 Good morning and welcome to our audience, and in particular to our speaker today, Petra Hilkermann, Chairperson of the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority, or ILPAN. Petra will today address the topic of building a more effective financial system, and we'll discuss the regulatory and supervisory priorities of ILPAN. Her address today rounds off the IIEA's whistle stop tour through the priorities of each of the three European supervisory authorities this year. After we welcomed both Isabelle Viong, Director of the Prudential Regulation and Supervisory Policy at the European Banking Authority, and Stephen Mayor, Chairperson of the European Securities and Markets Authority, both earlier this year. Back to today. During her address, Petra will outline her priorities in building a more effective and equitable financial system. During her five-year term as IOPPA, she will discuss the European Commission's proposed review of the Solvency 2 Directive and consider how to better ensure coordination of insurance and occupational pension supervision at EU level. She will also discuss how the insurance and pension industry can remain resilient, dealing with the economic shock caused by COVID-19, as well as how the industry can embrace the green and digital transitions. Petra, who joins us from Frankfurt, will speak for 15 to 20 minutes. You will be able to join the discussion using the question and answer function on Zoom, which you should see at the bottom of your screen. Please feel free to send in your questions and comments throughout the session as they occur to you, and we will come to them after Petra has finished her presentation. A reminder that today's presentation and Q&A are both on the record. Before handing over, let me briefly introduce our speaker. Petra Hilkema, is Chairperson of the IOPPA and has led the authority since September this year. Prior to that, she was Division Director of Insurance Supervision at DNB, the Dutch Central Bank. Petra joined DNB in February 2007, and in 2013 she became Head of Insurance Policy. In 2017, she was appointed as Director of Payments and Market Infrastructure, and was responsible for the payments and collateral operations at the Central Bank. Oversight, Policy and Cyber Intelligence, a broad brief. Petra was previously an alternative member of the IOPPA Board of Supervisors, was also the Chairman of the IOPPA Policy Committee. So with that, another welcome to you. Petra, it's very generous of you to give us your time today, and we look forward to your thoughts. Yes, well, thank you, Dan, and I'm really happy to be here this morning. And so thank you so much for inviting me and allowing me to talk to you and your audience about the priorities of IOPPA. As a European Supervisor, listening to our stakeholders in different member states is an essential part of our work. And I actually started my term by calling also all the national supervisors and just listening what is happening in the individual countries and what is the national perspective. And this is also one of the reasons why I very much appreciate being at national events. And even if it's unfortunate that it's not in person, I'm still very happy to spend my time with you this morning. Now, let me say here at the start that while Ireland might be the most westerly country in Europe, we always think and feel that Ireland is near. From our side, we closely work with the national competent authorities in Ireland. That's the central bank of Ireland and the pension authority. And we also have representatives from Ireland, both here in my office as staff, but also in our stakeholder groups. In a post-Brexit world, we stand together in fostering a strong sector and the bond with Europe. And as such, I'm also very happy to have a good dialogue with your market. We need that strength because across both insurance and pension sectors, we are facing many challenges. Even though I think they fare well through COVID-19, recovery still has to happen. And we see the numbers, we're not there yet. There's climate changes, protection gaps, there's cyber, just to name a few. And in fact, these are not just challenges that are so specific to insurance or pension funds, but moreover to government societies and citizens, still we also have to consider them. What I like to say is that where there's a challenge, there is also an opportunity, and I really mean that. And particularly, for example, in cyber or in climate, insurance and pension sectors are specifically, when it comes to climate, in fact, a uniquely place to help address some of the challenges that we see there. Now today, I would like to talk to you about some of IOPA's priorities and some opportunities in the light of those challenges that we face. And in particular today, I will cover the 2020 Solvency 2 review. I will discuss some conduct issues we see in insurance. I will discuss pensions and pension gaps. And then of course, we will need to dive a bit into cyber and climate change. I'll start with Solvency 2. The framework has become the backbone of a strong and stable insurance sector in Europe. And while it was right to review the framework to make sure it just remains fit for purpose, it is also right that the fundamentals of that framework do not change. And that was the rationale behind IOPA's approach and in preparing the review. IOPA took stock of lessons learned since the implementation of Solvency 2. Mind you, we were using it for five years, but really parts of it were new. We didn't have that before the five years, think group supervision, think internal models. So it absolutely makes sense to just look at that five years and see what works, what could be improved. We also took account of the changing market. And here particularly we mean, of course, the prolonged low interest rate environment. And with the recent COVID experience and the need to redirect finance towards green essence, there were also other tools or other considerations to be made when providing the advice. Most important of all, our proposals were not supposed to upset the balance of a framework that has proved to work well, including during COVID. And that will achieve the ultimate goal of policyholder protection. And so as you all know, at the end of last year, IOPA submitted its opinion on the revision of Solvency 2, labeling it a balanced update in challenging times. And I think that label was right. Now since in September, we have received the proposals from the European Commission, and I would like to say a few words on those. First of all, let me underline that we are very pleased actually to see on the whole, the European Commission has followed our own approach and objectives. So that's really positive. And we particularly welcome the Commission's proposal to develop insurance and recovery and resolution, and to include also a macro prudential perspective in the Solvency 2 directive, which so far was missing. Finally, we're also very much welcome the further enhancement of the proportionality principle and a mandate for further action on sustainability. Nevertheless, there are some reservations, particularly in the area of cross-border business. Here we feel that we may not always have the means to act. And with that, I mean, I think we have more and more means to go in, to see, to identify, but we do not always have the means to act when we see identified issues. And that might sometimes leave us in an uncomfortable position. We still do not believe that that is covered well enough in the directive as it stands. We also have some concerns with regard to the fact that the minimum harmonization of insurance guarantee schemes at EU level is not considered. There's not even a deadline or a timeline when it will be considered. For the current situation is right now that if there is a cross-border operating insurer selling cross-border business on the basis of a passport, and that insurer feels the protection rendered to policyholders of that one insurer will differ depending on the member state where the policyholder bought the product. That is not reflecting our ambition of a harmonized internal market. And we would very much like to see the proposal include work on IDF. Furthermore, and of course, we have to, being a prudential supervisor, we have to turn to the capital requirements. And what we see is that the removal of the illiquidity considerations for the purpose of the volatility adjustment calculations on the one hand, and relaxation regarding the calibration on the risk margin and interest risk capital charge on the other post potential risks and see is moving away from the prudence of solvency to scenarios that may harm policyholders. Negotiations are still ongoing and we welcome that. And as such, let me reiterate that for the most part, the commission shares our approach and we are working well with them as well as with the parliament and the council in order for them to continue to rely to have a good discussion and come up with a framework on which we can continue to rely, sorry. Because solvency to has to be the rock that underpins the insurance sector across Europe. Because with that foundation in place, and with that foundation functioning well, we can look at other issues, for example, conduct in a world that is becoming more digital, and therefore more easily cross border, identifying trends which may result in detriment to consumers is growing in importance. In the past year, IOPA has identified bank assurance as a topic often that may raise concerns. And with bank assurance, I mean mortgage linked life insurance. We also have flagged issues related to unit link products again, and the question whether or not all of those products deliver value for money. IOPA has repeatedly highlighted that putting consumer outcomes at the heart of product design, distribution, and of monitoring processes is critical for tackling value for money issues, not only at the moment of sale, but also afterwards. In response to our observation, our concerns with regard to value for money, we are now working on a framework that sets out how to assess whether a unit linked or a hybrid product offers value for money, taking into account the needs, objectives, and characteristics of a target market. That is a first step towards a broader set of tools to make it easier for firms as well as supervisors to assess costs and to help supervisors in testing the value for money of products, and by providing also practical benchmarks. In the area of conduct supervision, we therefore welcome the work done by the central bank of Ireland on price optimization and inducements. With regard to price optimizations or differential pricing, as it is also often called, while the central bank of Ireland has been at the forefront tackling this issue, through our consumer transfer, we see that it is becoming an issue across Europe as a whole, and this is something that IOPA will take up to ensure that the advantages brought in by price optimizations do not lead to unjustified discriminatory practices and financial exclusion. Now, here I'll stop discussing insurance and I want to move towards pensions. Here, of course, the European landscape is very diverse. We have different frameworks in place, we see different models, different levels of participation, and also very different types of contributions. And here in Ireland, the situation is even more specific, given that there is such a large number of IOPs, even though many of them are very small. In fact, while Ireland represents 1% of the total EU population, it lays about a claim on 50% of all pension schemes we have in Europe. And if I talk about IOPs alone, Ireland represents approximately 98% of all IOPs in the EU. And that's interesting, of course. Now, for IOPs, we also have a good foundation in place, albeit that from a regulatory point of view, it takes a minimum harmonization approach. Still, that framework is there and I think that even though the transposition of the directive also in Ireland is not without its challenges, particularly in Ireland, of course, with the high number of small IOPs, I really believe that overall, the stronger governance and risk management requirements in the directive should be seen as a very positive development. And I also think that we must think about the sustainability of schemes, especially given that the small size of the market and the high number of one-person IOPs in the long run may lead up, may cause for some challenges that that EU as a society name would have to deal with. Now, in terms of supervision, IOP can add value through opinions and discuss and agree by the national supervisors on our table to also support what is done with regard to expectations from the supervisory community, and we call those opinions. And we've published two in the area of pensions in September. One covers the supervision of the risk assessments by IOPs covering DC schemes, and it seeks to ensure that risks borne by the IOPs DC IOPs are approximately are appropriately monitored and also quantified and managed. The other opinion is on the supervisory reporting of cost and charges of IOPs. And here the point is that cost efficiency, especially in times of low yield, is very important. And 1% increase in costs now can have a 20% impact on the amount of pensions received in the end. Now, to address this, the opinion sets out expectations on the supervisory reporting of costs and charges of IOPs. And of course, it includes proportionality. IOP can and will also carefully look at the impact of the implementation of the IOP2 directive on cross-border activity. We expect to receive a call for advice on the review of the IOP2 directive early next year from the Commission. And cross-border activity will be part of it, as well as, of course, the role of sustainable finance in pensions and pension solving. And let me briefly also mention another work stream at IOPa with regard to pensions. And it has to do with something we see across the board in Europe. Even though there is a high number of pension schemes in Ireland, the proportion of employees with supplementary pension cover is low by comparison with those countries that have a mandatory or quasi-manitory system. Just 35% of the private sector workforce has such cover. And in that, Ireland is not unique. As I said, we see across the board that there are still, for good reasons, concerns about how much people are saving for retirement. And what we believe now in numbers that one in five Europeans is not saving enough or saving at all sometimes for retirement. Now, when it comes to sharing a European perspective on risks and ways to mitigate these, sharing data, identifying practices, we have a role and we can play a positive role. And so what we have done with regard to the data that we have at hand, we have responded or we will respond soon to another request of the European Commission to come up with a way to better be able to identify gaps on the pension side. And we will provide advice to the European Commission at the end of this year. One will be on advice on the development of pension dashboards to support EU and member states in monitoring the adequacy and sustainability of pension systems. So this is at the national level of dashboard that gives an indication of where you are. The second is to provide advice regarding the development of a national pension tracking tool, sorry, national pension tracking tool. And that is particularly for consumers who could then log in and just see where they themselves are with their savings based on pillar one, two and three. And so have an overview of their future retirement income and hopefully make decisions and take actions where necessary. Now by providing this support to develop dashboards and tracking systems, IOPA can help raise awareness at the individual level and the national level, provide people with information about how their pension savings are doing. This is necessary as so many people don't start thinking about their retirement. And I think you'll recognize this until they are getting too close to it. And then for many it is too late. I'll stop here with the pensions. I'm happy to take any questions. And I want to then move on to some other protection gaps and in particular with regard to the new risks we are facing. And I'll start with digitalization. Digitalization has accelerated as a result of the pandemic. It has a positive sign, lower running costs for insurers, better price policies for consumers. Many more. There are also risks, bias, exclusion, ethical use of data. These are methods we need to discuss and mitigate. We recognize that the value of digitalization and innovation brings to the sector and the society a lot of value. And at the same time, we also need to continue, monitor what is happening and motivate it at the same time, in particular in the light of the Commission's digital finance strategy. What we will do is we will focus on consumer outcomes while building the right foundations for an appropriate regulatory framework for the longer term, providing advice on how to address same activity, same risk, same rules. The other side of digitalization, and there it is, is cyber risk. And here we are seeing an increase in the number and complexity of cyber attacks. For insurance and pension funds, there is a dual challenge. Managing own risks with their organizations and across the value chain and at the same time keeping pace with the rapidly evolving nature of threats and rapidly evolving technology. Keeping this financial system safe is absolutely essential and is also where operational resilience testing and cooperation will play a role. So IELPA very much welcomes the new legislative proposal on the Digital Operational Resilience Act or DORA. And we will focus on preparing the technical work needed in its implementation so that participants in the financial system have the necessary safeguards in place to mitigate cyber attacks. We also need to consider the important role that a sound cyber insurance has in raising awareness of the risks and losses that can result from cyber attacks as well as facilitating responses and recovery. And so as part of our ongoing work, IELPA will continue to implement its cyber underwriting strategy and we also are very actively participating in the international supervisory dialogue on supervising cyber risks both in the IAS as well as in the EU-US dialogue. Last but not least, sustainability. Beyond COVID-19, it is our most immediate challenge. Both insurance and sectors play an important role in climate change, adaption and mitigation. From choosing where to invest their large sums of money for the long term to considering the impact that climate change will have on their own businesses and the impact it has on their underwriting practices. Insurance and pension funds can make a difference. At IELPA we are working on a number of different projects in this area. In the last year we have published reports on how insurers can integrate climate risk in the NETCAD underwriting calibration and on the impact and integration of climate change-related risks in underwriting and pricing. Looking ahead, IELPA will continue to ensure that reinsurance and occupational pension funds and insurers integrate sustainability risk in their risk management and that starts with the ORSA. And we also will include integrating taxonomy regulations into requirements applicable to insurance and pensions. In terms of the social taxonomy, the sustainable finance platform work on the EU social taxonomy will inform IELPA's thinking on the role that reinsurers, insurance and pension funds can have in relation to sustainability. Moreover, we very much again welcome the mandate given to IELPA on sustainability in the Solvency to Review, reassessing the NETCAD risk calibration every two years, as well as starting the thought process on risk differentials with regards to sustainable assets. Now let me conclude. And let me conclude by saying that while these are challenging times, they are also a time in which the insurance and pension sectors really can thrive. There are opportunities. For this to happen, we need strong foundations. We need strong relationships and strong commitment to work together to build insurance and pension sectors that not only prosper, but that also protect stability and protection at the heart of our mandate at IELPA. And we very much look forward to working on this with all our partners, including you all here in Ireland. And so together address the coming priorities. And with that, I'll stop. And I'm happy to take any questions.