Europe

ITALY - State Street has strengthened its European presence with the opening of two new offices in Milan and Turin, Italy. The move is part of the company's successful integration efforts with Intesa Sanpaolo (ISP) which has a presence in both Italy and...

UK - The Pension Protection Fund has appointed a further four actuarial firms in a major extension of its ‘assess and pay' project to speed up scheme entry into the lifeboat fund.

UK - The Royal Mail's £10.3bn ($16.8bn) pensions deficit will be taken on by the tax-payer next spring as legislation to privatise the service is expected to become law next week.

GLOBAL - Have you missed the biggest stories in pensions this week? Find out below, as we list the top 10 most popular stories on www.globalpensions.com over the past seven days.

UK - Standard Life has appointed Paul Matthews as chief executive of its UK business.

EUROPE - Tension between the European Central Bank and the German government has intensified as Jean-Claude Trichet hit back at the German finance minister's claims Greek government bondholders should contribute to a new aid programme.

UK - The £3.3bn Merchant Navy Officers Pension Fund has appointed Hymans Robertson as independent investment adviser to monitor and challenge the actions of its fiduciary manager, Towers Watson.

EUROPE - Pension funds considering a move into the European property market should act with caution, Hatfield Philips International (HPI) has warned.

UK - Strong asset gains and the closure of defined benefit schemes have made pensioner buy-in prices their most attractive since 2008, according to LCP research.

UK - JLT Pension Capital Strategies has started a dedicated de-risking service to help sponsors and trustees efficiently work towards a pre-agreed defined benefit exit strategy.