Tag: ISDA

Regulate me, please, the opinion column written by Allstate CEO Tom Wilson, appeared in the April 15 NYT in the guise of Wilson’s on-going effort to garner support for national regulation of the insurance industry.

Calling  it his CDS mea culpa, Option ARMageddon gave Wilson “kudos” for coming clean:

My company, Allstate, serves more than 17 million American households.  While we played only a small role in unregulated insurance markets, we have a duty to help stabilize the financial system. It was, after all, an insurance product that contributed to the risk that almost brought down the global economy.

New York State’s Insurance Superintendent, Eric Dinallo, on the other hand, had no kudos to offer:

“While the credit default swap market is not regulated, insurance company use of credit default swaps is,” Mr. Dinallo said in a statement. “In New York, no insurance company can use credit default swaps except under very specific and limited ways and only with approval.”

Was Option ARMageddon spot on or was Wilson’s agenda to set up Dinallo and DOI to the advantage of his efforts to secure national regulation of the insurance industry?  Dinallo’s press release suggests Wilson may have had another agenda – one that would lead to Hank Greenberg, AIG, and, perhaps, other insurers. Continue reading “kudos for Wilson – not yet”