François Villeroy de Galhau: Presentation of the 2021 Annual Report of the Prudential Supervision and Resolution Authority

Speech by Mr François Villeroy de Galhau, Governor of the Bank of France, Chair of the Prudential Supervision and Resolution Authority (ACPR) and Chair of the Board of Directors of the Bank for International Settlements, at the ACPR press conference, Paris, 31 May 2022.

The views expressed in this speech are those of the speaker and not the view of the BIS.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

I am very pleased to welcome you to our presentation of the Annual Report of the Autorité de contrôle prudentiel et de résolution (ACPR – Prudential Supervision and Resolution Authority), in the company of Jean-Paul Faugère, Vice-Chairman of the ACPR, Dominique Laboureix, Secretary General of the ACPR, and Alain Ménéménis, President of the Sanctions Committee. Last year was marked by a vigorous recovery of our economy, during which our financial sector proved particularly robust (I). 2022 should now see substantial advances on the regulatory front (II). However, the war in Ukraine is posing new risks to the financial sector, calling for heightened vigilance (III). In all these situations, the women and men of the ACPR have worked tirelessly to ensure that the French financial system remains resilient under all circumstances, providing adequate financing to the economy. I would like to extend my warm thanks to them.

I. The strength of the French financial sector is more than ever an asset for our economy

I shall start with just a short word on the situation for insurers, which Jean-Paul Faugère will go into in greater depth. In the context of the economic recovery in 2021, the insurance sector saw a return to growth in all its activities: net inflows increased by 18% compared with the previous year. This allowed insurers to consolidate their solvency, with the average Solvency Capital Requirement (SCR) coverage ratio rising to 253% after the slight decline seen during the Covid crisis.