When Austrian real-estate group Signa went bankrupt late last year, some puzzling names appeared among the list of lenders affected, particularly in Germany, the firm’s biggest country of operation. Somehow a pension fund for German thespians and another for orchestral musicians had been lending money to Signa.
More than 50 German insurance companies have exposure to the company, according to internal data at financial supervisor Bafin. Signa, it seems, also had a relationship with BVK, a public institution in Munich that manages pension assets for the performing arts and 10 other professional groups, from Bavarian architects to pharmacists.
The debt is all well-collateralized and amounts to less than 1% of the funds’ assets, according to the BVK. Bafin has similarly downplayed the impact of Signa's failure on the German insurance industry.
