Supervision

The Central Bank’s supervisory objectives are to protect consumers and financial stability by seeking to ensure that regulated firms:

  • Act in the best interests of consumers
  • Are financially sound and safely managed with sufficient financial resources
  • Are governed and controlled appropriately, with clear and embedded risk appetites, which drive an appropriate culture within them
  • Have frameworks in place to ensure failed or failing providers go through orderly resolution

Who We Supervise

View more detailed information on the supervision process applicable to the following financial services providers in the different industry and market sectors.

How We Supervise

We implement our supervisory role by:

  • Processing applications from financial services providers for authorisation in Ireland
  • Monitoring compliance with prudential standards, primarily through examining prudential returns (weekly, monthly and annual), financial statements and annual reports, conducting regular review meetings and on-site inspections
  • Developing systems and procedures to monitor activities and detect non-compliance by financial service providers
  • Issuing guidance notes to enhance our supervisory oversight due to continued growth and changes in financial markets
  • Supporting the development of domestic legislation and implementing EU regulations and international standards

Our Supervisory Activities

The following topics contain more information on some of our supervisory activities.

This overview does not apply to on-site inspections for significant credit institutions under SSM. For specific information on how these are carried out, please refer to the ECB's Guide to Banking Supervision.

Inspections Review meetings
Aim

Confirm compliance with our regulatory requirements, assess corporate governance structures, internal controls and risk management systems.

Cover compliance issues and outstanding issues from last inspection

Notification

We endeavour to provide approximately 10 days notice of an inspection.

In writing prior to meeting date with agenda for meeting.

Duration

One day to two weeks depending on size of financial service provider

Half-day

Location

Off-site

On and Off-site

Conclusion

Post-inspection letter usually issued within 30 working days of close-out meeting (This deadline will not apply to themed inspections.)

N/A

When a financial service provider authorised in Ireland by the Central Bank (home state regulator) is operating under a passporting arrangement in another EU member state (host state regulator) the Central Bank, as home state regulator, is responsible for the prudential supervision of that entity.

On that basis, the Central Bank's supervisory responsibilities cover:

  • Irish-authorised financial service groups and other providers with a head office in Ireland
  • Irish subsidiaries of financial service groups whose head office is authorised by an overseas regulator
  • Overseas branches of Irish authorised financial service providers
  • Compliance with anti-money laundering regulations by EU branches operating in Ireland
  • Compliance with conduct of business rules by all financial service providers operating in Ireland (including those authorised elsewhere)
For specific information on how EU passporting operates under SSM, please refer to the credit institutions section of this website.
For more information about the process and to submit a Fitness and Probity Individual Questionnaire, please see our Fitness and Probity section.

We have introduced a number of codes of conduct to give added protections to consumers when dealing with financial services providers.

Read more about the Consumer Protection Code and how we monitor compliance with this Code.

The Central Bank has issued documents in relation to Inquiry Guidelines and an Outline of the Administrative Sanctions Procedure. Read more about these in our Administrative Sanctions Procedure section.