Carlos Montalvo has been confirmed as the first executive director of the recently-established European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA).

Montalvo's selection for the role was announced near the end of February, and was subject to confirmation by the European Parliament. In today’s announcement, the authority said the role has been confirmed following an open hearing on 17 March.

Formerly an insurance supervisor for the Spanish insurance and pensions supervisory authority, Montalvo moved to Frankfurt in November 2007 where he has been secretary general of the Committee of European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Supervisors.

In a statement announcing the appointment, Montalvo thanked the Parliament for entrusting him with the job and said he felt privileged to serve as the authority’s first executive director.

“This is an ambitious project and we have many challenges ahead of us. Our goal is to establish EIOPA as an effective, efficient and transparent Authority that will serve the citizens of Europe. We simply cannot afford to fall short, and we will not,” Montalvo said.

EIOPA was established as a result of reforms to the structure of financial supervision in the European Union initiated by the European Commission. The Frankfurt-based authority is an independent advisory body to the European Parliament, the Council of the European Union and the European Commission.

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