Lord Levene, Chairman of Lloyd’s, last night hosted the Corporation’s sixth annual Lloyd’s London City Dinner at Merchant Taylors’ Hall.
The Governor of the State of Rio de Janeiro, Sérgio Cabral, was the keynote speaker at the event which was attended by over 250 leaders from business, insurance and government. He was the latest in a line of distinguished speakers which have included the NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer (2007) and the Prime Minister of Singapore Lee Hsien Loong (2006).
This year the focus of Lloyd’s London City Dinner was Latin America, and in particular Brazil, which has undergone rapid economic development over the past few years.
Earlier this year, Lloyd’s became the first admitted reinsurer in Brazil following its approval from the Superintendence of Private Insurance (SUSEP), and has now established its first Brazilian representative office in Rio de Janeiro.
In his speech, Governor Cabral spoke about the long history of strong economic and commercial relations between Brazil and the UK. He explained that Brazil is going through “a new cycle of development” and is providing attractive opportunities to British investors looking to expand to the region.
Moving on to discuss Rio de Janeiro, the Governor described how the State “offers unique advantages in terms of logistics, energy, industry and services”, and spoke of his administration’s efforts to make Rio a more attractive proposition to British and other overseas investors. He explained how his Government is “building a new economic and social reality” in the region and that he is “extremely glad” that Lloyd’s has taken the decision to establish its operations for Brazil in Rio.
Lord Levene paid tribute to Governor Cabral’s role in supporting Lloyd’s negotiations to receive a reinsurance licence in Brazil, and in persuading Lloyd’s to establish its base in the State’s capital city. He also discussed how “the balance of power in the world has truly shifted” and the importance to Lloyd’s of building a strong presence in the rapidly transforming “New World” markets including China and Brazil to ensure the market’s future success.
He also went on to stress there is a now a "vast difference in performance, perception, attitude and results between the old world and the new world" and that recently the United States and Europe have been heading rapidly down, while this New World has been heading rapidly up."
In order for Lloyd's to continue to compete on the world stage he made clear that the Treasury needs to address the tax treatment of Lloyd's in the UK if the market is to "stay on top".
Notes to Editors:
1. GOVERNOR SÉRGIO CABRAL
Sérgio Cabral trained as a journalist. In 1987 he took his first public office position as director of operations for the Rio de Janeiro Tourism Company. He was elected a member of the Rio de Janeiro state council for three terms (1990, 1994, 1998), and chaired it for eight years (1994-2002). In 2002 he was elected Senator, and in 2006 he was elected Governor of Rio de Janeiro.
2. LORD PETER LEVENE
Lord Peter Levene was elected as Lloyd's Chairman in November 2002. He had spent 20 years in the Defence Industry before being asked to take on the Permanent Secretary post of Chief of Defence Procurement in the Ministry of Defence, a post which he held for 6 years. Subsequently, he held a number of Government posts and was Adviser to the Prime Minister on Efficiency and Effectiveness from 1992 to 1997. He also served as Chairman of the Docklands Light Railway and subsequently as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Canary Wharf Limited.
Lord Levene served as Vice Chairman of Deutsche Bank, having previously been Chairman of Bankers Trust International and Senior Adviser at Morgan Stanley.
In addition to the Chairmanship of Lloyd’s, he is presently Chairman of General Dynamics UK Limited and a member of the Board of TOTAL SA, China Construction Bank and Haymarket Group.
Lord Levene is an Alderman of the City of London and served as Lord Mayor for the year 1998/99. He received a knighthood in 1989 and became a life Peer in 1997 and he sits in the House of Lords as a Crossbencher.
3. Lloyd’s applied for a Brazilian licence following recent legislative changes to open up the country’s insurance market. This now accounts for over 13 billion dollars of premium and is the largest in Latin America. Furthermore, in recognition of the increasing force of Brazil’s economy and the growing demand for insurance in the region, Lloyd’s is keen to exploit the opportunities that this presents for the insurance market.
For further information, please contact:
Louise Shield
Tel: +44 (0)20 7327 5793 Fax: +44 (0)20 7327 5229 Email:
louise.shield@lloyds.com
Marc Charlton
Tel: +44 (0)20 7327 6125 Fax: +44 (0)20 7327 5229 Email:
marc.charlton@lloyds.com
Bart Nash
Tel: +44 (0)20 7327 6272 Fax: +44 (0)20 7327 5229 Email:
bart.nash@lloyds.com
For urgent out of hours media calls Tel: +44 (0)7659 597 825
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Lloyd's is the world's leading specialist insurance market. Lloyd's underwriting capacity at 1 January 2008 is £15.95 billion which will be underwritten through 75 syndicates (including SPS and RITC syndicates), managed by 46 managing agents and supported by 176 brokers. It is the world's third largest non-life reinsurer, and is the second largest surplus lines insurer in the US.
Lloyd's is regulated by the Financial Service Authority.
