Apollo CEO Marc Rowan Slams Delaware Insurance Regulators

CEO of Apollo Global Management Inc. Marc Rowan criticized insurance regulators in Delaware for failing to oversee insurance companies owned by Mark Walter. Speaking at the Bank of America Securities Financials CEO conference on Wednesday, Rowan alleged that the Delaware Department of Insurance permitted two of Walter's insurers to mislabel more than $20 billion in investments as unaffiliated.

These insurance companies are currently under federal investigation regarding loans made to affiliated entities. These entities include ownership stakes in the Los Angeles Dodgers, Los Angeles Lakers, and Chelsea Football Club. Rowan argued that such failures represent a "wake-up moment for the U.S. regulatory system."

Rowan warned that regulatory arbitrage and a "race to the bottom" among states attempting to attract reinsurance business threaten the stability and trust of the industry. He compared certain U.S. state practices to "onshore Caymans," claiming that loosening rules to attract business weakens the solvency of domestic insurers.