Shares UK pensions and retirement-income advisor Just Group (JUST) jumped after the Bank of England’s Prudential Regulatory Authority (PRA) delayed bringing in new rules for equity-release mortgages by a year.
At 2pm, shares in Just Group topped the FTSE All-Share risers list, the stock up nearly 15% at 85.35p.
After consulting with the insurance industry and accounting firms, the PRA has decided to delay the implementation of the capital adequacy requirements under its ‘Solvency II’ rules from this December to the end of December 2019.
TIME TO PLAN
Just Group's stock has more than halved this year as concerns gripped investors that the new rules could force the company to sell assets, cut its dividend and perhaps issue new shares in a rush to meet the new regulations.
Details on the new rules are still expected to be published by the end of this year but the planned delay should give the insurance industry more time to plan for their implementation. That may still mean, however, that Just Group and its peers might need to raise extra capital to meet the stricter solvency requirements.
