German banking group Helaba has insured its UK defined benefit pension scheme with Pension Insurance Corporation (PIC) through a £36m buy-in.
The transaction covers all 156 members of the Helaba (London) Pension and Life Assurance Plan.
Andrew Ashley Taylor, chair of trustees for the scheme, said the deal was “the culmination of several years of hard work and diligent stewardship by the trustees supported by their advisers”. He also highlighted the support of the sponsoring employer, Landesbank Hessen-Thueringen.
He added: “The trustee board would like to thank our advisers – it has been a clear and smooth process to securing a great outcome for the plan members.”
Tristan Walker-Buckton, co-head of origination at PIC, said: “PIC has both the appetite and the ability to transact across the whole market, giving schemes of all sizes an attractive option to achieve their objective of providing their members with long-term pension security.”
Richard Gibson, head of risk transfer and partner at Barnett Waddingham, highlighted the importance of collaboration to complete transactions in “a competitive risk transfer market”.
The trustees were advised on the deal by Barnett Waddingham, which was also the scheme actuary. CMS provided legal advice to the trustees, while Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer advised Pension Insurance Corporation.
The announcement comes a day after PIC announced the biggest buy-in transaction of the year, a £4.3bn deal with the Rolls-Royce UK Pension Fund.
