FRANKFURT (Reuters) – Insurers that venture into bank-like business activities in search of higher returns must realize they will be regulated like banks, the head of the European Union's insurance watchdog said on Wednesday.
Faced with low yields on huge investments in government bonds, insurers around Europeare moving into financing business traditionally dominated by banks, such as real estate.
"If insurance groups heavily develop their business into non-traditional or non-insurance activities then they should expect to be treated in relation to those businesses as if they were banks," Gabriel Bernardino, chairman of the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA), said in a speech.
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