Manulife records earnings growth, announces C$3.2 billion reinsurance deal with Munich Re

• Core earnings from Manulife's Asia business climbed 21% to $616 million in the quarter compared with the year-ago period. In the U.S., core earnings rose 55%, helped by fewer claims in both life and long-term care policies.
• The company's wealth and asset management business also contributed, as core earnings jumped 9%, boosted by higher fee income. In Canada, however, core earnings fell by 10%, hurt by higher expenses in group insurance.

Separately, Manulife announced a C$3.2 billion reinsurance deal with Munich Re that will allow the insurer to transfer risk associated with a block of long-term care (LTC) policies.

CEO Phil Witherington noted that this was the third long-term care reinsurance transaction in less than three years and the first involving a standalone long-term care portfolio. The deal reflects the insurer's ability to reduce its risk profile, he said.

"With this deal, we will reinsure 80% of the biometric risk on a standalone LTC block, with no asset transfer, retaining a future earnings stream that will generate capital as the portfolio matures," he said.

($1 = 1.4011 Canadian dollars)

TORONTO, Aug. 5 (Reuters) - Manulife Financial MFC.TO reported higher second-quarter profit on Wednesday, driven by strong performance in its Asia and U.S. segments.

• The insurer reported core earnings of C$1.92 billion ($1.37 billion) or C$1.09 per share in the three months ended June 30, compared with C$1.73 billion, or 95 Canadian cents per share, in the year earlier.