The European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA) published today an opinion on a delegation agreement between two national supervisory authorities, the Dirección General de Seguros y Fondos de Pensiones (DGSFP) and De Nederlandsche Bank N.V. (DNB).
The opinion concerns the delegation of tasks and responsibilities of group supervision of Aegon N.V. Group (Aegon), an insurance group currently supervised by the DNB and operating in the Netherlands, Spain, Portugal and outside of the European Union.
On 30 June 2023, Aegon announced its intention to move its legal seat to a third country and finalised today the sale of all its Dutch insurance entities. After the sale, Aegon will no longer have any insurance undertaking in the Netherlands. Therefore, according to Solvency II rules, the DGSFP becomes the group supervisor of Aegon for the period between the sale of the Dutch business and the change of seat.
However, the DGSFP and the DNB consider that from a supervisory perspective it is appropriate that the DNB continues to carry out group supervision of Aegon for a period of six months. This is for reasons of economies of scale, to ensure coherent group supervision, and the optimal use of technical expertise among national supervisory authorities.
EIOPA notes that such delegation would ensure efficient, effective and consistent supervision, and a smooth hand-over of the tasks and responsibilities of group supervision, to ensure adequate protection of policyholders.
EIOPA is of the opinion that the delegated supervisory competences are duly identified and precisely determined in accordance with relevant Union laws. Considering the specificities of the case, EIOPA concludes that the proposed delegation is justified and proportionate.
Background
EIOPA Regulation mandates EIOPA to stimulate and facilitate the delegation of tasks and responsibilities between competent authorities by identifying those tasks and responsibilities that can be delegated or jointly exercised and by promoting best practices.