We refer to the letter "Could insurer give clarification?" (my paper, Sept 18) and would like to thank Mr Ler Chin Wei for the opportunity to clarify our position.

As announced via a press release(available at www.axa.com) on Sept 16, the AXA Group has a non-material equity exposure to Lehman Brothers.

The group holds a proprietary equity interest in Lehman Brothers of approximately 0.05 per cent of Lehman Brothers' total outstanding common shares.

The recent press reports mentioned by Mr Ler, which cited larger AXA holdings of Lehman Brothers common stock, refer to assets held in third-party client accounts managed principally by AXA's 63 per cent-owned asset- management subsidiary, AllianceBernstein, which are not proprietary assets of the AXA Group.

AXA Life Singapore, as with all insurance companies registered in Singapore, is required under the Insurance Act to maintain statutory insurance funds, including an investment- linked fund. These funds are segregated from our head office and other shareholders' funds. At this point in time, AXA Life Singapore has a capital buffer well in excess of the regulatory minimum of 120 per cent.

We wish to assure Mr Ler, as well as other AXA Life clients, of our ability to meet all financial obligations to policyholders.

Mr Gary Harvey
Chief Executive Officer
AXA Life Singapore