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knowledge 24 April 2023 |

Further Moves to Digitalisation of Financial Services Regulation

On 20 April 2023, the Central Bank Act 1942 (Service of Notices and Other Documents) (Amendment) Regulations 2023 (S.I. No. 177 of 2023) (the “2023 Regulations”) came into operation (here). The 2023 Regulations are intended to facilitate the service of documents electronically for the purposes of the Central Bank of Ireland (“CBI”)’s fitness and probity (“F&P”) regime.

Background

Owing, inter alia, to technological innovation and the increased prevalence of remote working, there is unprecedented demand on the part of regulated firms to be able to conduct business electronically. To this end, the Central Bank Act 1942 (the “1942 Act”) has already been amended by S.I. No. 300 of 2013 (the “2013 Regulations”), enabling documents to be served pursuant to that legislation by email or, by fax.

The 2023 Regulations

The 2023 Regulations extend the enactments to which the provisions of the 2013 Regulations, with regard to the service of documents electronically, apply, to include Part 3 of the Central Bank (Supervision and Enforcement) Act 2013 (the “2013 Act”).

The 2023 Regulations also enable the CBI, the Governor or the Head of Financial Regulation to serve documentation electronically pursuant to Section 3 of the Central Bank Reform Act 2010 and any regulations made under that Act. This amendment will facilitate the service of documents electronically for the purposes of the CBI’s F&P regime.

Comment

This latest development concerning the CBI is indicative of the shift towards digitalisation in financial services. It is an express aim of the CBI, in line with its current strategy (here), to be future-focussed and willing to adapt processes, in order to meet regulated firms’ needs as regards digital transformation.

Also contributed by David O’Keeffe Ioiart

This document has been prepared by McCann FitzGerald LLP for general guidance only and should not be regarded as a substitute for professional advice. Such advice should always be taken before acting on any of the matters discussed.