GERMANY - The German financial services watchdog Bundesanstalt für Finanzdienstleistungsaufsicht (BaFin) has written to its members - including pension funds - stressing governance frameworks need to be in place for the introduction of Solvency II.

In a new consultation on the minimum requirement for risk management (MaRisk), the watchdog outlines "a framework for the arrangement of the risk management of the supervised enterprises, groups and financial conglomerates", among which German pension funds are included.

BaFin said in the consultation it intends to prepare the German insurance markets for the Solvency II framework.

However, the watchdog added ‘Pensionskassen' and ‘Pensionsfonds', who exclusively deliver services for the corporate pension schemess, should also consider the framework set out in the document.

"The targets specified in this circular need to be fulfilled by all institutions, also by those, which under European Union guidelines fall under the so-called "trifle boundary"," said BaFin, though acknowledging the way different institutions will implement governance might vary.

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