Momentum Conference 2012: Review of Workshop C1: Solvency II - latest developments

A Solvency II presentation with a difference. Split into two parts, the workshop covered the regulatory development on the liabilities and capital, and then the impact on asset markets due to Solvency II.

With the latest announcement in further delays with the implementation of Solvency II, many have become frustrated with the progress made with the regime, and one could not be blamed for having a little skepticism.

I personally found it very interesting to understand the journey taken by the industry on its journey of Solvency II. In the past, information was more piecemeal, and industry was updated as and when new guidance was issued.

This talk helped to pull everything together, and made it easier for the audience to form an overview of Solvency II. It highlighted the changes in the European regulatory body, from CEIOPS to EIOPA, and how CEIOPS had a more ‘advisory’ role, whereas guidance from EIOPA was more binding on member states.

It also explored the changes from the initial policy proposal and implementation timeline to the subsequent developments and updates made. These included items such as ‘matching premium’ and ‘counter-cyclical adjustment’; the motivations for these adjustments were also discussed.

In addition, an interesting survey was conducted by the presenter on expected implementation dates. This may be anecdotal evidence, but many industry participants only expected implementation from ‘2017 or after’, there was clustering around ‘2016’ and a few said ‘never’.

The second part focused on assets, the impacts on the market, and portfolio rebalancing motivated by Solvency II.

There was a lot of valuable content; it was well presented and informative. What a pity that there was no time left for questions.