Transforming Regulation and Supervision
In our Strategic Plan (PDF 5.69MB), Central Bank of Ireland committed to transforming its approach to regulation and supervision.
This recognised that in a rapidly changing world it is necessary to transform our approach to supervising the financial services sector to ensure we continue to deliver on our mandate into the future.
In delivering this strategic aim, we have focused on four key aspects:
- Accelerating the evolution of our risk-based supervisory approach such that it becomes more data-driven, agile and scalable
- Harnessing innovation in how we work through developing our data and tools (including supervisory technology)
- Anticipating and supporting innovation in financial services and
- Preparing for new EU anti-money laundering requirements and the establishment of the new EU agency AMLA.
Delivery in this work can already be seen in a number of improvements we have made over the last two years.
This includes the tools we are developing for our supervisors, and the improvements we have made to our technology portals for industry.
We have also enhanced our engagement with innovation in financial services, and will deliver our first Innovation Sandbox Programme later in the year.
Our transformation is also evident in the step change we have made in our communications with industry and our wider stakeholders – including increasing transparency and the clarity of our expectations.
Examples of this includes the Financial Industry Forum and its subgroups, extensive engagement with our wider stakeholders, and the inaugural publication of the Regulatory and Supervisory Outlook Report and the Authorisations and Gatekeeping Report. (PDF 705.08KB)
New supervisory approach
We are now making important announcements about our future supervisory approach, which is a key part of delivering on the Transformation and Safeguarding themes of our organisational strategy.
In designing our new approach, we reflected EU and global best practice while recognising also the particular strategic advantage the Central Bank has by virtue of having all elements of the central banking and financial regulation mandate in one organisation.
Our supervisory model will remain risk-based but is evolving to deliver a more integrated approach to supervision, drawing on all elements of our mandate (consumer and investor protection, safety and soundness, financial stability and integrity of the system).
This will position us better as an organisation to meet our objectives to ensure consumers of financial services are protected in all respects in a changing and increasingly complex and interconnected financial landscape.
It will enable us to continue to deliver on our mission and ensure the financial system operates in the best interests of consumers and the wider economy.
The new operating structure will include seven directorates, which will report into the existing Deputy Governors for Financial Regulation and Consumer and Investor Protection:
- There will be three directorates responsible for sectoral supervision; a Banking & Payments Directorate, an Insurance Directorate and a Capital Markets & Funds Directorate. All three directorates will have integrated teams responsible for all elements of our mandate and supervising risks as they relate to the sector. This means supervising to protect consumer and investor interests, safety and soundness and the integrity of the system at a sectoral and an individual firm level.
- There will be a Horizontal Supervision Directorate working in partnership with the sectoral supervisory teams on a system-wide and thematic basis. It will provide specialist input on key cross-sectoral risks such as conduct, behaviour and culture, anti-money laundering and terrorist financing, financial resilience, operational resilience and technology risks.
- There will also be a Supervisory Risk, Analytics and Data Directorate, a Policy and International Directorate and an Enforcement Directorate.
The Central Bank plans to implement these changes in early 2025.
Further information and engagement with stakeholders to explain the changes will take place as work progresses over the coming months.
Transforming Regulation and Supervision – Frequently Asked Questions
Through our system of regulation and supervision, we seek to achieve four critical safeguarding outcomes:
- Protection of Consumer and Investor interests
- Safety and soundness of firms and the wider system
- Integrity of the system
- Financial stability
Our existing approach sees separate areas of the Central Bank focus on different aspects of our work – one area might be focused on safety and soundness, for example, and another on consumer protection. While this has worked well - the Central Bank is seen internationally as a strong and effective regulator – we believe we can further strengthen our system.
So, from January 2025, we are moving to an integrated supervisory model where directorates overseeing the banking & payments (including credit unions), insurance and funds & capital market sectors will have all those teams in the same place. Each of these directorates will be responsible for the supervision of all the regulatory requirements in their respective sectors and delivering our four safeguarding outcomes. Our new model for supervision will remain risk-based. This means we will spend more time supervising sectors, firms and issues that pose the greatest potential risk to our safeguarding outcomes.
The pace of change, volume and complexity of the financial system continues to increase. Regulated sectors are growing and the number of regulated firms is increasing, with new, innovative business models. This means an increase in new types of risk.
As the financial system evolves, we must evolve how we regulate and supervise to address such risks. This includes emerging risks to consumers and investors from the new ways in which they can buy, acquire, use and engage with financial services. Our new supervisory model will enable us to be more efficient and effective in our supervisory work given this rapidly changing environment.
In some countries, central banking and financial regulation are undertaken by separate organisations. In Ireland, the Central Bank has responsibility for both. This affords us broad and deep expertise to deliver on our mission.
To support the new supervisory model, we are putting a new organisational structure in place - one which recognises the particular strategic advantage the Central Bank has by virtue of having all elements of the central banking and financial regulation mandates in one organisation.
The new organisational structure sees the creation of seven unique directorates, which will report into the existing Deputy Governor for Financial Regulation and Deputy Governor for Consumer & Investor Protection:
- The Banking & Payments Directorate (including Credit Unions), Insurance Directorate and Capital Markets & Funds Directorate are responsible for supervising the various regulated sectors and firms which comprise the financial services industry. These directorates will have integrated teams responsible for all elements of our mandate. This means supervising to protect consumer and investor interests, safety and soundness, financial stability and the integrity of the system at an individual firm and sectoral level.
- There will be a Horizontal Supervision Directorate working in partnership with the sectoral supervisory teams on a system-wide and thematic basis. It will deliver supervision across key cross-sectoral risks such as conduct, behaviour and culture, anti-money laundering and terrorist financing, financial resilience, operational resilience and technology risks.
- There will also be a Supervisory Risk, Analytics & Data Directorate, a Policy & International Directorate, and an Enforcement Directorate.
The new directorates and directors are as follows:
- Banking & Payments (Director - Domhnall Cullinan)
- Insurance (Director - Seána Cunningham)
- Capital Markets & Funds (Director - Gerry Cross)
- Horizontal Supervision (Director - Patricia Dunne)
- Supervisory Risk Analytics & Data (Director - Adrian Varley)
- Enforcement (Director - Colm Kincaid)
- Policy & International (Director - Mary Elizabeth McMunn)
Adopting an integrated approach to supervision will enable us to address more effectively all of the aspects of a firm’s activities which can produce risk. This can be everything from a firm’s culture, its governance, the nature of the products and services it sells, or the systems and processes it uses.
We have adopted an integrated approach for our work on a number of significant issues in recent years, so we know how effective it can be. For example, we have used integrated teams to deal with recent changes in the banking sector and the unique challenges presented by Covid-19 and Brexit. This approach has proven to be a very effective way of dealing with these complex matters with interconnected risks at play.
We are confident that this new supervisory approach will deliver significant benefits in improving the outcomes we are seeking to achieve and is the best way forward for the Central Bank to successfully deliver on our mission, in the public interest, over the next decade and more.
Our commitment, role and work in protecting consumers of financial services is not changing. Consumer protection continues to be core to the Central Bank’s mandate and we are confident these changes will strengthen how we deliver on this work.
The Central Bank, and its leadership team led by Governor Makhlouf, will continue to deliver on the whole of our mandate, which has at its core the objective of protecting the best interests of consumers and the wider economy.
The focus on consumer protection at the most senior level of the Central Bank will not change. The Deputy Governor for Consumer and Investor Protection will continue to have consumer protection at the heart of their role and responsibilities.
Our existing consumer protection experts will now be located within all supervisory directorates where they will work within multi-disciplinary teams in a more integrated way. Additional specialist teams will work on key risks facing consumers (including conduct risk, cyber risks, protecting client assets and governance risk). This will enhance our focus on protecting consumers’ best interests. Also, by integrating and embedding consumer protection explicitly in the supervisory responsibilities of all the directors in the financial regulation area of the Central Bank, our focus on protecting consumers will be enhanced.
Our
Consumer Advisory Group will continue to play its important role in advising the Central Bank on the performance of our functions and the exercise of our powers in relation to consumers of financial services.
Our new supervisory model and organisational structure will commence implementation from January 2025. Further engagement with stakeholders on the changes will occur for the remainder of 2024 and throughout 2025.