Lloyd’s of London pulls deposits from some European banks to reduce sovereign debt exposure

Lloyd’s of London has reduced its exposure to European government debt and pulled deposits from some of the region’s banks, reports the Wall Street Journal. “Given the uncertainty around the Euro zone, it’s only natural that we would seek to reduce any potential downside risk. As a result, we’re not holding government debt of any peripheral EU country and have sought to reduce our exposure to banks in these countries,” Luke Savage, Lloyd’s Finance Director, told Dow Jones Newswires. On Sept. 21, Lloyd’s of London reported a loss before tax of $1.1 billion for the first half of 2011, a drastic drop from the $983 million profit reported during the same period of 2010.Lloyd’s said the loss was a result of an unprecedented level of catastrophes.