and effective regulation and reporting standards, and sophisticated regulatory body will contribute to a volatile financial system and compromise the ability of an insurer to pay claims. Political risk Summary To provide additional detail on the political risk in a given domicile the Country Risk Reports include the Political Risk Summary. The Political Risk Summary is a radar chart that displays scores for nine different aspects of political risk scored on a scale of one to five with one being the least amount of risk and five being the highest amount of risk. Category Definition International Transactions Policy Measures the effectiveness of the exchange rate regime and currency management. Monetary Policy Measures the ability of a country to effectively implement monetary policy. Fiscal Policy Measures the ability of a country to effectively implement fiscal policy. Business Environment Measures the overall quality of the business environment and ease of doing business. Labor Flexibility Measures the flexibility of the labor market, including the company’s ability to hire and fire employees. Government Stability Measures the degree of stability in a government. Social Stability Measures the degree of social stability, including human development and political rights. Regional Stability Measures the degree of stability in the region. Legal System Measures the transparency and level of corruption in the legal system. Country risk Tier Disclosure A Country Risk Tier (CRT) is not a credit rating, rather it represents a component of A.M. Best’s Credit Rating Methodology that is applied to all insurers. A CRT is not a recommendation to purchase, hold or terminate any security, insurance policy, contract or any other financial obligation issued by a government, an insurer or other rated issuer, nor does it address the suitability of any particular policy, contract or other financial obligation for a specific purpose or purchaser. Copyright © 2015 by A.M. Best Company, Inc. Version 091714 Copyright © 2015 by A.M. Best Company, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this report may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means; electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise. 4