Regulator to bring in 20 more staff for monitoring of foreign banks

[Wakeupcall]

THE FINANCIAL regulator is to appoint 20 more staff to its banking supervision unit to focus on “more intensive supervision” of foreign-owned banks and financial firms operating within the State. The regulator has also created a special investigations team to speed up inquiries into the banks and reporting of its findings to the regulator’s authority (board).

Regulatory staff have already been appointed to the six guaranteed Irish-owned banks and building societies, and are working on site in the institutions. Mary O’Dea, acting chief executive of the regulator, said the Government guarantee scheme had given the regulator greater supervisory powers. “We have moved to a more intrusive, questioning and less accepting approach of supervision. Our direct focus is on monitoring credit risk and the management of liquidity and impairments [bad bank loans],” she said.

Ms O’Dea said the regulator had increased its “interaction” with the boards of the guaranteed financial institutions and “where necessary we sit in on credit committee and board meetings”. The 20 staff are being recruited in addition to another 20 staff who have been hired for the regulator’s banking supervision division.

[birthday]

On a 32 hour week its not surprising that they cannot get much work done.