Federal Reserve Board Chairman Ben S. Bernanke said the Fed is discussing the feasibility of a quantitative impact study to examine the impact of proposed Basel III capital standards rules on the insurance sector. During questioning at the Feb. 27, 2013, the semiannual hearing on monetary policy before the House Financial Services Committee (webcast), Bernanke said “we recognize that there are important differences between banks and insurance companies...we have also heard from Congress about this insurance banking distinction, and we're looking at it very seriously.” Bernanke added that the Fed has been consulting with state insurance regulators, the federal insurance office, the insurance industry and many other stakeholders “to make sure we understand these issues.” Bernanke acknowledged that the Fed wants to get the rules out as quickly as possible, but “we need to make sure that they're appropriately set for the insurance business model, and that will take some time to study and understand.”