Colombia joins IAIS cooperation and information exchange agreement

The Superintendencia Financiera de Colombia (SFC) has become a member of the International Association of Insurance Supervisors’ (IAIS) Multilateral Memorandum of Understanding (MMoU). The MMoU is an international supervisory cooperation and information exchange agreement.

“We are pleased to welcome Colombia as a signatory of the MMoU,” said Dr Vicky Saporta, chair of the IAIS executive committee. “As we have experienced over the past few years of social and economic challenges, there are enormous benefits to the global insurance sector when supervisors are able to cooperate quickly and effectively across jurisdictions. The MMoU is an essential regulatory tool for supervisors to foster safer and more stable insurance markets.”

Jorge Castaño, SFC financial superintendent, added: “I am pleased that the SFC has become a signatory of the IAIS MMoU. This agreement strengthens our ability to work cooperatively with other supervisors and monitor large cross-border insurers – cooperation that is critically important to promoting effective supervision and protecting the consumers in Colombia.”

The IAIS said the MMoU provides a global framework of compliance and confidentiality to allow for open cooperation and exchange between insurance supervisors. It explained that to become a signatory to the MMoU, applicants undergo a rigorous assessment of their professional secrecy regimes, conducted by an independent team of IAIS members.

Through membership of the MMoU, supervisors can exchange relevant information and assist other signatories, promoting the financial stability and sound supervision of cross-border insurance operations for the benefit and protection of consumers, said the IAIS. It added that since the first jurisdiction was admitted in June 2009, the number of members has grown significantly, now representing three quarters of global gross written premiums.