On 17 November, 2020, the Central Bank of Ireland (the
CBI) issued a second "Dear CEO" letter on fitness and probity,
following thematic on-site inspections which it conducted on a
sample of firms in the insurance and banking sectors. The CBI's first "Dear CEO" letter on
the topic was issued in April 2019.
The CBI has highlighted that it expects all firms to take
appropriate action to deal with the issues addressed in the letter,
and that the letter should be read in conjunction with its prior
"Dear CEO" letter, the Fitness and Probity Standards and
associated fitness and probity guidance. Below we have looked at
some of the CBI's key findings.
Key Findings
- Lack of scrutiny over board
appointments – The CBI found that in some firms there
was a lack of scrutiny and formality in relation to board
appointments (such as lack of interview notes and suitability
assessments to support board appointments) and succession plans did
not meet expectations, or were not