David Rule: PRA Solvency II Conference – countdown to implementation Speech by Mr David Rule, Executive Director for Prudential Policy of the Bank of England, at the PRA Solvency II Conference, London, 17 October 2014. *  *  *  I would also like to extend my welcome and thanks to you for taking the time to attend this conference today. I want to take this opportunity to formally introduce myself. I was appointed Executive Director of Prudential Policy at the Bank of England in June having held a variety of different roles across the Bank and FSA, most recently as a supervisor of large UK banks. This conference is entitled “countdown to implementation”. We have reached a level of stability in the policy making process for Solvency II, and the purpose of today is to share our thinking and provide clarity where possible on those last remaining issues ahead of implementation. You’ll be hearing from experts across the technical areas and Victoria Saporta, Director of Financial Policy will give you an overview of the policy areas where work is still being finalised along with the timeline for completion. I would like to take a step back from this and reflect more widely on what Solvency II is about for the Bank.
We have come a long way from the uncertainty that has seemingly dominated the past few years. But we need to remain conscious of the new challenges and opportunities that are on our horizon. Alongside the European process the wheels have been turning in the international space. A common set of global standards for systemically important insurers are being worked on as we speak. Throughout the development of these standards, the Bank of England will continue with its strong history of international engagement. We have made great strides in Europe with Solvency II and we aim to ensure the complementarity of upcoming global standards with what we have achieved with Solvency II. Continued interaction with the industry is an essential part of good policy making so I’d like to again thank you for your participation today. I hope that we can continue to work together towards achieving a policy outcome at all levels that fulfils our objectives and in turn ensures the stability, resilience and ultimately the prosperity of the insurance sector in the UK. BIS central bankers’ speeches  3