Romania - amendments to insurance legal provisions

On 14 January 2014 the Romanian Financial Supervisory Authority (“FSA”) published the Norm 18 of 2013 (“Norm 18 of 2013”) in the Official Gazette, amending the Norms regarding the supplementary supervision of the insurance/reinsurance undertakings which form a part of an insurance/reinsurance group, as approved by Order 9 of 2008.

The main amendments brought by the Norm 18 of 2013 add the insurance/reinsurance undertaking whose parent undertaking is a mixed financial holding company to the list of supplementary supervised undertakings. Prior to the implementation of these amendments, the supplementary supervised insurance/reinsurance undertakings referred only to those whose parent undertaking was: (i) an insurance holding company; or (ii) a third-country insurance/reinsurance undertaking.

The mixed financial holding company is defined by the Romanian legislation as being the parent undertaking, other than a regulated entity, which together with its subsidiaries, at least one of which is a regulated entity, and other entities, constitutes a financial conglomerate. This definition is consistent with that provided by the Directive 2002/87/EC on the supplementary supervision of credit institutions, insurance undertakings and investment firms in a financial conglomerate and amending Council Directives 73/239/EEC, 79/267/EEC, 92/49/EEC, 92/96/EEC, 93/6/EEC and 93/22/EEC, and Directives 98/78/EC and 2000/12/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council.

The practical impact of the Norm 18 of 2013 is to be further determined after its actual implementation.