Chubb Taps Investment Banker as Next Finance Chief
January 15 2021 - 3:47PM
Dow Jones News
By Kristin Broughton
Insurance company Chubb Ltd. recruited an investment banker to
succeed its longtime finance chief Philip Bancroft, who plans to
retire.
Peter Enns, currently global co-head of investment banking at
HSBC Holdings PLC, will take over as chief financial officer on
July 1, when Mr. Bancroft retires, Chubb said Friday. Mr. Enns
joined HSBC in 2018 and before that worked at Goldman Sachs Group
Inc. for more than two decades. He is set to join Chubb on April 1
as executive vice president of finance.
Mr. Bancroft will continue as an adviser to the company after he
retires through the end of the year. He became Chubb's CFO in
January 2016, when insurer ACE Ltd. acquired Chubb and assumed its
name. Mr. Bancroft had been CFO of ACE since 2002.
In his new role, Mr. Enns will be tasked with navigating Chubb
through the pandemic amid legal battles over business-interruption
insurance and recent changes in consumer behavior. The pandemic has
had various effects on the industry, including prompting customers
to drive less and submit fewer claims.
The U.K. Supreme Court on Friday ruled that insurers must pay
out business-interruption claims from a range of businesses
stemming from the pandemic. In the U.S., more than 1,300
coronavirus-related business-interruption lawsuits against insurers
are pending in state and federal courts.
Chubb took a roughly $1 billion charge in July due to risks
related to the pandemic affecting business-interruption, travel,
accident and professional liability insurance products, among other
areas. Net income for the nine months ended Sep. 30 was $1.1
billion, c ompared with $3.3 billion for the same period in
2019.
"There's a whole basket of issues coming out of 2020 that are
going to be important for the company," said J. Paul Newsome, a
senior research analyst at Piper Sandler Cos., an investment bank.
Mr. Newsome also cited the competitive environment in the insurance
sector and rising prices for commercial insurance as key challenges
that Mr. Enns will face as CFO.
"[Peter] has the right background to lead our finance
organization, with proven experience in corporate finance,
investment banking, accounting and public markets," said Evan
Greenberg, chief executive at Zurich-based Chubb, in a
statement.
Broughton at Kristin.Broughton@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
January 15, 2021 16:32 ET (21:32 GMT)
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