Requirements and Guidance for IIA Non Retail Firms
As well as being subject to the regulatory requirements that derive from Irish legislation investment business firms authorised under the IIA are also subject to various other supervisory requirements based on the nature of their activities and the associated risks.
Guidance related to IIA Non Retail Firms
The Central Bank has issued guidance on a number of topics to assist users
of the Central Bank (Supervision and Enforcement) Act 2013 (Section 48(1))
(Investment Firms) Regulations 2023 (“the Central Bank Investment Firms
Regulations”), listed below.
Please note this guidance comes into effect at the date of publication.
The list of topics is as follows:
Investment Firms Q&A
The Investment
Firms Q&A sets out answers to queries likely to arise in
relation to the Central Bank Investment Firms Regulations, MiFID II and MiFIR. It is
published in order to assist in limiting uncertainty. It is not relevant
to assessing compliance with regulatory requirements. You should check
the website from time to time in relation to any matter of importance to you to
see if the position has altered.
On 16 January 2019, the Central Bank has published the seventh edition of its Investment Firms Q&A which includes new Q&As ID 1041 and 1042, in relation to tied agents under the MiFID II Regulations. These Q&As clarify that only EEA MiFID firms can appoint tied agents and that tied agents must be persons established in the EEA.
All previous versions of the Q&A are available here.
Corporate Governance Requirements
The Central Bank of Ireland is committed to strengthening corporate governance standards and practices across the financial services industry. The Corporate Governance Requirements for Investment Firms and Market Operators 2018 (the Requirements) provide clarity to industry and promote high standards of corporate governance within firms. They supplement and support the MiFID regime. The Requirements are intended to apply to firms authorised by the Central Bank that are designated as High, Medium High or Medium Low Impact under the Central Bank’s Probability Risk Impact System (PRISM). The Requirements will be conditions to which relevant firms are subject pursuant to Regulation 8 of the MiFID II Regulations or section 10(13) of the Investment Intermediaries Act 1995 as applicable. On that basis, the Requirements will be issued to all relevant firms so as to give such firms an opportunity to provide any submissions relevant to their individual firm prior to the Requirements taking effect with any relevant amendments from 1 July 2019. Low Impact firms are encouraged to adopt the Requirements as best practice.
Corporate Governance Requirements for Investment Firms and Market Operators 2018 | pdf 404 KB
Capital Requirement
Investment business firms authorised under the IIA are required to hold a minimum level of capital. The level of capital required will depend on the authorisation held by the firm. Firms are required to submit capital returns to the Central Bank on a periodic basis.
Consumer Requirements