US insurance regulators ease private credit ratings scrutiny following industry opposition

US insurance regulators have pared back proposed oversight of credit rating agencies that assess insurers' private debt holdings, according to the Financial Times as relayed by Private Equity Wire. The National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) dropped plans to make rating providers disclose confidential regulatory assessments and to examine how their credit risk views compare across asset classes.

Rating agencies including S&P Global Ratings and KBRA had objected, arguing the measures could weaken the independence of ratings and disadvantage emerging asset classes such as private credit. Under the revised framework, the NAIC can still review information from credit rating regulators and decide whether providers or asset classes stay eligible for its capital treatment framework.