Regulatory convergence is the next big thing
Global regulatory convergence will be a major issue for the financial services sector, and will thwart the stability of the industry in the coming years.
This is what PCI chairman Robert Restrepo Jr, told PCI Today at the PCI annual meeting in Scottsdale, Arizona, when asked about the issues tackled at the meeting and the challenges he foresees in the future.
Restrepo expressed his reasonable certainty that TRIA will be passed. “Hopefully by the end of the year, TRIA will be reauthorised, and then we will have achieved everything we wanted to,” he said. “This was our number one priority.”
Restrepo went on to cite the global convergence of financial services regulation as an emerging issue, one that will continue to develop and threaten the industry.
“It tends to be a very bank-centric and European-centric issue. But it is really unsuited to our regulatory structure in this country, which has certainly stood the test of time,” Restrepo explained.
“We came through the financial crisis of 2008 in tremendous shape. I understand the need to review and revise financial services regulation, but we don’t think that insurance should be painted with the same brush that’s used on other financial services.”
Restrepo said he recognises that some things have to change, and that the Federal Insurance Office was created because there are international trade issues that need to be addressed.
“I don’t think we need to revolutionise our very successful regulatory system to address a relatively short list of things that need to be tackled from the standpoint of a global regulatory standard,” he said.
Restrepo added that because the issues vary from city to city, it is important to make sure that PCI continues to have a strong presence in the state capitals and local communities around the country, although this will prove challenging.
“We’re dealing with global and federal issues as well as state and local ones, and that’s what’s always impressed me about PCI,” he said. “We’ve got the breadth and depth to tackle issues whether they be in Brussels, Washington DC or main street America.”
