However, the insurance companies' stakeholders don't seem to be as
eager to get their hands on TARP money as evidenced by the share price
deflations. Dutch insurer Aegon NV slid 9.18% to close at $9.65 on
Tuesday, following reports that it's exploring a bid for
troubled Suburban Federal Savings Bank of Crofton, Md., so that it can become
eligible for money from the federal government's bank bailout plan.
On Sunday, Genworth Financial Inc. said it would buy a small thrift in hopes of locking up some of that precious TARP funding as well. Genworth's
shares dropped 16.42% to close at $1.12 Tuesday following an 8.8%
decline on Monday. Hartford Financial Services Inc.'s 4.10% gain to close at $9.64 on
Tuesday was not nearly enough to reverse the nearly 27% loss its shares
suffered the day before, following the announcement Friday that it would buy
savings and loan Federal Trust Corp. for about $10 million, bringing it
in line with a federal financial regulation requirement. The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished on a positive note, though, gaining 151.17 points to close at
8,424.75 on Tuesday following a combined 560-plus point decline in the two prior sessions. -
Michael RudnickSee Dealscape post on insurers buying banks
