Dodd-Frank: The FIO is Coming
October 1, 2010 by ARTHUR D. POSTAL
Published 9/30/2010
WASHINGTON BUREAU — Staffers at the U.S. Treasury Department already are working on setting up the new Federal Insurance Office (FIO) created by the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act.
The department also is conducting a public search for an FIO director, Deputy Treasury Secretary Neal Wolin told Congress today at a hearing organized by the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee.
Wolin said the Treasury Department “will make every effort to ensure a cooperative and collaborative relationship with the National Association of Insurance Commissioners.”
Wolin noted that the Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC), a systemic risk oversight body established by the Dodd-Frank Act, will hold its first open meeting at 2:30 p.m. Friday. The Dodd-Frank Act has made the Treasury secretary the chairman of the council, and current Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner will preside over the first FSOC meeting.
John Huff, the Missouri insurance director, will represent the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC), Kansas City, Mo., in FSOC proceedings as a non-voting member.
Wolin said senior Treasury officials and staffers “are engaging frequently with the NAIC as well as other interested parties.”
The department is working with the NAIC to establish a framework within which FIO and the states, as the functional regulators, “can work hand-in-hand,” Wolin said.
The department also is working with representatives from other countries on insurance prudential issues and will also be working closely with the United States Trade Representative, as required by the law, Wolin said.
Treasury Department staffers are also setting up a research office that will gather and generate data for the FIO.
