With Resolution No. 22 of 21 October 2014, Italy’s insurance regulator IVASS announced changes to the regime governing the kinds of investments and assets that insurance companies may use to cover technical reserves (riserve tecniche). Following two rounds of public consultation, the regulator revealed its decision to expand the range of assets to include direct loans, provided those loans are not to micro-enterprises [(businesses with turnover of less than euro 2 million, and less than ten employees)] or natural persons. The expansion is subject always to the overarching objective of ensuring the insurance companies’ stability and their sound and prudent management. The new measures formed part of a wider strategic move to broaden the sources of financing within the economy, in particular to small and medium-sized enterprises, “as a means of reviving investment and supporting economic activity”, said the regulator.
Click here for our Newsflash.