18. Capital management
Capital management takes place with due regard to the regulatory and statutory requirements. After Solvency II came into force on 1 January 2016, the definitions and methods used to calculate available own funds, as well as risk capital requirements and management standards, were replaced by Solvency II standards.
The eligible own funds comprise the consolidated Tier 1 capital, which essentially consisted of the subscribed share capital including the allocated share premium account and the reconciliation reserve. The Tier 2 capital consists entirely of subordinated liabilities. Tier 3 own fund items are mainly net deferred tax assets.
In the context of Group management, the appropriate coverage of the solvency capital requirement in accordance with Solvency II on a consolidated basis is constantly monitored. Active capital management is implemented in order to ensure that the individual Group companies and the Group as a whole have a reasonable capital base at all times. Aside from the five-year planning, another objective of active capital management is also to actively guarantee UNIQA’s financial capacity, including under difficult economic conditions, in order to safeguard the continued existence of the insurance business.
In addition to the regulatory requirements to meet solvency capital/minimum capital requirements, UNIQA has also set itself a target capitalisation for the Group in the form of a solvency capital ratio – i.e. the eligible own funds in relation to the solvency capital requirement – of at least 170 per cent. The solvency capital ratio is managed using strategic measures which result in a reduction in the capital requirements and/or increase the amount of existing capital.
UNIQA also takes the potential impact on the rating by recognised rating agencies into account in the capital management process. Standard & Poor’s (S&P) currently applies a credit rating of “A–” to UNIQA Insurance Group AG. UNIQA Österreich Versicherungen AG and UNIQA Re AG each have a rating of “A”. The supplementary capital bond issued in 2015 (initially: € 500.0 million, open amount remaining: € 326.3 million, Tier 2, first call date: 27 July 2026), the bond issued in 2020 (€ 200.0 million, Tier 2, first call date: 9 July 2025) and the bond issued in 2021 (€ 375.0 million, Tier 2, first call date: 9 June 2031) are rated “BBB” by S&P.