The UK may have afforded itself the dubious luxury of a General Election in its desperation to find a way of breaking the Brexit impasse but in the rest of the European Union, especially among its regulators, it is business as usual.

For the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA) this means holding its 9th Annual Conference in Frankfurt next Tuesday (19 November).

It’s been a decade since securitisation was banished from insurance portfolios in the wake the Global Financial Crisis and the subsequent draconian Solvency II regulation which imposed capital charges most market experts agreed were out of kilter with the risks inherent in the underlying investments.

The UK’s Financial Conduct Authority is continuing to set the regulatory pace when it comes to pressing the financial sector to respond to the multiple threats from climate change. Together with the Bank of England, it is urging UK firms to respond to the need to assess the risks they face and be more transparent about them.

The field for alternative assets underpinned by bank lending was opened up in the wake of the financial crisis as banks made a headlong rush for the exit door. Asset managers and insurers have been tentatively exploring opportunities across a wide range including CRE debt, SME lending, leveraged loans, infrastructure finance and mortgages.

The latest Insurance Investment Exchange roundtable, hosted by Schroders, heard how private assets have grown importance, although it has been a gradual, cautious trend.

The busy autumn events season for the Insurance Investment Exchange kicked off with a double-header on 10 September at Skinners’ Hall.

The morning was devoted to the regular quarterly seminar, focussing on the theme “Enhancing returns on capital and mitigating portfolio risk”, while the afternoon event – The Pulse – focussed on three asset classes that offered “Alternative Strategies in the late cycle”.