Heavyweight Canadian insurer Manulife will have cash to spare soon following an announcement today that it has set a target to free up $5 billion in capital over the next three years, as reported by Reuters.
Selling businesses that it no longer wants is one way Manulife plans to achieve this goal. It was rumoured back in February that Manulife was considering the sale of several insurance assets in the US after a strategic review of the insurer’s operations in the country, which included the John Hancock business – once the subject of speculation for a potential IPO.
Cutting expenses by $1 billion by 2022 is also on Manulife’s to-do list, amidst a recently announced plan to cut 700 jobs in Canada in the move towards automation, as is bringing its Canadian headquarters under one location.