CFS to apply Basel II to insurance business.

Co-operative Financial Services (CFS) is set to become the first UK group to apply the new European credit risk framework, Basel II, across its insurance business.

CFS, advised by KPMG, its auditor, and Ernst & Young, is currently deciding how it will implement the new banking regulation that links credit risk with capital requirements, as part of an ongoing effort to reduce costs across the business.

John Reizenstein, the newly appointed chief financial officer of CFS, the financial services subsidiary of the Co-operative Group, says the group-wide approach to …