Supervisory cooperation between CEIOPS Members and the Swiss insurance supervisor is based on a 2005 Multilateral Memorandum of Understanding. The Memorandum is one of the most efficient instruments available to supervisors in order to foster the cooperation required for supervising insurance groups and financial conglomerates. It also facilitates the assistance and exchange of information needed to fulfill all insurance supervisory tasks.
Following the changes made in 2009 to the Swiss institutional framework on financial supervision, CEIOPS Members have agreed to fully recognise the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA) as a legal successor of the former Swiss Federal Office of Private Insurance (FOPI).
CEIOPS Members find the Swiss supervisory regime of reinsurance undertakings equivalent CEIOPS has pursued, throughout the course of 2009, an equivalence assessment of the supervisory regime applicable in Switzerland to reinsurers to determine whether the regime could be considered equivalent to that applying to EU reinsurers under the current Reinsurance Directive. FINMA provided CEIOPS with detailed information and access to supporting documentation.
The Swiss supervisory regime of reinsurance undertakings achieves in an equivalent manner the key supervisory principles and objectives encapsulated in the Reinsurance Directive.
This equivalence determination is without prejudice to the separate equivalence assessment that will be required under the Solvency II Directive, although certain elements of the assessment may be relevant to that further work.
