NU Online News Service, May 20, 4:00 p.m. EDT

The Senate voted today to limit further debate on financial services reform legislation, setting up likely final passage of the bill by Friday.

Earlier today, NU Online News Service reported that debates over insurance issues helped stall Senate Democrats' efforts to win a cloture vote Wednesday, but the senate reached its magic number of 60 votes as it took the issue up again today.

Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., said he will try to complete work on the bill, S. 3217, the Restoring American Financial Stability Act of 2010, by Thursday night.

Republicans Sen. Scott Brown, Mass.; and Sens. Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe, both of Maine, joined 55 Democrats and two independents in the vote. Two Democrats and 38 republicans opposed.

"Now that the Senate has limited debate it moves the process along, eliminates amendments that might not be germane to the debate, and makes a final vote on the bill a certainty," said Blain Rethmeier, a spokesman for the American Insurance Association.

Joel Wood, senior vice president of government relations for the Council of Insurance Agents and Brokers, said, "Final passage of the legislation is now in sight, though certainly there are some big and knotty issues that will have to be resolved with the House bill."

He mentioned CIAB's support for the non-admitted provisions of the legislation, which modernize and make uniform regulation and assessments of the surplus lines market.

The bill does so by establishing the rules of a domiciliary state to govern regulation and tax assessment of these non-admitted products.

Mr. Wood said, "For our members and their clients, the surplus lines reform has been long sought and eagerly anticipated. Much will be made about the partisan divide on big issues in this legislation, but the insurance title is wholly bipartisan and thoughtfully crafted."

Matt Brady, a spokesman for the National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies, said, "As it stands the bill generally recognizes that property and casualty insurance did not play a role in creating the financial crisis and respects the state-based regulatory system."

The bill would create a Financial Stability Oversight Council composed mostly of federal regulators that would oversee financial institutions whose failure would constitute a systemic risk to the financial system.

An Office of National Insurance (ONI) also created by the bill would monitor insurance companies and recommend to the Stability Council stronger oversight of a potentially risky insurer.

The ONI would also serve as a federal clearinghouse for financial data relating to insurance solvency and other issues, although most of the data would be generated by existing state agencies.

The ONI provision would also give the Treasury Department the authority to negotiate bilateral insurance trade agreements with foreign governments.

The bill also contains provisions that would subject insurance companies to greater regulation of their derivatives activities and limit, to some extent, investment activities conducted by insurers that own banks or thrifts.

According to industry officials, it is unlikely an amendment sponsored by Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., that could have barred banks and insurance companies from each other's businesses will be ruled in order.

Industry officials said it remains unclear whether they would be able, under cloture rules, to win a vote on an amendment exempting nonbank financial services companies, subject to liquidation or rehabilitation under state laws, from assessments by federal regulators to pay for resolving systemically risky financial institutions.

Special Reports /

Financial Bill Set For Final Vote As Senate Votes For Cloture

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