Cadwalader Helps Identify Legal Uncertainties of Solvency II Directive through Financial Markets Law Committee Paper

-- Firm's insurance and reinsurance expertise supports Committee's goal to raise regulatory concerns

LONDON, Aug. 13, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft LLP (Cadwalader), a leading counsellor to global financial institutions and corporations, contributed to the Financial Markets Law Committee's ("FMLC") June 2013 paper, Discussion of legal uncertainties arising from the Solvency II Directive, which identifies issues of legal uncertainty in the provisions of the Solvency II Directive and how they might be addressed. The Directive 2009/138/EC aims to harmonise European insurance regulation, primarily the capital that companies must hold. The Solvency II Directive was supposed to become effective from January 1, 2014, however delays until 2016 are being suggested.

Jennifer Donohue, a partner in Cadwalader's Corporate Department and head of Insurance & Reinsurance in London, who chaired the working group stated: "Some of the ambiguities of the Solvency II Directive are cause for concern for the insurance and reinsurance industries. Our involvement with the FMLC allows us to add our expertise and experience to try and suggest ways to clarify provisions. We have worked closely with industry participants to address key concerns around the implications of the Directive, and we are proud to have assisted with this paper, which highlights ways in which ambiguities can be rectified to the benefit of all parties involved."

The FMLC paper highlights concerns regarding the authorisation of third-country branches, minimum capital requirement and solvency capital requirements at the third-country branch level, execution of governance criterion, the interpretation of the Directive in a group context, the treatment of existing insurance special purpose vehicles, and risk retention rules (which restrict investments in securitisations). The paper outlines suggestions as to how these issues may be addressed.

The role of the FMLC working group was to consider legal uncertainties which might then be clarified. This would be important "for the creation of a more robust and predictable regime for the insurance and reinsurance industry and for the provision of legal certainty across the wholesale financial markets."

The FMLC paper has been sent to representatives of the Financial Conduct Authority, the Bank of England, HM Treasury, the European Commission, the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority, the European Parliament and the Lithuanian Presidency of the Council of the European Union.

The full paper can be found on the FMLC website here:

About Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft LLP
Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft LLP, established in 1792, is one of the world's leading international law firms, with offices in New York, Washington, Charlotte, Houston, London, Hong Kong, Beijing and Brussels. Cadwalader serves a diverse client base, including many of the world's top financial institutions, undertaking business in more than 50 countries in six continents. The firm offers legal expertise in insurance and reinsurance, financial markets, longevity risk, pension fund deficits, antitrust, banking, business fraud, corporate finance, corporate governance, environmental, financial restructuring and reorganizations, healthcare, intellectual property, litigation, mergers and acquisitions, securitization, structured finance, and tax. More information about Cadwalader can be found at www.cadwalader.com.

About the Financial Markets Law Committee
The Financial Markets Law Committee (FMLC) is an independent committee of legal experts whose role is to identify issues of legal uncertainty, or misunderstanding, present and future, in the framework of the wholesale financial markets which might give rise to material risks, and to consider how such issues should be addressed. It will also act as a bridge to the judiciary to help UK courts remain up-to-date with developments in financial markets practice. For more information, please visit www.fmlc.org.

Contacts:
Adam Segall +1-212-504-6492
Adam.Segall@cwt.com
Raina Gajjar +1-212-850-5724
Raina.Gajjar@fticonsulting.com