Insurance regulation in South Africa is sound and takes a thorough approach to regulation, recognizes the scale and development of the market, and the need for effective market conduct as prudential regulation. There are particular challenges in improving standards of market conduct, in both...

In today's financial system, complex financial institutions are connected through an opaque network of financial exposures. These connections contribute to financial deepening and greater savings allocation efficiency, but are also unstable channels of contagion. Basel III and Solvency II should...

Insurance regulation and supervision is of a high standard, and most of the enhancements suggested have been put in place. Further enhancements will be required, in the context of the forthcoming introduction of Solvency II requirements, in such areas as the frequency of onsite inspections, the...

This Technical Note analyzes impaired loans in Poland. Asset quality has moved up the Polish supervisor’s agenda to address persistent impaired loans and cyclical deterioration in credit quality. Although the deterioration has been mainly observed in the quality of consumer loan...

This paper presents the Financial System Stability Assessment Report on the Isle of Man (IOM). Financial sector regulation and supervision are generally of a high standard, and supervisory efforts are concentrated in those areas most relevant to the activities of financial institutions on the...

This report is the summary of a technical note on Supervision of Insurance of Spain and Alternative Models for an Independent Agency. It reviews the organizational alternatives for insurance supervision and discusses the advantages and disadvantages of alternative institutional arrangements. It...

This paper discusses findings of the assessment of Financial Sector Supervision and Regulation on the Cayman Islands. The assessment reveals that substantial progress has been made in the implementation of the 2003 Offshore Financial Center assessment recommendations, including, importantly,...

Slow economic growth and continuing low interest rate environment is putting pressure on the insurance sector. Delays in the implementation of Solvency II could create vulnerabilities in the insurance sector. The approval of internal models is important for determining adequacy of capital levels...

Nigeria undertook a Financial Sector Assessment Program (FSAP), which included a review of the structure of Nigeria’s insurance market and the supervisory framework. The assessment was benchmarked against the Insurance Core Principles (ICPs) issued by the International Association of...

This technical note discusses key findings of the assessment of Insurance Core Principles (ICP) for the reinsurance industry for Switzerland. It reveals that the Swiss reinsurance market is dominated by three large players with a strong international presence. The reinsurance industry comprises...