Delta Lloyd defends CFO after regulator demands dismissal
The Dutch central bank has fined insurer Delta Lloyd €22.8 million and ordered it to dismiss its chief financial officer (CFO) following an investigation into alleged improper gains in 2012. But the company has said it will fight the decision and stands by its CFO.
The central bank (DNB) told the insurer to fire Emiel Roozen by January 2016 after the insurer allegedly used confidential information to make a rate change.
But Delta Lloyd said Roozen acted within company guidelines and would fight the decision in court. It said it expected him to remain in his role during legal proceedings.
The DNB had been investigating the lowering of Delta Lloyd's interest rate risk hedges in July 2012, days before the central bank lowered the interest rate used when calculating insurance liabilities with terms exceeding 20 years.
“DNB is of the opinion that the decision-making concerning the reduction by Delta Lloyd of its interest rate risk hedges was conducted without due care. DNB found that Delta Lloyd should not have reduced its hedges at that time and that this was inconsistent with its risk policy. DNB claims that Delta Lloyd acted in order to gain an advantage from confidential information,” a statement said.
But Delta Lloyd has made it clear it disagrees with the decision and will now ask a court to rule on the matter.
“DNB and Delta Lloyd's Supervisory Board have reached other conclusions based on their investigations. The consequences for Delta Lloyd are drastic and in the view of the Supervisory Board too far-reaching. For this reason, Delta Lloyd has decided to submit DNB's measures to the court and request it to rule on the interpretation of the facts and circumstances and the associated conclusions, including the ‘dismissal’ of the CFO, as well as (the calculation of the total amount of) the fine,” it said in a statement.
It added: “The Supervisory Board has expressed its full confidence in Emiel Roozen, who was reappointed as CFO with DNB's approval on 22 May 2014 and therefore will remain in office pending the legal proceedings.”
