GERMANY - Watson Wyatt says it is setting up an insurance and financial services consulting team based in Munich under Matthias Bonikowski, who joins from consulting firm COR.

The move follows the setting up of a German actuarial and benefits consulting business, Watson Wyatt Deutschland, in October.

The company said in a statement that the insurance team would provide insurance and financial services consulting services to banks, insurers, fund managers and government and quasi-government bodies.

"The German insurance market is large and undergoing significant changes,” said Philip Brook, global head of insurance and financial services consulting at Watson Wyatt LLP.

“It offers us exciting opportunities to work with both local insurance and financial services companies as well as our existing multinational clients.

Watson was not immediately able to say how large the team would be or how much would be spent in setting it up.

"We are looking forward to developing our business in the German market and leveraging connections with our existing actuarial and benefits consulting team in Munich," said Brook.

The firm said Bonikowski joins this month from German actuarial and IT company COR, where it said he led the consulting team. Before that he was with Bacon & Woodrow in Cologne.

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