No 2 reinsurer Swiss Re has predicted a swift return to profit after announcing a net loss of $109 million for 2002. That makes it two in a row: last year it lost $200 million.

But CEO John Coomber says the company has dropped its exposure to equities from 20% to 14%, with hedging dropping the exposure further to 9%.

And Mr Coomber is pushing the company to get its combined operation ratio below 100% – it’s down to 104% from 124% in 2001. The company’s financial services business is seen by analysts as the big bad performer, losing about $770 million this year on top of a $1.1 billion loss last year.