German industry-wide pension fund MetallRente has recorded an increase in the amount of contributions last year to €75.17m, from €72.08m in 2021.

The scheme has seen new occupational and private pension contracts increase by 22% in 2022 to 69,262, from 56,722 in 2021, it added. The portfolio of contracts for company pension schemes increased by 5.75% last year.

Overall, the number of contracts grew year-on-year to 907,353 in 2022, up from 859,790 in 2021.

The number of companies that are now members of the pension scheme also increased to 52,065 last year, from 50,044 in 2021.

Kerstin Schminke, co-managing director of MetallRente, said: “We are particularly pleased that both the companies and the employees themselves continue to invest in company pension schemes, despite inflation and the associated financial strain.”

Co-managing irector Hansjörg Müllerleile added: “We see positively that more and more companies are increasingly supporting their employees to sign up for company pension schemes in MetallPensionsfonds.”

MetallRente will apply a higher interest rate of 3.1%, up from 2.8% in 2022, on contributions on new contracts for its PROFIL direct insurance product.

BPCE takes stake in Scope rating agency

French banking group Groupe BPCE is a new shareholder in Berlin-based rating agency Scope, a move that intends to counterbalance the dominance of US agencies, it said yesterday.

Sylvain Petit, head of strategy at Groupe BPCE, said: “Groupe BPCE has decided to support Scope, a European project, because we are convinced that investors and regulators can benefit from a wider diversity of opinions and rating approaches.”

Florian Schoeller, chief executive officer and founder of Scope, added that investors and institutions need to financially support European rating agencies.

“Welcoming one of the largest banking groups in Europe as a shareholder in Scope is a vote of confidence from another major capital market institution and proof that Scope is becoming an integral part of the European financial ecosystem,” he said.

BPCE is also a shareholder in AXA, B&C Beteiligungsmanagement, Foyer, HDI/Talanx, Signal Iduna, SV SparkassenVersicherung, Swiss Mobiliar and RAG-Stiftung.

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Luigi is IPE's Berlin-based DACH correspondent. His coverage includes regulation and the latest pensions and investments trends, and, being a native Italian, he also covers Italy’s pensions market. He has reported from Italy and Germany on international politics and business for European and US publications including USA Today, Bloomberg BNA and for the investigative magazine L’Espresso. He was previously Germany correspondent for Mergermarket covering M&A.View full Profile

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