Swiss Re Closes Jhb Office

April 9 - The economic climate is taking its toll on the financial services provider industry, with one of the more prominent names in the South African reinsurance market announcing that it is closing down its Johannesburg office.

Swiss Reinsurance, considered by most to be the biggest reinsurer in South Africa, said that it would be cutting back on expenses throughout the world due to its poor financial performance and, unfortunately, the Johannesburg office is part of those cut backs.

It is believed that three quarters of the current 150 employees working in the office will be made redundant.

This fact was confirmed by the Chief Executive Officer of Swiss Re Africa, Bruce Hodkinson, during a telephone interview.

Hodkinson was quick to explain the news and said: "We're not exiting South Africa from a business perspective, we're changing the model."

The South African underwriting division of Swiss Re has reported losses for two years running.

Swiss Re is not exiting the South African market altogether, though. Hodkinson said that the life and insurance division will continue to run out of its Cape Town office, which, according to the CEO, is still "strong".

Swiss Reinsurance, like so many other companies around the world, has been struggling to cope with the financial pressures facing the world today. Earlier this month, the company announced that it would cut up to 10% of its global workforce, which numbers as much as 11,500 people in countries all over the world.

The company hopes that by making these cuts, it will be able to save itself a much needed 400 million Swiss francs by the end of next year.