04:42

RSA CEO Stephen Hester

A year ago, Stephen Hester, the former boss of Royal Bank of Scotland who now runs insurance company RSA, was one of 36 CEOs who signed a letter warning about the impact of Brexit on the business and the wider UK economy.

So we reminded him about it today, as RSA reported its latest financial results.

Hester says....

“We didn’t think Brexit was the right economic course for the UK and we thought the UK would be poorer. I think the UK will be fine but it won’t be as well off as it might otherwise have been.”

Turning to RSA, the owner of the More Than brand, Hester brushed off concerns. About 70% of profits are made outside the UK so they are boosted by the weaker pound once they are translated into sterling. He noted that the company’s European subsidiaries are separately run and locally regulated, and RSA does not rely on passporting rights which allow banks to operate freely across the EU, while having most of their operations in the UK.

RSA reported better than expected annual operating profits of £655m, up 25%, due to a record underwriting profit of £380m. Hester has spent the last three years selling off under-performing businesses, including in Latin America and Russia last year, and said RSA was now a “turned around company” focused on becoming “best in class for our markets”.

RSA shares were the second-biggest riser on the FTSE 100 in early trading, up more than 4% to 602p.