Further French IORP Vehicle On The Cards As Austerlitz Seeks Switch

One of France’s provident institutions is looking to take on pension fund status, having requested formal authorisation as an “institution de retraite professionelle supplémentaire (IRPS).  

ACPR, the supervisor for the banking and insurance sectors in France, published an official notice about the request – from Institution de Prévoyance Austerlitz – yesterday, with creditors having two months to register views on the draft authorisation.   

Institution de Prévoyance Austerlitz is planning to change its name to Institution Austerlitz in connection with the transformation into an IRPS, a new type of occupational pensions vehicle.

Approval would take to four the number of these vehicles being lined up in France, following moves by insurance entities Aviva and Malakoff-Médéric last year, and Sacra this year.

The vehicles were introduced by a 2016 law known as “loi Sapin”, and are subject to a regulatory framework combining elements of the IORP Directive and Solvency II, but not the latter’s capital charges and other financial requirements.

Institution de Prévoyance Austerlitz delivers supplementary pension plans for former employees of three lenders: Crédit National, Banque Française du Commerce Extérieur (BFCE), and Credit d’Equipement des PME (CEPME). The plans are closed.