Insurance Sifi rules squeeze the balloon on US annuities

Non-bank Sifis continue to sell assets, despite last month’s court victory for MetLife. As the largest insurers leave annuities businesses, their smaller, less-regulated rivals – including private equity-owned insurers – are moving in, raising fresh financial stability concerns. Peter Madigan reports.

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Pressing issue: "Regulators are squeezing the balloon and the risk is going to pop out somewhere else"

If the US regulatory construction of non-bank systemically important financial institutions (Sifis) ultimately collapses, historians will trace the demise of the concept back to the 48 tumultuous hours of March 30–31, 2016.

March 30 saw the US District Court for the District of Columbia (DDC) hand down a bombshell ruling, ordering the US Financial Stability Oversight Council's (FSOC's) designation of insurance giant MetLife as a non-bank Sifi be rescinded.

The following day, GE Capital

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