Axa S.A. is a French multinational insurance corporation headquartered in the 8th arrondissement of Paris. It also provides investment management and other financial services via its subsidiaries. As of 2024, it is the fourth largest financial services company by revenue in France, and the 8th largest French company.[4]
The Axa Group operates primarily in Western Europe, North America, South America, the Indian Pacific region, and the Middle East, with a presence in Africa as well. It is a component of the Euro Stoxx 50 stock market index.[5] In 2023, the company was ranked 48th in the Forbes Global 2000.[6]
Name
Despite being written by the company in upper case, "AXA" is not an acronym. It was chosen because its name can be pronounced easily by people who speak any language. After acquiring the Drouot Group in 1982, chairman and CEO Claude Bébéar hired an outside consultant to conduct a computer-aided search for a new name. Bébéar wanted a short and snappy name to convey vitality and could be pronounced the same way in every language, consistent with the group's desire for an international presence. Initially, "Elan" was the top choice, but Canadian executives balked because "élan" is the French word for a moose or elk. In 1985, Bébéar chose the name Axa.[7]
History
The company was founded in 1816 as Mutuelle de l'Assurance contre l'Incendie (the Ancienne Mutuelle).[8] It acquired Compagnie Parisienne de Garantie in 1978 and became Mutuelles Unies.[9] In 1982, it merged with the Drouot Group, owned by the Hottinguer family, becoming Mutuelles Unies/Drouot.
The firm adopted the Axa name in 1986.[9] Axa took over The Equitable in 1991[9] and bought Union des Assurances de Paris (UAP), France's largest insurer, in 1996 to become Axa-UAP. It reverted to the name Axa in 1999.[10] In February 1999, Axa acquired Guardian Royal Exchange.[11]
Headquarters
Axa headquarters is located in the 8th arrondissement of Paris.[24] Axa, which already owned 23 Avenue Matignon, acquired the former Hôtel de La Vaupalière, an 18th-century building, in the late 1990s. Architect Ricardo Bofill integrated the facade of the hotel with a modern glass building that covers the courtyard that the hotel also occupies. The complex serves as Axa's head office.[25]
Finances
Operations
United Kingdom
Axa trades in the United Kingdom as Axa UK, with subsidiaries including Axa Insurance, Axa Wealth and Axa Health. Axa PPP International was the trading name for Axa PPP healthcare's international health insurance division, which was later rebranded as Axa Global Healthcare on 1 January 2017. The company bought the online insurer Swiftcover, which was notorious for its controversial Iggy Pop TV advertising campaign, which was subsequently banned for being misleading, on the grounds that Iggy Pop would not be eligible for cover as someone working in the entertainment industry.[27]
In September 2013, Axa Wealth was fined £1.8 million by the FCA for failing to ensure it gave suitable investment advice to its customers. The regulator says it found "serious defects" in the way Axa advisers in Clydesdale Bank, Yorkshire Bank and the West Bromwich Building Society advised customers on investments.[28]
In 2018, they became the 'Official Global Insurance' partner of Premier League team Liverpool F.C. and in 2019, began sponsoring the training kits of the team.[29]
See also
- Axa Investment Managers
- Ardian (formerly Axa Private Equity)
External links
References
- AXA group: history and growth Atlas Magazine, 21 May 2013^
- Earnings Presentations 2024^
- Footprint 2023^