A report on General Reinsurance Australia has been given to the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) after an 18-month investigation.

The regulator appointed actuary Estelle Pearson in April last year to investigate the reinsurer’s involvement in transactions that allowed insurers to inflate their reported earnings and disguise known future losses.

APRA spokesman Stuart Snell told Sunrise Exchange News the regulator is considering the report.

“There are also some other consultations that we need to undertake with the Government and other regulators. We’ll be meeting with the Attorney-General’s Department.”

Mr Snell could not name the companies involved in the investigation, but General Re’s financial reinsurance packages were used by FAI and Zurich, among others. Several of General Re’s senior executives, including former CEO Geoff Barnum, have been banned by APRA. It is believed Ms Pearson interviewed four directors of General Re Australia in June.

General Re Australia is a subsidiary of General Re Corporation, which is wholly owned by Berkshire Hathaway.

Other arms of the General Re group are also under investigation by regulators in the US, the UK, Ireland, Germany and Canada over financial reinsurance deals.