Winterthur: Winter of opportunity

Many European banks made a big push into bancassurance at precisely the wrong time - just before the collapse of the equity bull market. Now is probably the right moment to get out. Lenny Fischer, the former investment banker running Winterthur, has got the idea. He’s reiterated that he will be ready to demerge the Swiss life insurer from its parent, Credit Suisse, this summer. This timing is spot on. Investors are returning to the life insurance sector, having previously taken a drubbing in the...