Consumer Protection

Overview

Protecting consumers is at the heart of the Central Bank’s work. Our role is to ensure that the best interests of consumers are protected while enhancing confidence and trust in the financial system through effective regulation. We fulfil our consumer protection responsibilities across our entire mandate, using our collective, broad policy and technical expertise.

We actively engage and collaborate with our many partners including the Consumer Advisory Group, consumer representative groups, other State agencies, the financial industry, the government and EU partners including international regulators. We also work closely with the other bodies responsible for financial services consumer protection in Ireland, the Financial Services and Pensions Ombudsman and the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission, to deliver our shared purpose of strong protections and fair outcomes for consumers.

Our Consumer Protection Outlook Report  sets out the five key cross sectoral risks facing consumers of financial services and the work we will do to deliver on our Strategy in relation to these risks. This work ranges from enhancing our effectiveness as supervisors to following through on existing work to secure outcomes that serve the best interests of consumers.

Our Regulatory & Supervisory Outlook Report 2026 sets out the Central Bank’s perspective on the key trends and risks that are shaping the financial sector operating landscape, and its consequent regulatory and supervisory priorities for the next two years.

We focus our efforts on those risks and vulnerabilities that pose the greatest threat to the achievement of our four interconnected safeguarding outcomes: the protection of consumer and investor interests, the safety and soundness of regulated entities, the integrity of the financial system and financial stability.

We monitor compliance with consumer protection requirements using a range of methods including:

Other useful links

Additional information which you may find useful is available in the links below: