HKRBC Disclosure Database

Public HKRBC disclosures, made accessible

HKRBC Disclosure Database

Welcome to HKRBC Disclosure Database, a free website that archives and presents regulatory disclosures published by Hong Kong insurance companies under the Hong Kong Risk-Based Capital (HKRBC) regime.

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What is HKRBC?

The Hong Kong Risk-based Capital (HKRBC) regime is a regulatory framework introduced by the Hong Kong Insurance Authority (IA). It requires insurers to hold capital in proportion to the risks they actually face. In plain terms, the bigger the risk an insurer takes on, the more money it must set aside to back it up.

First, What Is "Capital"?

Capital is like a safety cushion. Financial institutions take risks every day. Banks may lose money when borrowers cannot repay loans. Insurers may face unexpectedly large claims. Securities firms may suffer trading losses, market movements, or counterparty defaults.

Capital acts as a buffer against these risks. It helps financial institutions absorb losses and continue to meet their obligations. The more risk a company takes, the more capital it generally needs.

"But who decides how much is enough?"

That question has been shaped and reshaped through decades of crises and reform.

Banks and insurers, left to themselves, tend to hold too little capital — because holding capital is expensive and crisis always feels distant. That is why regulation exists: to ensure they hold enough, even when the market would rather not.

1982
Latin American Debt Crisis
Mexico defaults. Major US banks face collapse.
1988
Basel I
Regulators respond: the first common minimum capital standard for international banks. Broad risk buckets.
2004
Basel II
More risk-sensitive. Three-pillar approach.
2008–2010
GFC & Basel III
Crisis exposes fragility. Stricter, deeper capital.
2016
Solvency II
EU introduces for the first time a harmonised, sound and robust prudential framework for insurance.
2024
HKRBC
Hong Kong's risk-based capital framework for insurers.

Each crisis drove stricter rules. Each regime learned from the last. HKRBC is Hong Kong's answer to that evolution.

Hong Kong's Journey to HKRBC

2011–2014
The Groundwork
IAIS Insurance Core Principles. IMF FSAP recommends RBC for Hong Kong. First public consultation launched.
2015
Direction Set
Consultation confirms broad support. IA established to replace the Office of the Commissioner of Insurance (OCI) as independent regulator.
2017
Getting Serious
IA takes over insurer regulation. QIS begins — testing with real market data.
2020
Pillar 2 Comes First
ERM and ORSA requirements take effect (GL21). Governance before capital measurement.
2022–2023
Early Adopters & Legal Framework
AIA, Prudential, FWD, Sun Life adopt HKRBC early. Amendment Bill passes LegCo.
2024 — Today
Risk-Based Era Begins
HKRBC goes live 1 July 2024. Public disclosure rules advancing — the regime shifts from "the regulator can see" to "the market can also see".

How HKRBC Works

HKRBC is built on a three-pillar structure, following the international model first introduced by Basel II and later adopted by Solvency II.

I Pillar 1
Quantitative Assessment
Measures an insurer's financial strength and how much capital is needed. Assets and liabilities are valued on a market-consistent basis, and capital base is classified by quality. Every insurer must meet the Prescribed Capital Amount (PCA) — a minimum measured according to its own risk exposures: market, insurance, counterparty, and operational.
II Pillar 2
Governance & Risk Management
Requires insurers to maintain a robust enterprise risk management (ERM) framework. Through the Own Risk and Solvency Assessment (ORSA), each insurer evaluates its risk profile, conducts stress tests, and assesses whether its capital remains adequate as conditions change. The board is accountable for oversight.
III Pillar 3
Disclosure
Requires insurers to report standardised solvency information to the IA on defined timelines and in standard formats. As public disclosure rules take effect, certain data becomes available to the general public. This enhances market discipline and transparency. hkrbc.com is built on this data.

HKRBC in Practice — a Closer Look

Economic Balance Sheet

Unlike a traditional balance sheet that may use book values, the economic balance sheet values assets and liabilities using a market-consistent basis (at current market prices). Hover each segment for more information.

For illustration purposes only.

100
38
32
5
15
10
Assets
Hover any block
Economic Balance Sheet
Hover each segment for more information.
100
20
4
76
Liabilities + Net Assets

What is "Risk-based"?

Under Hong Kong's previous rule-based solvency regime, capital requirements were tied to the scale of the insurance obligations — how much coverage was promised and how much was set aside in reserves — rather than the actual risk profile of the insurer.

HKRBC changed that. Below are two hypothetical insurers with identical policies and customers. One invests entirely in bonds. The other invests entirely in equities.

For illustration purposes only.

Under the old HKIO rules, both insurers held the same required capital (10). The formula did not ask what risks they face.

Insurer A
100% Bonds
100
Bonds 100
Assets
100
Net Assets 20
Total Liabilities 80
Required Capital = 10
Liabilities + NAV
Insurer B
100% Equities
100
Equities 100
Assets
100
Net Assets 20
Total Liabilities 80
Required Capital = 10
Liabilities + NAV

Again — How Much is Enough?

To determine how much capital an insurer must hold, HKRBC runs the EBS through a series of stress scenarios calibrated by the IA to a 1-in-200 year level — a shock severe enough that it is expected only once every two centuries. The drop in net assets under stress is the Required Capital Amount (RCA). Drag the sliders below to run three of these tests.

Equity Stress

For illustration purposes only.

100
Equities 50
Bonds 50
Assets
100
Net Assets 20
Total Liabilities 80
RCA = 0
Liabilities + NAV
0% Prescribed stress: -50%

At baseline (0% stress), the insurer holds 20 in net assets — comfortably above the required capital.

Interest Rate Stress

For illustration purposes only.

100
Equities 50
Bonds 50
Assets
100
Net Assets 20
Total Liabilities 80
RCA = 0
Liabilities + NAV
0 bps Prescribed stress: +-200bps

At baseline, the insurer holds 20 in net assets. Move the slider in either direction — one raises rates (unfavorable), the other lowers them (favorable).

Morbidity Stress

For illustration purposes only.

100
Equities 50
Bonds 50
Assets
100
Net Assets 20
Total Liabilities 80
RCA = 0
Liabilities + NAV
0% Prescribed stress: 8%

At baseline, the insurer holds 20 in net assets. Morbidity stress simulates higher-than-expected insurance claims — only the liability side is affected.

From Individual Stresses to a Single Number

Each stress scenario yields its own RCA. But insurers face multiple risks that do not all peak at the same time. HKRBC combines them through a diversification formula (a correlation matrix), producing a single Prescribed Capital Amount (PCA).

Individual Stress RCAs
Equity risk 9
Interest rate risk 10
Morbidity risk 4
Credit spread risk ..
Lapse risk ..
Counterparty default risk ..
Operational risk ..

+ other sub-risk modules

Diversification (correlation matrix)
Sum of individual RCAs PCA Solvency Ratio
33 16 125%
(undiversified) (after diversification) (Net Assets / PCA)

The diversified PCA (16) is less than the simple sum of individual RCAs (33). The diversification benefit exists because risks do not all peak simultaneously.

Ready to Explore the Data?

See how Hong Kong insurers perform under the HKRBC framework.

→ Solvency Rankings PCA Composition About

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