Trump Names Tom Workman to Serve on FSOC Board
News of the appointment applauded by industry association leaders
News that the U.S. Senate confirmed Thomas Workman as the independent voting member on the Financial Stability Oversight Council – with insurance expertise – was greeted in New York and in many insurance C -suites across the country with great pleasure. Tom Workman has been an astute industry leader and his been a serious advocate both for the betterment of the business and for its standing in the realm of financial services , as the Insurance Advocate has noted many times over his years in New York as leader of LICONY.
The Senate confirmed the Trump nominee — who served as president and CEO of the Life Insurance Council of New York Inc. from 1999 to 2016, and prior to that chaired the insurance law practice group of Bricker & Eckler L.L.P. in Columbus, Ohio, from 1973 to 1999 for a six-year term, replacing Roy Woodall on the council..
The council evaluates companies’ strengths in a number of ways and was the entity that designated four nonbank institutions as systemically important financial institutions — subjecting them to stricter oversight and stricter capital requirements following the financial crisis. Recently the FSOC rescinded the SIFI designation of American International Group Inc. and New York-based MetLife Inc. and the FSOC jointly agreed to the dismissal of litigation over MetLife’s SIFI tag in January, leaving Newark, New Jersey-based Prudential Financial Inc. as the remaining nonbank SIFI. In November, the U.S. Treasury Department recommended a different approach to evaluating the potential risks posed by nonbank financial companies rather than the current method that led to the insurers being tagged as “too big to fail. Legislative proposals in the U.S. House of Representatives would eliminate the council’s ability to tag insurers as SIFIs.
“Thomas Workman’s experience and expertise from his 17 years with the Life Insurance Council of New York, Inc., will prove vital to FSOC, especially as it reviews recommendations in the Treasury Department’s report on FSOC designations,” Dirk Kempthorne, president and CEO of the American Council of Life Insurers, said in a statement on Monday. “No life insurer should be designated as systemically important. The Treasury report correctly notes that designating insurers as systemic does not help resolve potential risks to our nation’s financial stability.”
LICONY President and CEO Mary A. Griffin said, “On behalf of our organization, member companies, and staff we congratulate Thomas Workman, our former CEO, on his nomination to the Financial Stability Oversight Council. There is no doubt that his deep experience in the life insurance industry and wise judgement will serve him well in this new role. We wish him the best.”
Nick Pearson, President of the Insurance Federation of New York, on whose Board Workman had served until his confirmation, acknowledged his resignation in a letter from the Board: “Forewarned that this might be necessary as a result of your appointment to FSOC, I am sure I speak for the Board as a whole in saying that you will be missed. Your enthusiasm, collegiality, significant contributions to the success of our programming and your sage counsel are deeply appreciated. Certainly your important service to the country as an FSOC member will redound to the benefit of us all”.
Prior to his time at LICONY, Workman practiced law with Bricker & Eckler LLP in Columbus, Ohio. He has served on various boards, including the Ohio Farmers Insurance Company, the Federation of Regulatory Counsel, the Insurance Federation of New York, and on the Leadership Council of the Griffith Foundation for Insurance Education. The Association of Life Insurance Counsel awarded him the Buist M. Anderson Award for Distinguished Service. From 1970 to 1973, he was a Captain in the U.S. Army J.A.G. Corps. He received his B.S. and J.D. from The Ohio State University.
