The Central Bank of Ireland today (Wednesday 21st August) announced the appointment of Cyril Roux as Deputy Governor, Financial Regulation.

An actuary by profession, Mr Roux will be responsible for all regulatory activities at the Central Bank. He is currently the First Deputy Secretary General of the French prudential supervisory authority for banks and insurance companies (Autorité de Contrôle Prudentiel et de Résolution ACPR). The Minister for Finance has welcomed the appointment.

The Central Bank of Ireland has published 'Feedback Statement on CP61' relating to proposed changes to the basis for calculating the industry funding levy payable by regulated entities and other levy-related matters.

This feedback statement outlines the main themes which emerged from submissions received and the Bank's response thereto. It also sets out the changes to be implemented and the estimated impact of proposed reforms on annual levies payable by regulated entities.

The European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA) published today the final report on the results of its two peer reviews on internal models.

The purpose of the peer reviews was to assess the practices of supervisors and colleges related to the review of internal models during the pre-application process.  Both peer reviews cover supervisory practices in 24 Member States.

The Society of Actuaries in Ireland today issued a joint press release and statement, together with IBEC, ICTU and IAPF,  calling for government action to save thousands of workers from pensions hardship.

On 4th July EIOPA published the first EU study on the financial situation of pension funds. The results show that the holistic balance sheet approach benefits the protection of current and future generations.  And the outcomes reinforce the need to continue working towards a market-consistent and risk-based regulatory regime in Europe.

Attached below is the SAI Newsletter from June 2013.  Included in this edition are the following articles:

With this Opinion in the field of consumer protection, EIOPA recommends national competent authorities (NCAs) to analyse their national Payment Protection Insurance (PPI) markets based on the findings of this opinion. PPI is an insurance product designed to provide coverage for the consumer of a financial obligation generally in the form of a mortgage or a consumer loan repayment, in case they are unable to fulfil a payment. The consumer protection issues surrounding PPI have triggered action from regulatory or supervisory bodies in a number of jurisdictions.

The Joint Committee of the European Supervisory Authorities (Joint Committee) held its first Consumer Protection Day on 25 June 2013 in Paris.

Consumer protection is a major objective for the European Supervisory Authorities (ESAs – EBA, ESMA, EIOPA) and under the auspices of the Joint Committee, they continue to place this high on their agenda for 2013.

The aim of the event was to provide a forum for exchange and discussion on important and current cross-sectoral consumer issues.

The European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA) has launched a public consultation on two Good Practices Reports on comparison websites and knowledge & ability of distributors of insurance products.

Today, the Minister for Social Protection, Joan Burton T.D. launched The Pensions Board Annual Report and Accounts 2012. At the launch, The Pensions Board highlighted its ongoing investigations into pensions contributions deducted by employers but not passed on to pension schemes, as well as the challenges for defined benefit schemes and concerns about the governance of Ireland’s €70 billion pensions sector.