Federal Legislative Developments

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On June 5, 2013, President Obama issued the Executive Order 13645 “Implementing Sanctions Set Forth in the Iran Freedom & Counter-Proliferation Act of 2012” that would become effective on July 1, 2013.

EO 13645 implements several statutory provisions of Iran Freedom and Counter-proliferation Act (IFCA) of 2012 but also imposes additional sanctions. Click here to read the entire Client Advisory.…
Read More Client Advisory – President Obama Issues Executive Order Imposing Additional Iran Sanctions

On June 12, 2013, the Treasury’s Federal Insurance Office (“FIO”) released its first annual report on the insurance industry to the President and Congress, as mandated under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (the “Act”). The Report discusses in more detail a number of the items covered in the Financial Stability Oversight Council’s (“FSOC”) last annual report, issued this past May.[1] …
Read More FIO Issues Its First Annual Report

Late last month, Rep. Gary Miller, R-Calif., and Rep. Carolyn McCarthy, D-N.Y., introduced the “Insurance Capital and Accounting Standards Act of 2013” (H.R. 2140 or the “Act”) into the U.S. House of Representatives. The Act is in response to last year’s proposal by the Federal Reserve Board to apply certain capital requirements for financial institutions (i.e., Basel III global capital standards) to insurance companies that are part of depository holding companies under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (“Dodd-Frank”). …
Read More U.S. House Introduces Legislation Regarding Capital Requirements For Insurers Subject To Dodd-Frank

Earlier this month, Prudential Financial, Inc. and American International Group, Inc. confirmed that they received notice of a proposed determination by the Financial Stability Oversight Council (“FSOC”) that they should be subject to stricter prudential regulatory standards and supervision by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System as systemically important financial institutions (“SIFIs”), pursuant to the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act.
Read More FSOC Closer to Formal Designation of SIFIs

Last month, Representatives Gary Miller (R-Calif.) and Carolyn McCarthy (D-N.Y.) introduced a bill that would prohibit the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (the “FRB”) from imposing additional capital standards on insurers that are designated as systemically important financial institutions (“SIFIs”). …
Read More Proposed Limitations on Fed’s Power Over Nonbank SIFIs

Legislation was introduced this week to prevent foreign-controlled insurers operating in the United States from reducing their U.S. tax bill by reinsuring with their non-U.S. affiliates.
Read More House and Senate Introduce Bills Deferring Tax Deductions for Foreign Insurers

The Financial Stability Oversight Council released its third annual report on April 25, 2013, which fulfills its Congressional mandate under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act to annually report on its activities, describe significant financial market and regulatory developments, analyze potential emerging threats, and make recommendations for additional steps that should be taken to strengthen the financial system. …
Read More FSOC Issues Its Third Annual Report

Last week, Representative Bennie Thompson, a Democrat Congressman from Mississippi, introduced the Fostering Resilience to Terrorism Act of 2013, which would extend the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act by ten years. TRIA, which is set to expire at the end of 2014, was the subject of another proposed extension earlier this year but that proposal merely extended the program five years. …
Read More TRIA Extension Bill Is Introduced in Congress in the Wake of the Boston Attacks

At the Spring Meeting of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC), the NAIC Reinsurance Task Force announced that the Federal Insurance Office (FIO) requested that the NAIC conduct a survey on access to reinsurance data. …
Read More NAIC to Conduct Survey on Access to Reinsurance Data on Behalf of FIO