Europe

UK/US - Personal accounts should learn from the experiences of other countries, a conference on international pensions in Washington DC was told.

UK - HSBC Actuaries and Consultants was fined £875,000 (US$1.4m) by the Financial Services Authority (FSA) for having lost personal information of pension scheme members.

ITALY - The Berlusconi government has tabled a bill to equalise the pension age of men and women, following legal action initiated by the European Commission over the country's "discriminatory" provisions on pension age.

UK - Pension funds and other institutional investors have been wary of rushing into making significant changes to their portfolio, a report by the Investment Management Association reveals.

UK - Friends Provident has categorically rejected an acquisition proposal by Resolution, a bid vehicle set up by entrepreneur Clive Cowdery to target UK insurers and asset managers.

UK - The asset value of the BBC pension scheme has plunged to £6.5bn (US$10.5bn) from £8.1bn last year, due to heavy losses on its equity holdings.

EUROPE - Proposed Solvency II implementation guidelines could significantly reduce annuity rates, consultants said.

UK - Paternoster is not in negotiation with any potential acquirer despite market rumours indicating the opposite, Global Pensions has learned.

ITALY - Italian pension fund service provider PensPlan has appointed State Street to provide a range of investment services for €100m (US$140.6m) in assets.

ITALY/EUROPE - The European Commission has confirmed today it will take legal action against Italy over the country's "discriminatory" provisions on pension age.