Bid to spur insurers into investing in long-term infrastucture projects

Insurers are attracting the attentions of European Union policymakers who are trying to spur investment in long-term infrastructure projects needed to undergird the region’s stuttering economic recovery.

The European Commission, the EU’s executive arm, will publish capital rules for insurers today that will include lower requirements for investments in cross-border funds focused on lengthy projects, said Klaus Wiedner, head of the insurance and pensions unit within the Commission’s department for financial services.

Michel Barnier, the EU’s financial services chief, proposed last year that funds meeting minimum EU criteria on governance and strategy should be designated European Long-Term Investment Funds and designed to increase non-bank financing for companies. The funds would be given a passport to market themselves throughout the 28-nation bloc.