Friday, October 24, 2008

Taiwan Insurers Dump MBS's

From the Asian Investor: Taiwan insurers ordered out of US agency MBS.

The FSC has not only limited insurance company exposure to Fannie, Freddie and Ginnie bonds and mortgage-backed securities, but has decided that existing credit ratings are meaningless.

The Insurance Bureau at the Financial Supervisory Commission in Taipei announced revised rules on how insurance companies can treat investments in mortgage-backed securities (MBS). The FSC says it cannot see how the United States will develop a valid mechanism to assess the credit quality of MBS issued by US federal housing loan agencies, namely Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and Ginnie Mae.

Taiwanese insurers are now ordered to back off from investing in mortgage-backed securities arranged by the three institutions, or from holding their debt. The rules set maximum allowed exposures; beyond that, they don’t explicitly order insurers to sell their holdings, although the impression in reading the regulations is certainly one of disapproval.


(Ed: boldface in original article.)

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