Senior Executive Accountability Regime Imminent

The Central Bank of Ireland (CBI) recently published its "Consumer Protection Outlook for 2021" (the Report). In the Report, the CBI states that one of its priorities in 2021 is to "deliver intrusive risk-based supervision and intensify [its] targeted assessment of firms and sectors that pose the greatest potential harm to consumers and investors". The Central Bank stresses the importance for firms to exhibit a consumer focused culture and requires senior individuals to take responsibility for embedding such culture and behaviour in their organisations.

The Central Bank is working closely with the Department of Finance to develop a proposed Individual Accountability Framework (see our previous article on this topic  here) with the goal of producing better outcomes for investors and consumers. The Individual Accountability Framework will aim to hold firms and their senior individuals accountable for living up to certain standards which will allow the Central Bank to