With the exception of two tracker mortgage cases, no bank, insurer, brokerage or other finance firm has been sanctioned for breaching the Central Bank’s Consumer Protection Code. Nor have any individuals in any firms regulated by the Central Bank had enforcement actions taken against them. Given that there are some 10,000 firms regulated by the Central Bank, it stretches credulity that none of these firms, or those who work in them, have not acted recently in a way that merits sanction. It is extraordinary that in the 10 years up to 2016 the Central Bank issued 26 fines for breaches of the code. In this country, responsibility for consumer protection must be removed from the Central Bank and powers and funding handed to a separate consumer protection body.

Source: Irish Independent November 13, 2020 02:37 UTC