An insurance firm's capital available, for the purposes of this Module, comprises two tiers. Tier 1, or core capital, comprises the highest quality capital elements that fully meet all the essential characteristics of capital. Tier 2, or supplementary capital, comprises other instruments that, to varying degrees, fall short of the quality of Tier 1 capital but nonetheless contribute to the overall financial strength of the insurance firm. Insurance firms may hold Tier 2 capital in excess of the limits in Paragraph CA-1.2.7, but any such excess is not counted as capital available for the purposes of the requirements in this Module.