Irish Consumer Credit Sector in the Spotlight as Central Bank of Ireland Expands Regulatory Perimeter
Plenty of changes are afoot for the Irish consumer credit markets, following the enactment of the Consumer Protection (Regulation of Retail Credit and Credit Servicing Firms) Act 2022 (the “Act”). The Act extends the Central Bank of Ireland’s (CBI’s) consumer protection framework to a broader range of firms and consumer credit activities, with the aim […]
Ten Trends to Watch in Ireland’s Regulatory Outlook for 2022
Ireland’s regulatory authorities brought 2021 to an end with two statements of intent: a major fine levied on the Bank of Ireland and a “Dear CEO” letter requiring rapid action from Payment and E-Money institutions. Should financial services companies expect more change in the regulatory outlook for 2022? In a recent webinar, fscom’s experts sought to […]
A Week of Sanctions: how should firms respond?
It has been a fast-moving week for the world and the main pillar of the international response in relation to the Ukraine Russian crisis has been the imposition of strict sanctions against Russian and Russian-linked businesses and individuals by jurisdictions around the world. The UK Government has been particularly active in this respect. All of […]
Best Practice Guidance for AML and CTF risk assessments
All financial services firms in the UK are required to carry out risk assessments for Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and Countering Terrorist Financing (CTF). Yet a survey of AML audits reveals that some firms do not have risk assessments, and many that do, fail to record the rationale they adopted when arriving at their risk assessment. Effective AML […]
How fscom’s distinct location and expertise helps firms to navigate compliance challenges in the UK, Ireland and the EU
The UK and Ireland are home to many of the leading players across financial services and fintech. One of the main reasons for this is that the Financial Conduct Authority and the Central Bank of Ireland have devoted payments and e-money authorisation and supervision teams that understand the fintech ecosystem and the impact of regulation […]
Dear CEO: Central Bank of Ireland sets expectations for Payment and E-Money firms
It’s not quite a Christmas card, but all Payment and E-money firms in Ireland received a “Dear CEO” letter from the Central Bank of Ireland earlier this month. The letter from Mary-Elizabeth McMunn, Director of Credit Institutions Supervision, sets out the actions Boards and senior management are expected to carry out to ensure ongoing compliance […]
The building blocks of operational resilience for financial services firms
How ready is your company to become operationally resilient? If you aren’t sure, you will need an answer soon because the Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA) PS21/3 rule requires financial firms to have carried out a number of activities towards operational resilience by 31 March 2022. With time running out, how can firms ensure they are ready by […]
The FCA’s approach to payment and e-money institution authorisations: your key questions answered!
The impact of Brexit is a frequent – and often contested – topic of debate in virtually every industry. But the impact on payment and e-money firms based in the European Economic Area is clear: they can no longer establish a UK presence or carry out certain activities there without becoming authorised by the Financial […]
The Pandora Papers – Lessons in Compliance
“The Panama Papers on steroids” is how the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists have described their latest leak of confidential financial documents. The leak of the “Pandora Papers” includes documents relating to 35 current and former world leaders, more than 330 political and public figures, and covers 91 countries and territories. They provide an insight […]
Six steps to effective safeguarding for payment and e-money institutions
How can payment and e-money institutions meet regulatory requirements to safeguard consumers’ funds? fscom’s Director Alison Donnelly and Independent Payments Consultant Russell Burke, formerly Payment Authorisation Lead in the Central Bank of Ireland, tackled this key question at a webinar hosted by the Association of Compliance Professionals in Ireland (ACOI) last week. How should payment […]
