Mr. Dinallo will focus on securities lending this year, asking each life insurance company about its approach toward these transactions and preparing to evaluate the carriers' programs.
ERIC R. DINALLO
Superintendent
New York State Insurance Department
Albany, N.Y.
General outlook:
Mr. Dinallo will focus on securities lending this year, asking each life insurance company about its approach toward these transactions and preparing to evaluate the carriers' programs, he said. Insurers loan their securities to investors in return for cash, which the carriers use to invest in other assets.
But during the credit crunch, investors wanted their money back and that forced the insurers to sell off assets when prices are at their lowest.
Regulators need to redo the reporting and accounting practices around insurers' securities lending programs, and he expects to push that initiative forward as chairman of the life insurance and annuities (A) committee of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners in Kansas City, Mo.
Next big trend:
Long term care insurance will be on regulators' radar.
Biggest concern:
Insurers may face a statutory accounting problem that would keep them from having sufficient capital surpluses to meet regulators' requirements, Mr. Dinallo said.
Reading , watching, listening to:
Book: "Naked" by David Sedaris (Little Brown & Co., 1998).
Radio: Bloomberg.
Primary news sources: Financial Times, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, CNBC and Google News.