What banks can learn from Solvency II

Thomas Schubert and Gundula Griessmann, members of the German Insurance Association, argue that banks have more to learn from the insurance industry than they might care to admit

When Solvency II, the new capital supervisory model for the insurance industry, is discussed, we often hear that banks already have more stringent risk management systems in place than insurance companies do. And because of that, we also often hear it claimed that Basel II, the newly agreed supervisory model for bank capital, could simply be transferred to the insurance industry.

But when we take a closer look, it becomes clear that the opposite is more likely to be the correct answer. The