New York State Insurance Superintendent Eric Dinallo and Antoine Mantel, France's insurance regulator, announced they have executed a memorandum of understanding allowing for closer cooperation between their agencies.

In a statement, the New York State Insurance Department said the memorandum commits the French and New York regulators to cooperating with each other in the interest of fulfilling their respective regulatory mandates and functions.

Specifically, the department said the agreement allows the department and the Autorit? de Contr?le des Assurances et des Mutuelles, France's regulatory body, to exchange information relevant to each authority's supervisory, regulatory and examination responsibilities.

The department added that, under the memorandum, either regulator may request assistance from the other, including obtaining information on a regulated person or entity. The regulators may also provide investigative assistance with respect to companies and persons engaged in the business of insurance, including questioning or taking testimony and conducting inspections and investigations.

Mr. Dinallo stressed the increasing need for global regulatory cooperation in today's market, saying, “Insurance companies and the markets are increasingly global and insurance regulation must keep pace. As has been demonstrated during this financial crisis, international cooperation among regulators is essential to keeping the industry stable and solvent. This agreement cements our close ties with France and helps ensure policyholder protection in both our jurisdictions.”

Mr. Mantel added, “Collaboration between French and New York State insurance supervisors is a prerequisite for the effective supervision of international insurance groups doing business in the two jurisdictions. Although there is already a significant flow of information between ACAM and NYSID, this Memorandum of Understanding between our two institutions will greatly enhance the scope for supervisory cooperation.

“It will enable us to broaden the collegial supervision of several trans-Atlantic insurance groups, and help us move toward the global watch of global insurance groups that the G20 nations and Financial Stability Forum have urged regulators to set up.”

The state insurance department has entered into similar MoUs with the insurance regulators of the United Kingdom, Germany, Taiwan and Bermuda, and said it is close to executing arrangements with other regulatory authorities.

Negotiating the agreement for the department were Deputy Superintendent and General Counsel Robert Easton and Supervising Attorney D. Monica Marsh.

For the ACAM, negotiations were handled by Deputy Secretary General Cyril Roux and General Counsel Didier Isra?l.