A number of major
insurers are believed to be on a list of companies that present
a systemic risk to the
financial system.
According to a report in the
Financial Times, the Financial Stability Board's list of
companies in need of cross-border supervision includes
AXA,
Zurich,
Aviva,
Aegon,
Allianz and Swiss Re. Together with 24
banks, the insurers are considered to be systemically important
to global
financial services and they could therefore pose a risk to
financial stability if they were to fail.
The Financial Stability Board hopes that by having a list of major
companies subject to cross-border regulation, it will be able to
pre-empt the spread of risks around the globe.
During last year's financial crisis, the complex financial
engineering that was used by AIG, one of the largest insurers in
the world, led to systemic risks being spread to many of the
countries where it operated.
