Great-West not as exposed to interest rates: CEO

Great-West Life was the only Canadian insurer to post a profit amid record low interest rates -- recording a 34-percent jump.

“Low interest rates have been a problem all the way throughout 2011 for life insurance companies, but we’ve been pretty disciplined about keeping our assets and our liabilities matched,” president and CEO Allan Loney tells BNN.

He says Canada’s No. 2 insurer is not as exposed to interest rate changes, particularly downward ones as some other financial institutions. Great-West took in earnings of 65 cents per share, and its group insurance sales rose 23 percent.