Bernanke backs optional fed charter for insurance

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke today backed the idea of creating an optional federal charter for insurance, according to the American Bankers Insurance Association. Speaking before a House Financial Services Committee hearing on monetary policy, he was asked by Rep. Ed Royce, R-Calif., whether he backed an optional federal charter. “It would be a useful idea,” Mr. Bernanke replied, according to a release issued by ABIA, an affiliate of the American Bankers Association. Both are in Washington. The ABIA and other insurance groups, including the American Council of Life Insurers, have called for an optional federal charter. The idea is opposed, however, by state insurance regulators and insurance agent groups.