On-Site Inspection Eyed for Prudential Holdings of Japan

Tokyo, April 10 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s Financial Services Agency has decided to conduct an on-site inspection of Prudential Holdings of Japan Inc., the parent of scandal-tainted Prudential Life Insurance Co., it was learned Friday. The industry watchdog will examine the responsibility of the parent in supervising the insurance company, where over 100 former and current employees had illicitly received a total of 3.1 billion yen from customers since 1991. The agency will impose penalties if necessary. The two companies, both based in Tokyo, are under the wing of U.S. financial giant Prudential Financial Inc. The FSA has already started investigating Prudential Life Insurance to check its system to manage sales personnel and its measures to prevent a recurrence. Through the on-site inspection of the parent company, the agency is expected to check whether the company failed to address the illicit receipt of money despite being aware of it. “We’d like to examine the status of business management by the parent company and strictly address any problems,” financial services minister Satsuki Katayama told a press conference. Prudential Life Insurance has been suspending sales operations for new contracts since Feb. 9. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]