Europees Parlement keurt nieuwe EU regels goed voor verzekering en krediet rating sectoren

This week in Strasbourg the European Parliament has given its approval to the Commission's proposals for new EU rules on insurance - known as 'Solvency II' - and on credit rating agencies, representing a major step towards final agreement on two crucial measures that are at the centre of the EU's response to the financial crisis.

Solvency II is designed to improve consumer protection, modernise supervision, deepen market integration and increase the competitiveness of European insurers. Under the new system, insurers and reinsurers would be required to take account of all types of risk to which they are exposed and to manage those risks more effectively and with increased transparency. In addition, insurance groups would have a dedicated 'group supervisor' that would enable better monitoring of the group as a whole.

The Regulation on credit rating agencies will have a major impact on the activity of this industry, which issues opinions on creditworthiness of companies, governments and sophisticated financial structures. Credit rating agencies will be expected to comply with strict standards of integrity, quality and transparency and will be subject to ongoing supervision of public authorities. Users of credit ratings in the EU will be in a better position to decide if the opinions of a specific credit rating agency are trustworthy and to what extent those opinions should impact their investment choices.