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BMA Proposes Enhancements To Insurance Supervision In Bermuda,
by Phillip Morton, Investors Offshore.com
Thursday, February 19, 2009
The Bermuda Monetary Authority has released a discussion paper on proposed enhancements to insurance supervision and enforcement powers.
The paper begins: “The Authority has a number of supervisory and enforcement powers which
it may use in its regulation of the insurance sector. Existing legislation provides
for powers such as cancellation of licenses, the removal of senior officers,
directors and controllers in some circumstances or the giving of directions
to licensed entities. These powers are relevant to the most serious enforcement
issues leaving a lack of more targeted powers for regulatory issues of a minor
to medium nature.”
“The Authority is reviewing its enforcement powers in insurance and is
seeking to engage stakeholder views through this Discussion Paper. Our initiative
is prompted by the significant growth in recent years of the Bermuda insurance
market, the Authority’s goal of developing as a leading risk-based financial
regulator and the emerging international debate on effective regulation.”
“The timing of this review is opportune, as the current events in the
financial markets have given rise to a number of calls to review regulation,
more specifically to strengthen regulatory powers. There is certainly a need
to review, but only to strengthen processes if there is a gap that needs addressing.
The fact that the initial work on this project was already underway when the
significant worldwide market issues emerged is enabling the Authority to react
in a considered manner.”
“As the Authority is a risk-based financial regulator, any changes to
the powers available will be used accordingly. Following a risk-based methodology,
we feel that the application of these powers is more likely to be appropriate
to the commercial sector than the captive sector, however each case will be
considered on merit.”
The Bermuda Monetary Authority proposes to document information about enforcement activity,
in line with many other jurisdictions, underlining that the policy would eliminate
adverse inferences, which could arise from the absence of public enforcement
activities.
The BMA has also reviewed its enforcement powers concerning individuals who
take up positions as directors, officers or controllers. Currently the Authority
must approve the appointment of such individuals at the licensing stage. The
Authority has powers to remove or replace such individuals when certain specified
events occur.
The BMA is considering whether to require individuals in specified functions
to register with the Authority or whether it should seek a power to ban individuals
from acting in roles in the industry for a specified period utilising “fit
and proper” criteria.
“The Authority’s powers in this area could be misunderstood however,”
warns the document, “because they are not consistent with powers in other
regulatory regimes. We have, therefore, raised the proposition of a broad-based
banning process for consideration.”
The Bermuda Monetary Authority is finally looking into the possibility of changing
legislation to allow the placing of fines, in line with other regulators in
offshore jurisdictions. “This seems to represent a simple and effective
regulatory tool and, following the introduction of such a power in the AML/Counter-Terrorism
Financing legislation, we have concluded that such a power
may be appropriate as an enhancement tool in the supervision of the insurance
industry,” noted the paper.
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