The Central Bank of Ireland's (the
"CBI") administrative sanctions
procedure (the "ASP") received a strong
endorsement in a High Court judgment delivered in January. The
judgment concerned a challenge brought by Michael Fingleton, the
former chief executive of Irish Nationwide Building Society
("INBS"), aimed at overturning the
CBI's decision to conduct a formal hearing into the role played
by Mr Fingleton in alleged regulatory breaches at INBS.
The decision to conduct the formal hearing was made by the CBI
under the ASP, where the CBI may hold a formal hearing called an
'Inquiry' where it suspects on reasonable grounds that a
regulated financial services provider
("RFSP") and / or a person concerned in
its management has breached any requirement or law coming within
the CBI's remit, known as a 'prescribed contravention'.
The purpose of an Inquiry is to determine whether a contravention
has occurred and to decide upon the appropriate sanction.
