The bill is an amendment to Title 37 of the FSM Code, and if passed, will create a clear delineation between the functions of the FSM Insurance Board and the FSM Banking Board, as well as their commissioners.
Currently, the FSM Banking and Insurance Board is one entity with one commissioner overseeing both types of economic activities.
Mori said the legal duties delegated to the banking board are different from those delegated to the insurance board and that the two different industries are the subject of separate regulations and therefore two different regulatory boards are needed to avoid conflicting policies.
This situation is true for the commissioner as well. Section 203 of Title 37 is explicit in that the insurance commissioner “shall not hold or occupy any other office unless approved in writing by the president.”
The intent of this is to enable the insurance commissioner to concentrate on insurance matters assigned to him by the insurance board.
Because the banking commissioner may also serve as the insurance commissioner under the current Title 37, this contradicts the intent of the provision.
Moreover, Mori believes that the situation could create potential conflicts because the insurance commissioner must serve and fulfill separate obligations of regulating two distinct economic activities.
