In an interview with BBC Radio, Equitable Life’s Chief Executive Charles Thomson said that a recovery for the company would not be possible. He also said that his initial hopes of a recovery for the company had now disappeared.
Mr Thomson talked about how the economic downturn had taken the possibility of a recovery for the company to pre-scandal days "substantially away".
Our View
The statements made by Mr Thomson now leave policyholders with serious decisions to make. Looking deeper into the statement, what does this mean for the future of the company?
We understand that Equitable Life breached its solvency margin but the industry regulator the Financial Services Authority agreed that it would be better for policyholders to keep the company running. Most of Equitable’s own investments are now in cash based assets, meaning that they will not take advantage of the recent stock market rises.
Equitable now seems like a sitting duck and if it will never recover, what will happen?
If you are invested with Equitable Life, please do take advice. The Chief Executive has spoken out about there being no recovery possible and he must be aware what it will do for the confidence of policyholders.
We believe that these comments made will be the start of something to come for Equitable. Watch this space.