BMA: Solvency II equivalency is on-track
The Bermuda Monetary Authority (BMA) has said that it remains confident that Bermuda will be successful in its bid to win equivalence with Europe’s Solvency II Directive following high-level talks with officials in Brussels earlier in June.
Solvency II will introduce enhanced capital and corporate governance requirements for the insurance industry in Europe. But the BMA is optimistic that European Commission undertakings exempting captive insurance companies in Bermuda from the Solvency II provisions will be honoured. BMA CEO Jeremy Cox has previously said that the BMA’s desire to meet regulation deadlines is not matched by other domiciles, such as Guernsey or the Cayman Islands, leaving Bermuda in a front-running position. “We have some mischief makers out there—some competitor jurisdictions—that wish people to believe that Bermuda is following a path that will destroy its captive sector. The reasons are obvious why one would do that but we’re certainly not planning on doing that.” Of the talks in Brussels, Cox said that he was pleased. “I came away from the meetings with a renewed level of confidence. It is clear that we are on the right track, both in terms of achieving equivalence for our commercial insurers and reinsurers and in terms of securing the promised exemptions for Bermuda’s captive or limited purpose insurers.” Cox added that the meetings, which were arranged in collaboration with the Bermuda government and the Association of Bermuda Insurers and Reinsurers, provided further proof that the strong relationships that have been developed with the European Commission, EIOPA and members of the European Parliament, have helped to pave the way for the current dialogue to take place. Shanna Lespere, the BMA’s new director of international affairs, who also attended the talks, said that she was impressed with the way that officials in Brussels are treating Bermuda fairly. Lespere added: “We are not yet over the finish line so I think our continuation of a strong advocacy programme remains a critical support element to achieving our goals in Europe.” Group supervision, the merits of full equivalence, transitional equivalence and delays in Solvency II implementation were also discussed in the meetings in Brussels.