Philippines: Insurance watchdog issues umbrella investment guidelines
Source: Asia Insurance Review | May 2025
The Insurance Commission (IC) has issued Circular Letter (CL) on the “Omnibus Guidelines on Investments”, to enhance investment adaptability of insurers, reinsurers and mutual benefit associations (MBAs) to respond to the dynamic investment market environment.
The IC also aims to further empower these regulated entities to make well-informed investment decisions with the aim of ensuring the stability and growth of their respective financial assets while safeguarding the interests of their policyholders,” said Insurance Commissioner Reynaldo A Regalado.
The umbrella guidelines consolidate CLs on allowable investments of the regulated entities, thus streamlining and updating the existing allowable investments framework. They also introduce a range of new allowable investments, which include structured products, debt securities issued by supranational organisations, and investment vehicles. The new CL mandates that each new allowable investment must meet minimum credit rating requirements or be listed on recognised exchanges, which provides a layer of transparency and market oversight.
Meanwhile, the new CL also lifted the prior approval requirement under previous issuances for certain Philippine peso and foreign currency-denominated investments that meet accepted market-wide standards and have gone through external review processes and scrutiny, such as credit rating and listing on recognised exchanges, among others.
“By issuing these new Omnibus Guidelines, we are addressing the bottlenecks that hinder timely investment decisions and strain regulatory resources,” Mr Regalado stated. A