We have the responsibility to prevent major financial market disruptions through development and enforcement of prudent regulatory standards and, if necessary in rare circumstances, through direct intervention in market events.
Consequently, we do not examine insurance underwriters or the insurance agency business of bank holding companies. Instead, we defer to the appropriate state insurance authorities. We also rely on reports and other information that insurance companies provide to state insurance authorities to understand the activities and financial strength of the insurance company, rather than imposing our own reporting requirements on insurance companies.