Chile: Probe launched into insurance market over dominance abuse

Chile’s National Economic Prosecutors (FNE) will be launching a probe to look into the country’s insurance industry, over 5 years since the last major overhaul of regulations, after problems were found related to the bidding process for mortgage insurance portfolios. The investigations will be headed by the anti-monopoly division, led by attorney Gastón Palmucci.

According to figures released by the Superintendence for Securities and Insurance (SVS), the number of participants in bidding contests for these portfolios has dropped by 24% in this period, while the number of contracts up for grabs rose by 43%. The number of individual companies presenting bids for these contracts also fell sharply, by 31%.

The FNE will not as of yet investigate any possible collusion, waiting instead for results of preliminary investigations which will focus on detecting any possible infractions caused by banks and mortgage lenders themselves with their own insurance services.

Full Content: Pulso

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