15 January 2014

Risk.net: 'No appetite to reopen Solvency II' in face of global capital standards - Balz

Balz rejects suggestions that an early revision of the pan-European solvency regime is on the cards, despite some national supervisors having admitted that this may have to happen. "From my point of view, there is no appetite to reopen Solvency II, now that the process is finally coming to end", he says.

However, Balz concedes there are reasons to be fearful that a second layer of regulation for insurers with cross-border businesses could be created.

The scenario of an early review of Solvency II gathered momentum after the International Association of Insurance Supervisors (IAIS) last year unveiled its timeline for the development of a harmonised insurance supervisory regime for internationally active insurance groups, known as ComFrame. The IAIS intends to finalise ComFrame's capital element, the insurance capital standard (ICS), before the end of 2016. It will be applied as early as 2019. This overlaps with the application date of Solvency II, the major elements of which were agreed in November, after more than a decade in-the-making.

Balz argues that insurers, which have spent huge amount of time and money preparing for a transition to Solvency II's risk-based framework, should not face the threat of additional uncertainty from policymakers. "We should provide insurers with clarity and prospects for planning ahead. This should be on the basis of Solvency II and Omnibus II Directives - this much is clear to me", he says.

Julian Adams, deputy head of the UK's Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA), speaking at the French Insurance Association in Paris, said that Europe has an opportunity to shape international regulation, but should also be prepared to be shaped by it.

A spokesperson for BaFin, the German financial regulator, says that the quantitative requirements of ComFrame, in particular, might require Solvency II to be changed.

Full article (Risk.net subscription required)

© Risk.net