American Council of Life Insurers (ACLI) President and CEO Dirk Kempthorne issued the following statement today in connection with the House approving the Financial CHOICE Act, H.R. 10:

Washington, D.C. (June 8, 2017) – “The Financial CHOICE Act, H.R. 10, includes essential provisions that revoke the Financial Stability Oversight Council’s (FSOC) authority to designate non-banks as ‘systemically important’ and rescind current non-bank designations.

“FSOC’s actions against individual life insurance companies fulfill no purpose. State regulators already supervise life companies’ financial stability to ensure they can meet their commitments to the policyholders and businesses they serve. FSOC could better protect the nation’s economy and American consumers if its efforts focused on assessing macro-prudential risks to U.S. financial stability and making recommendations to primary financial regulatory agencies on new or heightened regulatory standards for financial activities or practices that could create or increase risks of significant negative impacts on U.S. financial markets. This is what H.R. 10 would do.

“ACLI commends House Financial Services Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling (R-Texas) for his leadership on this legislation. Elimination of the non-bank designation authority for life insurance companies is a crucial reform. It will avoid the negative consequences of FSOC’s arbitrary and misdirected designations. By rebalancing the FSOC approach, H.R. 10 will lead to more efficient and effective regulation and better outcomes for consumers, regulators and markets.”