Astana Financial Services Authority becomes 75th member to IAIS cooperation and information exchange agreement

Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan – Astana Financial Services Authority has become the 75th member of the International Association of Insurance Supervisors (IAIS) Multilateral Memorandum of Understanding (MMoU).

Adopted on 15 February 2007, the IAIS MMoU provides a global framework of compliance and confidentiality to allow for open cooperation and exchange between insurance supervisors. With 75 signatories, the IAIS MMoU signatories represent approximately 76 per cent of worldwide premium volume.

“We are delighted to welcome Astana Financial Services Authority as a signatory to the MMoU,” said Dr Vicky Saporta, IAIS Executive Committee Chair. “In order to achieve our goal of policyholder protection within the global insurance marketplace, an insurance supervisor must be able to cooperate quickly and effectively. The MMoU is an essential regulatory tool – not only in crises but on a day-to-day basis – for supervisors to foster safer and more stable insurance markets”.

“I am pleased that the Astana Financial Services Authority (AFSA) has become a signatory to the IAIS MMoU,” stated Mukhtar Bubeyev, Acting Chief Executive Officer of AFSA. “This agreement strengthens our ability to work cooperatively with other regulators on cross-border supervision of insurers – cooperation that is critically important to promoting effective supervision and protecting consumers of the Astana International Financial Centre.” 

“The 75th signatory marks an important milestone,” commented Jonathan Dixon, Secretary General of the IAIS. “Supervisory cooperation is a necessary precondition for effective cross-border supervision. Thus, the more signatories we have, the more value it provides for IAIS members overall.”

To become a counterpart to the MMoU, applicants undergo a rigorous assessment of their professional secrecy regimes. The MMoU benefits its signatories in that each may rely on the other’s compliance with the strict confidentiality regime. Exchange of confidential information is being executed under appropriate provisions and procedures to protect the confidentiality of all counterparties.  

A complete list of international signatories and a copy of the MMoU can be found here.