With President Barak Obama’s
nomination of Roy Woodall to the Financial Stability Oversight
Council (FSOC), the US insurance industry is set to have a loud
voice in what appears destined to become one of the most
influential bodies in the country.
The FSOC was established
under the Dodd-Frank Act of 2010 and is charged with identifying
threats to the financial stability of the US and promoting market
discipline. The FSOC will report directly to the US
Congress.
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The FSOC is made up of 10
voting members and five nonvoting members. The voting members
comprise officials from nine federal financial regulatory agencies
and an independent member with insurance expertise who appears
almost certainly to be Woodall. If confirmed as a member, Woodall
will serve a term of six years.
Woodall’s nomination has been
widely welcomed by insurance industry bodies, including the
American Council of Life Insurers (ACLI).
In a statement, ACLI
president and CEO Dirk Kempthorne said: “I’m looking forward to
working with Mr Woodall. He is a very capable insurance
professional and will be a fine representative on the FSOC
board.”
Woodall’s insurance
background includes serving as Kentucky’s insurance commissioner
from 1966 to 1967. He was also president of the National
Association of Life Companies (which merged with the ACLI in 1993)
and the US Treasury Department’s senior insurance policy analyst
between 2002 and January 2011.
