Buffett Sees Insurance Abuse Halt By Jonathan Stempel OMAHA, Neb. (Reuters) - Warren Buffett on Sunday said recent regulatory probes into the insurance industry have all but halted abuse, and also that he has tempered some of his enthusiasm for euro-denominated investments. Buffett has in recent months received unwanted publicity as investigators probe various insurance practices, including some involving General Re Corp, a unit of his company, Berkshire Hathaway Inc. But speaking at press conference a day after answering five hours of questions before thousands of shareholders at Berkshire's annual meeting, he said the industry is aggressively ridding itself of abuse. "I really think it's gone," Buffett said. "Managements, auditors, possible whistleblowers ... I think they are so sensitized." Buffett added, though, that "there will always be outright crooks." Charlie Munger, who is Berkshire's vice chairman and sat next to Buffett, added: "We had a couple of big public hangings, and that really changed behavior." Several top industry executives lost their jobs in recent months, including Maurice "Hank" Greenberg, who ran insurer American International Group Inc., and his son Jeffrey, who ran insurance broker Marsh & McLennan Cos. Regulators have subpoenaed several companies, including General Re, on whether "non-traditional" or "loss mitigation" products might function as loans to help companies smooth earnings, or camouflage earnings weakness or losses. They interviewed Buffett on April 11 about a questionable transaction involving General Re that helped make AIG's results look better. A day later, Hank Greenberg did not answer questions from regulators examining AIG's accounting, citing his constitutional right against self-incrimination. "The question is whether there were transactions that didn't transfer enough risk to qualify as reinsurance," said Keith Trauner, who invests 20 percent of Fairholme Capital Management's $1.5 billion of assets in Berkshire shares. "There is a vast gulf between companies that bought policies and treated them incorrectly, and companies that sold policies and treated them correctly on their own balance sheets." Berkshire has said Buffett was not briefed on the AIG transaction's structure or any improper purpose. EURO INVESTMENTS, BERKSHIRE SUCCESSION     Continued ... Quelle "Buffett Sees Insurance Abuse Halt" : reuters.com Main page for "Buffett Sees Insurance Abuse Halt"