Regulator Puts Chill On Insurance Deals

With acquisitions in the U.S. financial services industry slowing to a crawl since the 2008-09 financial crisis, private equity funds have provided a rare bright spot with their pursuit of annuity portfolios that insurers have been eager to sell. But sister news service Reuters reports that the dealmaking may have hit a roadblock now that New York’s top financial regulator has decided to launch a review, concerned that the private equity firms are taking on too much risk — at the expense of consumers who hold the annuities.