President Donald J. Trump signed into law the Financial Stability Oversight Council Insurance Member Continuity Act (H.R. 3110) on September 27, 2017.
The bill, introduced by Representatives Randy Hultgren (R-IL) and Maxine Waters (D-CA), permits the FSOC Independent Member with insurance expertise to remain past his or her term for the earlier of (i) 18 months or (ii) when a successor is confirmed.
Representative Hultgren explained the importance of the bipartisan bill:
"[I]t is now extremely important that we have someone with a deep understanding of our insurance markets, and how they interact with our entire financial system, to continue serving as a voting member of FSOC. The Financial Stability Oversight Council Insurance Member Continuity Act ensures that this key regulatory body is able to benefit from the perspective of a voting member with insurance expertise without any unnecessary lapses."
Commentary / Steven Lofchie
The realization of the "importance" of industry participation in the FSOC designation process is welcome. When FSOC designated MetLife as being systemically important, it generally ignored the views of the FSOC member with insurance industry experience. See FSOC Proposes Preliminary Designation of MetLife as a Non-Bank Systematically Important Financial Institution (with Lofchie Comment). See also D.C. District Court Calls FSOC's Review of MetLife's Status "Fatally Flawed".
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