Eric Klopfer
Vice President, European Mortgage Insurance Operations
GE Capital

In his role as Vice President, Global Regulatory Affairs, Eric is responsible for coordinating GE’s Mortgage Insurance’s international regulatory strategy, including its response to Basel II. Eric also works on strategic market development and special projects involving GE’s global customer base, especially in the capital markets area. Currently, Eric leads efforts by private mortgage insurers to develop a pan-European regulatory focus through MITA, the Mortgage Insurance Trade Association.

Eric is from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and holds degrees (B.A./M.A.) in history from the University of Pittsburgh, a law degree from Yale, and a D.Phil in history from Oxford.

After law school, Eric served as a special assistant to a federal appeals court judge in the US, and taught literature and history at several universities. He practiced corporate law with the international law firm of Squire, Sanders & Dempsey, where he participated in privatisation activity in Central and Eastern Europe and helped draft environmental codes for Trinidad & Tobago and the Republic of Georgia. He also served as the Assistant General Counsel of Willis Corroon Corp., the international insurance broker, where he ran CBL Equities, its broker-dealer operation, as well. Eric joined General Electric Mortgage Insurance Corporation in 1998, where he has served as legal counsel for matters as wide ranging as investment management, large national accounts, product development, and GE’s Y2K readiness efforts. Eric also helped to develop the mortgage insurance programme used by the Hong Kong Mortgage Corporation that has been carefully studied by other Asian countries interested in stimulating responsible, low downpayment lending.

In recent years, Eric has drafted all of GEMICO’s regulatory responses on risk-based capital regulation, including the rules proposed for Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the Federal Home Loan Bank system in the US, and each of GE’s responses to Basel II. Eric also has drafted regulatory responses on consumer protection matters in the US and EU, and is currently meeting national regulators throughout Europe and Asia to explain the role of mortgage insurance in ensuring a safe, efficient and growth-oriented residential mortgage finance system.