Dutch life insurers hold €104bn ($129bn) in government bonds, according to third quarter statistics from De Nederlandsche Bank (DNB), continuing the upward trend seen in recent years.
The figure is €7bn higher than the prior quarter, a result of both increasing pricing and net purchases, according to DNB.
As of 30 September, government bonds accounted for 40% of all investments made by life insurers (excluding derivatives), compared with 34% at year-end 2009, said DNB. The share of mortgage loans has also grown over this period, at the expense of corporate bonds, equities and liquidity.
There are around 40 life insurers in the Netherlands, including firms such as Achmea, Aegon, Delta Lloyd, ING and SNS Reaal.
Their asset portfolios are constantly shifting to take account of market conditions and the increase in sovereign debt is by no means universal. Achmea said earlier this year it had increased its exposure to corporate bonds to increase its returns, improve its asset-liability matching and anticipate the Solvency II matching adjustment, as well as investing in direct mortgages.
Delta Lloyd is reducing its overall exposure to sovereign debt and corporate bonds in favour of sub-sovereign (regional) debt, loans and mortgages.