Arthur Wightman, Territory leader for PwC Bermuda, has described the insurance and reinsurance sector’s resilience as a “bright light in Bermuda’s economy,” as part of a PwC report that shows growing optimism among CEOs regarding the global economy.
After surveying thousands of CEOs between October and November last year, PwC found that optimism was at a 10-year high, with more than three-quarters of business leaders predicting that the global economy will improve.
More than half of CEOs also report high levels of confidence about their own prospects for revenue growth over the next 12 months.
But while there is general optimism among CEOs for economic growth in 2022, PwC reported that the perspective varies widely across individual countries and territories.
Among the largest territories, optimism is highest in India, where 94% of CEOs anticipate global growth in the coming year, with Japan also maintaining a bright outlook at 83%, followed by the UK at 82%.
At the other end of the spectrum, CEO optimism about the global economy declined most notably in the US, down 18 points to 70%, and was also slightly down in Brazil, China and Germany, perhaps as inflation and supply chain constraints became more of an issue.
“The chief executives who responded to our 25th Annual Global CEO Survey display optimism about continued economic resilience, but they are also well aware of potential threats that could impact their organisations over the coming 12 months, including macroeconomic volatility, cyber and health risks,” Wightman said, commenting on the findings.
“Optimism in the insurance industry reflects better expected financial performance from continued rate hardening and global economic recovery,” he added. “The continuing hard market and investor appetite for reinsurance is supporting further capital inflows in 2022. The life reinsurance, captives, ILS and legacy sectors are all showing buoyancy.”
Wightman continued: “While threats such as climate change and social inequality are further down the list, it is critical not to lose focus on these more long-term issues as they will define what sort of world we live in and hand down to the next generation. Environmental, financial and societal pressures are converging and today’s leaders must solve a new equation.”
