29 April 2013

Risk.net: Standard formula's treatment of long-term investments 'flawed'

Insurers and asset managers say the standard formula's capital charges on securitised products and secured investments need to be adjusted as they are calculated with reference to inappropriate data sets and methodologies.

EIOPA carried out a review of the calibrations of certain long-term asset classes at the request of the European Commission, amid concerns that the regulatory treatment of these assets could be obstructing the insurance industry's ability to finance the real economy.

In a discussion paper published early in April, EIOPA outlined the preliminary conclusions of its study of the standard formula's treatment of private equity investments, debt and equity financing of infrastructure projects, socially responsible investments and securitisations of small- to medium-sized enterprise (SME) debt. Its analysis found no evidence was found to suggest the calibrations were wrong.

But the authority's analysis is facing criticism from the insurance industry. "We have some concerns about the methodology and the appropriateness and relevance of data that was used by EIOPA", says Amélie Deleurence, policy adviser, prudential regulation at Insurance Europe in Brussels, which is consulting its members before submitting a formal response to the regulator.

Insurance Europe claims that the current calibrations are flawed, due to an overly conservative use of data sets that include and give much importance to very different securitisations, namely American subprime mortgages.

The standard formula's failure to sub-divide asset classes is also facing criticism. Insurance Europe says some asset classes should be split to reflect better the risk of different product types. EIOPA insists that the standard formula is a compromise between sensitivity and simplicity.

Market participants have long been warning that current regulations would make it almost impossible to invest in assets that attract high capital charges. The charges would hit small and medium-sized insurers the hardest, as they are less likely to develop their own internal capital models.

EIOPA's assessment of the standard formula's treatment of long-term investments is running hand-in-hand with a review of Solvency II's treatment of long-term guarantees, covering issues such as the matching adjustment.

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