Taiwan Insurers Slash Forwards by $55 Billion on New Regulations

Taiwan’s life insurers have cut their holdings of forwards by a notional NT$1.75 trillion ($55 billion) this year after regulatory changes allowed them to spread out the impact of currency fluctuations on their balance sheets.

Six of the island’s largest insurers collectively reduced the amount of such derivatives by 50% over the first two months of the year, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. While the asset type of the forwards wasn’t disclosed by the stock exchange, analysts say most are linked to currencies rather than stocks or bonds.