2013年-IMF国际货币组织全球_European_Union_Publication_of_Financial_Sector_Assessment_Program_Documentation_––Technical_Note_on_European_Insurance_and_Occupational_Pensions_Authority_Assessment_33页_969kb

Summary of European Union Financial Sector Assessment Program Documentation — Technical Note on EIOPA Assessment

Core Content

This document is a Financial Sector Assessment Program (FSAP) report prepared by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in 2013, assessing the performance of the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA) and the state of the insurance and occupational pensions sectors in the European Union (EU). It provides an overview of market conditions, regulatory developments, and EIOPA's role in ensuring financial stability and supervisory coherence across the EU.

The assessment is based on data and regulations up to December 2012, with a focus on the Solvency II regulatory framework, which was set to commence in January 2014. The report highlights the global significance of the EU insurance sector, which accounts for over a third of global insurance premiums, and the challenges it faces due to economic stagnation, low interest rates, and regulatory uncertainty.

Main Findings and Recommendations

Key Recommendations (Table 1)

• Agree on the final form of Solvency II, maintaining its market consistency and risk sensitivity.
• Enhance supervisory tools to ensure timely implementation and prevent regulatory arbitrage.
• Improve access to information for monitoring and systemic risk prevention.
• Introduce flexibility in the budgetary framework to support Solvency II implementation and reduce conflicts of interest.
• Extend EIOPA's engagement in supervisory colleges beyond the EU to include international groups active in Europe.
• Enhance transparency and comparison of the solvency and resilience of occupational pension funds across the EU.
• Improve EIOPA's stress testing to harmonize national activities and focus on systemic risk.
• Introduce centralized oversight for the approval of internal models to ensure technical proficiency and consistency.

Market Structure

• The EU insurance sector is globally significant, with €1.074 trillion in premiums in 2011, representing 36% of the global market.
• Over 91% of the EU insurance premiums are written by EU insurers, emphasizing the EU's dominant role.
• Insurance penetration remains high, with an average of €2,767 per capita in 2011, though there are significant disparities between member states.
• Top insurance corporations and occupational pension funds are correlated with the GDP of their home countries, though some outliers exist.
• Life insurers have a large exposure to sovereign debt, which increases their vulnerability.
• The low interest rate environment has led to increased pressure on solvency and liability valuation.

Insurance Investments

• Insurance investments increased post-2008 and reached pre-crisis levels by 2010.
• In 2011, the total investment assets amounted to €7.5 trillion, or 60% of EU GDP.
• Debt and fixed-income instruments constitute the majority of investments (around 44-45% in 2010 and 2011), followed by securities and shares (around 39%).
• Intangible assets have decreased in value since 2008, from over 100% of equity to around 75% in 2011, indicating increased risk of impairments.

Regulatory Challenges

• Solvency II implementation is delayed, creating uncertainty and potential vulnerabilities.
• ComFrame and IMD2 are ongoing regulatory initiatives that will impact the sector, including investment strategies and legal structures.
• Valuation issues and conflicts of interest remain a challenge, especially with the approval of internal models and the budgetary framework.

EIOPA's Role and Structure

• EIOPA is part of the European Supervisory Authorities (ESA), along with EBA and ESMA.
• It has legal personality and administrative and financial autonomy, and is accountable to the European Parliament and the Council.
• EIOPA operates through Working Groups, Committees, and Task Forces, with a Board of Supervisors (BoS) overseeing its operations.
• The BoS meets regularly, with 6 meetings in 2011 and 7 in 2012.
• The Chairperson of EIOPA is elected for a 5-year term and has non-voting roles in the BoS.

Institutional and Supervisory Gaps

• Weaknesses in supervision persist in several EU member states due to the delay in Solvency II implementation.
• Harmonization of supervision is still needed, particularly in group supervision.
• Confidentiality agreements, best practices, and peer reviews are being developed to improve supervisory coordination.
• The Internal Monitoring Group (IMG) plays a key role in crisis prevention and management, but lack of detailed data limits its effectiveness.

Key Information

• EU Insurance Sector:

  • Writes over a third of global insurance premiums.
  • €1.074 trillion in premiums in 2011.
  • High insurance penetration (around 7.89%), similar to G7 countries.
  • Significant disparities in insurance consumption between member states.
  • Solvency levels have been declining due to low interest rates and economic stagnation.

• EIOPA:

  • Has a clear mandate to oversee, monitor, and implement in the insurance and occupational pensions sectors.
  • Plays a proactive role in consumer protection and financial innovation.
  • Has established several committees and task forces to support its work.
  • Faces challenges in budgetary independence, conflicts of interest, and data access.

• Regulatory Developments:

  • Solvency II is a key regulatory framework, but its implementation is delayed.
  • ComFrame and IMD2 are expected to reshape the sector, affecting investment preferences, legal structures, and business models.
  • Internal models are crucial for capital adequacy, but approval processes are resource-intensive.

• Systemic Risk and Financial Stability:

  • Stress testing and systemic risk analysis are important for financial stability.
  • EIOPA's stress test should be enhanced to harmonize national activities.
  • Data collection is limited to the 30 largest cross-border insurance groups, and detailed individual-level data is not available.

Conclusion

The report underscores the importance of EIOPA in ensuring the stability of the EU insurance and occupational pensions sectors, while highlighting ongoing challenges in regulatory implementation, supervisory coordination, and data accessibility. It calls for immediate action to finalize Solvency II, improve information access, and enhance EIOPA's role in international supervision and financial stability.