$500 million investment in a Bermuda-based reinsurance unit that will write policies to cover corporate risks and package them for resale to investors, the Wall Street Journal reported in its "Heard on the Street'' column yesterday.

The emergence of investment banks such as Lehman and Goldman, Sachs & Co. in the industry could pose a threat to reinsurers like Exel Ltd. and LaSalle Re Holdings Ltd., although many analysts think they can coexist.

BT Alex. Brown Inc. analyst Alice Cornish questions whether investment banks do "have an edge on pricing'' as some analysts believe, and she also said the potential size of the reinsurance market might be smaller than some estimate, the paper reported.

Lehman Brothers Inc. last month named Martin Klein chief insurance strategist and a senior vice president.