Withdrawal of authorisation
44.—(1)  The Authority may by order withdraw the authorisation of any reinsurer, either wholly or in respect of a class of business, at the request of the reinsurer or on any of the grounds set out in subsection (2).
[11/2013]
(2)  The grounds referred to in subsection (1) are as follows:
(a)the reinsurer has not commenced the business of providing reinsurance of liabilities under insurance policies to persons in Singapore within 12 months after being authorised;
(b)the reinsurer has ceased to carry on the business of providing reinsurance of liabilities under insurance policies to persons in Singapore whether wholly or in respect of any class of business;
(c)it appears to the Authority that the reinsurer has failed to satisfy an obligation to which the reinsurer is subject by virtue of this Act;
(d)the reinsurer proposes to make or has made, whether in Singapore or elsewhere, any composition or arrangement with its creditors, has gone into liquidation or has been wound up or otherwise dissolved;
(e)a receiver, a receiver and manager, a judicial manager, or any other person having the powers and duties of a receiver, a receiver and manager or a judicial manager, has been appointed, whether in Singapore or elsewhere, in relation to, or in respect of any property of, the reinsurer or any of the shareholders of the reinsurer having control of the reinsurer;
(f)there is a change of a person having control of the reinsurer, and —
(i)the new person having control of the reinsurer is not a fit and proper person; or
(ii)the Authority is not satisfied as to the financial standing of the reinsurer after the change;
(g)the reinsurer is carrying on its business in a manner likely to be detrimental to the interests of its policy owners, whether in Singapore or elsewhere;
(h)the reinsurer is unable to meet its obligations, whether in Singapore or elsewhere;
(i)the reinsurer has contravened or is contravening —
(i)any condition of its authorisation;
(ii)any direction given by the Authority under this Act; or
(iii)any provision of this Act;
(j)any of the officers of the reinsurer holding a managerial or executive position has been convicted of any offence under this Act committed before, on or after 18 April 2013;
(k)the reinsurer has provided false, misleading or inaccurate information, or has concealed or failed to disclose material facts, in its application for authorisation;
(l)the reinsurer has had its licence or authority to operate withdrawn by the supervisory authority which is responsible, under the laws of the foreign country where the reinsurer is incorporated, formed or established, for supervising the reinsurer; or
(m)it is in the public interest to withdraw the authorisation.
[11/2013]
(3)  Before withdrawing the authorisation of a reinsurer under subsection (1) other than at the request of the reinsurer, the Authority must —
(a)give the reinsurer written notice of the Authority’s intention to do so; and
(b)in the notice referred to in paragraph (a), call on the reinsurer to show cause, within such time as may be specified in the notice, as to why the authorisation should not be withdrawn.
[11/2013]
(4)  If the reinsurer referred to in subsection (3) —
(a)fails to show cause within the time specified under subsection (3)(b) or within such extended period of time as the Authority may allow; or
(b)fails to show sufficient cause,
the Authority must give written notice to the reinsurer of the date on which the withdrawal of authorisation is to take effect.
[11/2013]
(5)  An order to withdraw the authorisation of any reinsurer made under subsection (1) other than at the request of the reinsurer does not take effect until the expiration of a period of 30 days after the Authority has informed the reinsurer of the withdrawal under subsection (4).
[11/2013]
(6)  Any reinsurer which is aggrieved by a decision of the Authority under subsection (1) to withdraw the reinsurer’s authorisation other than at the reinsurer’s request may, within 30 days after the Authority has informed the reinsurer of the withdrawal under subsection (4), appeal to the Minister in writing in accordance with Part 3B.
[11/2013]
(7)  If, within the period referred to in subsection (6), the reinsurer concerned gives notice of appeal to the Minister, the order by the Authority to withdraw the authorisation of the reinsurer does not take effect unless the order is confirmed by the Minister or the appeal is for any reason dismissed by the Minister.
[11/2013]
(8)  Despite the withdrawal of the authorisation of a reinsurer under subsection (1), so long as the reinsurer remains under any liability in respect of insurance policies belonging to the class of insurance business to which the authorisation relates, the reinsurer must take any action that it considers necessary or as required by the Authority to ensure that —
(a)reasonable provision has been or will be made for that liability; and
(b)adequate arrangements exist or will exist for the payment of premiums and claims on those policies.
[11/2013]
(9)  For the purposes of this section —
(a)a person is regarded as having control of a reinsurer if the person alone or together with any associate or associates —
(i)holds 50% or more of the issued share capital (if any) of the reinsurer; or
(ii)is in a position to control 50% or more of the voting power in the reinsurer;
(b)a reference to voting power in a reinsurer is a reference to the total number of votes that might be cast in a general meeting of the reinsurer; and
(c)a person, A, is an associate of another person, B, if —
(i)A is the spouse, or a parent, remoter lineal ancestor or step-parent, a son, daughter, remoter issue, stepson or stepdaughter, or a brother or sister, of B;
(ii)A is a body corporate that is, or a majority of the directors of which are, accustomed or under an obligation whether formal or informal to act in accordance with the directions, instructions or wishes of B;
(iii)A is a person who is accustomed or under an obligation, whether formal or informal, to act in accordance with the directions, instructions or wishes of B;
(iv)A is a subsidiary of B;
(v)A is a body corporate in which B, alone or together with other associates of B as described in sub‑paragraphs (ii), (iii) and (iv), is in a position to control at least 20% of the voting power in A; or
(vi)A is a person with whom B has an agreement or arrangement, whether oral or in writing and whether express or implied, to act together with respect to the acquisition, holding or disposal of shares or other interests in, or with respect to the exercise of their voting power in relation to, the reinsurer.
[34B
[11/2013; 35/2014]