Question ID: 7
Regulation Reference: Guidelines on submission of information to NCAs (Preparatory phase)
Article: 219, 235, 212
Status: Final
Date of submission: 06 Jan 2014
Question
According to guideline 9 participating insurance and reinsurance undertakings or insurance holding companies at the head of an insurance or reinsurance group should submit the set of annual quantitative information. According to article 219 in the Solvency II-directive (2009/138/EC), the group supervisor shall ensure that the Group Solvency calculations are carried out at least annually, by the participating insurance or reinsurance undertaking, by the insurance holding company or by the mixed financial holding company. The relevant data for and the results of that calculation shall be submitted to the group supervisor by the participating insurance or reinsurance undertaking or, where the group is not headed by an insurance or reinsurance undertaking, by the insurance holding company or the mixed financial holding company. Cf. also article 235 concerning the group solvency of an insurance holding company or a mixed financial holding company.
The articles in the Solvency II Directive related to groups were amended in November 2011. According to article 219 and 235 (as we read it) it is the mixed financial holding company (if this is at the head of the group) that is responsible for the group solvency calculations when Solvency II enters into force. Mixed Financial Holding Company is defined in article 212 h). However, the guidelines for interim measures indicates that the group solvency reporting applies to the insurance undertaking or insurance holding company. We have an undertaking with a participation in another insurance undertaking that according to guideline 9 should report Group Solvency data. However, this undertaking is owned by a mixed financial holding company. When Solvency II enters into force, article 219 and 235 in the Directive state that Group Solvency should be calculated and reported by the mixed financial holding company. Is there a deliberate difference between the level of application in the Guidelines compared to the Directive, or have we misunderstood the text in the Directive?
EIOPA answer
In fact although it was not the intention the preparatory guidelines could be read as excluding those holdings, therefore we will include in the ERRATA the following amendment:
“1.40 In accordance with Articles 35 and 254 of the Solvency II Directive, national competent authorities should ensure that at least the participating insurance and reinsurance undertakings or insurance holding companies or mixed financial holding companies at the head of an insurance or reinsurance group with more than EUR 12 billion or the equivalent in the national currency of total assets in the consolidated accounting balance-sheet for the reporting period ending during 2012, submit to the group supervisor the set of annual quantitative information identified in Guideline 17.”