​While within one year we witnessed the bankruptcy of two major RCA insurers, which destabilized the insurance market, the leadership of the Financial Supervisory Authority (ASF) remained unchanged, and the president of this body (he did not pay more than €12,500 per month). ) received 3 allowances for excellence, claim 12 people’s deputies who initiated a draft law on a radical change of the current law on this body.

The bankruptcies of Astra, Carpatica, City Insurance and, most recently, Euroins, show that the activities of the ASF in monitoring and supervising the insurance market have numerous dysfunctions, as stated in the justification of the bill initiated by non-affiliated companies. by Oan Cumber MP and signed by 11 other non-affiliated MPs and Senators, all members of REPER.

The bill was tabled in the Chamber of Deputies on March 29, the day the government postponed for the second time the draft GD to cap RCA prices in the context of the bankruptcy initiated at Euroins.

The decision-making chamber is the Senate.

• VIEW THE DRAFT LAW AND FOUNDATION RECORD HERE

What is the motivation for limiting bonuses to ASF managers

• “Within one year, we witnessed the bankruptcy of two insurance companies that together accounted for approximately 66% of the RCA insurance market in Romania, which led to a strong destabilization of the insurance market.
• Financial oversight remained under the same leadership, and the President received 3 bonuses for excellence last year. In addition, although some information was known about the problems at the insurance company, this information was not included in the report presented by the ASF to the relevant parliamentary committees.
• After analyzing the law that regulates the activities of the ASF, we found that it is a very vague legal framework, starting from the non-transparent way of appointing the leadership of the ASF and ending with the responsibility of the members of the Council to the Parliament, how they report or what bonuses they give themselves, regardless of the management results .
• Despite the fact that it is a body under the control of the parliament, unlike the provisions governing other controlled institutions, there is no provision in GEO 93/2012 on external audit of the institution’s activities and the recall of management.”, shown in the explanatory note.

What are the salaries and bonuses of ASF executives: President Nico Markou receives more than 12,500 euros every month

The parliamentarians practically refer to the information presented by Libertatea, which wrote that the president of the ASF, Niko Marku, additionally received in 2022 3 salaries of 12,5000 euros each, one of which was for the performance of his activities from the previous year: 2021.

It was in the same year that City became insolvent that RCA began to raise the price, and the information about the insolvency of Euroins was ignored. Two other salaries of €12,500 each were given on “ASF Day” and as a Christmas bonus.

According to Libertatea, in 2022 the first vice president of ASF, Doina Daskalou, received a total of 3 additional net salaries, who receives a monthly salary of 38,477 lei, as well as an allowance of 19,665, thus reaching 11,600 euros per month, as well as as three vice-presidents: Gabriel Gredinescu, Christian Rosu and Stefan Armianu.

They have a net monthly salary of 33,774 lei, as well as an allowance equal to the president’s bonus of 19,665 lei. Thus, vice presidents receive 10,600 euros net per month.

The latest data on the income and awards of the ASF management for 2022 are presented on the department’s website.

• Read more: New high-profile insurance bankruptcy. Who manages the ASF? What are the incomes of those responsible for insurance, exchange and private pensions?

Providing additional wages as a performance bonus is an old practice in the ASF.

• Read more also: Sources: More than 500 ASF employees would start receiving bonuses of thousands of euros at the end of the year, according to the collective agreement. What the leadership of the government says

Deputies propose to limit some ASF benefits in the context of events that destabilize the financial market

The initiators of the bill warn that the ASF Council members currently have complete freedom to decide what benefits they receive, despite the negative consequences that failure to fulfill their obligations may have on the financial markets.

• “Currently, there is no measure of control or limitation of the rights of the members of the board regarding the provision of benefits, such as work allowances, vacations or other monetary income, regardless of the positive or negative nature of the results of the performed activities.
• In the context of an event that has a negative impact on the financial market and that is the object of the permitting, regulatory, supervisory and control activities provided for by this emergency order, certain limitations of these freedoms of decision-making are necessary”, – clarification. note states.

The proposal in the project is to complete the Emergency Ordinance no. 93 dated 18.12.2012 regarding the establishment of ASF, to include in Article 15 a paragraph with the following content:

• “(4) In the context of an event that has a negative impact on the financial market and that is subject to the authorization, regulation, supervision and control provided for in this emergency order, the members of the FSA Board will no longer be entitled to receive income other than a monthly, respectively, official salary and financial maintenance of a council member during the year in which an event occurred that had negative consequences.”

Also proposed are changes to the skills and experience required of ASF workers

Other changes proposed in the project are aimed at the fact that in the case of the positions of president, first vice-president and vice-presidents, in addition to the criteria provided for ASF Council members, they need to confirm professional experience of at least 7 years in management positions, respectively 4 years

In addition, ASF employees who occupy management positions in the institution must provide proof of higher specialized education corresponding to the department, service or direction they lead, as well as at least 4 years of work experience in areas relevant to the performance of duties ties positions

The heads of the ASF should be dismissed even if they fail to fulfill their legal duties

The initiators of the draft law also propose that the president, first vice-president and vice-presidents may be dismissed from their positions also in case of non-fulfillment of specific duties of the ASF, namely:

• The President and the First Vice-President may also be removed from office for the failure of the ASF to perform one or more of the duties provided for in this emergency order, for the performance of functions with serious negligence that has resulted in significant disruption of the activities of the sectors controlled by the ASF, as well as for serious violation or bad faith implementation of the provisions of the law regarding the activities of the ASF.
• Vice-presidents may also be removed from office in case of failure to fulfill specific duties corresponding to the sector of financial supervision for which they were appointed.

Another provision concerns the possibility of the parliament, at the request of at least 50 deputies and senators, respectively the budget committees, to order an external audit report, on the basis of which the parliament can make a well-founded and objective decision on dismissal from office. office in connection with non-fulfillment of obligations.

Also, an external audit report may be required to verify ASF activity.

Read also what explanations regarding the bankruptcy of Euroins were given by the heads of the ASF:

• VIDEO Scandal in the Council, where the leadership of the ASF gave an explanation about the bankruptcy of Euroins: “City Insurance and Euroins were a forest mother for the population”