The newly appointed chair of the IAIS executive committee, Shigeru Ariizumi, has discussed the major issues he will be dealing with in the forthcoming years.
Ariizumi made the comments at the International Association of Insurance Supervisors’ (IAIS) 2023 annual conference held in Tokyo today.
During the conference, the outgoing chair of the IAIS executive committee, Vicky Saporta, quoted King Louis XV of France, when she cited the phrase, après moi, le deluge, in her farewell speech. This phrase is often used in the context of someone leaving a place or job and predicting disaster or chaos after their departure.
Saporta said: “This is precisely what [a] leader should not do and this is not at all going to happen,” before handing over the role of IAIS chair to Ariizumi, who is also vice minister for international affairs at the Financial Services Agency of Japan. “We will have a great succession,” said Saporta.
In terms of the major issues ahead, Ariizumi said the delivery of the global Insurance Capital Standard by December next year will remain “a resolute focus for us.”
“The last mile is challenging but…we are right on track to achieve this important goal,” he said, also mentioning that Japan is on track to deliver it for its own domestic regulation by 2025. He also cited the societal role for insurer regulators in addressing protection gaps and setting up its 2025 strategic plan.
In a last aside, Saporta cited the famous Édith Piaf song, Non, je ne regrette rien - which means "No, I do not regret anything" - when asked if she would have done anything differently during her tenure as IAIS chair.