Regulatory Service Standards Performance Report H2 2018 Published

• Central Bank issues its H2 2018 report on performance against authorisation service standards.
• 38 of the 39 authorisation service standards, which applied during the period were either met or exceeded.
• Firms who submit applications that demonstrate compliance with the requirements, and fully engage with the authorisation process are now being authorised.

The Central Bank of Ireland has published the Regulatory Service Standards Performance Report for the second half of 2018. This report sets out the Central Bank’s performance against standards and deadlines it has committed to for the authorisation of financial service providers and fitness and probity applications.

The Central Bank is responsible for the authorisation and supervision of financial services firms and approving those who want to work in the sector under the Fitness and Probity regime.

Deputy Governor Ed Sibley said: “Since the Brexit referendum the Central Bank has seen an increase in the number of applications for authorisation from all sectors. These include applications for new authorisations and material changes to existing business in Ireland.

“We are committed to providing a clear, robust and timely authorisation process, while ensuring a rigorous assessment of each application. Our gatekeeping role is important in mitigating financial stability risks and protecting market integrity and customers in Ireland and across Europe. It is imperative that any new business authorised in Ireland meets the high standards that are expected of any such firm authorised in the EU – consistent with them effectively being, in many cases, an EU head office responsible for business undertaken in multiple jurisdictions.

“In H2 2018, there was an increase in the number of applications from almost every sector. We have allocated resources to ensure an effective, efficient and timely processing of applications. Currently over half of the Brexit applications received have been fully processed and we expect that an additional significant number will be processed in full over the coming weeks. Firms who submit applications that demonstrate compliance with the requirements, and fully engage with the authorisation process are now being authorised.”

Notes:

There are 44 Service Standards in total but, depending on the nature of engagement with the Central Bank, not all standards may apply in any given period. In H2 of 2018, 38 of the 39 standards that applied were either met or exceeded.

The authorisation service standards cover the service standards for new authorisations but not the assessments of material changes to existing business in Ireland.