Call for light touch on solvency laws

Article reports that the United Kingdom will urge a light-touch approach to proposed European Union laws on insurers' solvency, warning that the new rules should not require companies to hold excessive amounts of capital. Ed Balls, economic secretary to the Treasury, is understood to share the concerns of big multi-national insurance groups that a heavy handed EU directive could make products prohibitively expensive for consumers. In a submission to the European Commission, the government argues that solvency requirements should be applied at group level rather than making each subsidiary of a large company comply as individual units.

European Commission: DG Internal Market and Services: Free movement of services: Financial services: Insurance Solvency: Solvency II http://ec.europa.eu/internal_market/insurance/solvency2/index_en.htm

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