The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has issued the regulations granting insurance companies a permission to issue and offer for sale of subordinated bonds to be used as regulatory capital requirements (insurance capital bond). This will provide insurance companies* more fundraising alternatives to build their financial stability.
The new regulations allow insurance companies to issue
and offer for sale of insurance capital bonds. Initially, such offering must be
in private placement scheme to no more than 10 investors (PP-10) and to institutional
investors (II) only. In addition, the applicant must seek an approval from the Office
of Insurance Commission (OIC) before filing an application for approval of such
bond offering with SEC. After the offer for sale of insurance capital bond, the
issuer is also required to disclose financial information related to capital adequacy
requirements to investors regularly.
In principle, the regulations on the issuance and offer
for sale of insurance capital bond are in line with the regulations on the
issuance and offering for sale of subordinated instruments to be used as commercial
banks’ regulatory capital requirements (Basel III Instrument) with regard to an
offer for sale in the same manner. The insurance capital bond regulations will
become effective on 8 January 2021.
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Remark:
*
Insurance companies mean life insurance companies and non-insurance companies,
excluding local branches of foreign life insurance companies and foreign
non-life insurance companies.