ACCA welcomes the opportunity to provide feedback on this consultation “Prohibition Notices under the Fitness and Probity Regime”.

The Central Bank of Ireland (CB) has an important role to play in serving the public interest balancing the need to maintain monetary and financial stability with the importance of safeguarding the interests of consumers and the broader economy.  Regulatory procedures to mitigate against inappropriate behaviour by a Subject are a key safeguard. 

The draft Supplementary Guidance in this area is very welcomed, and we commend the Central Bank of Ireland for their work on this guidance. We find the guidance to be clear and relevant however, we would suggest the CB consider the following:

• inclusion of an additional relevant circumstance in Table 1 being the likelihood of the Subject repeating the conduct they have been sanctioned for and /or other conduct that might raise concerns about Fitness and Probity. It may also be helpful for the guidance to include a note, that several of the relevant circumstances may arise together in a case and how this will be considered when determining whether a prohibition is appropriate.
• setting out examples of mitigating circumstances to encourage consistency among decision makers and to improve transparency
• stipulating a minimum prohibition period during which the prohibited person cannot seek a termination of a Prohibition Agreement or cannot apply for a revocation/variation of the prohibition notice to the High Court
• the appropriateness of the process to vary or revoke a confirmed Prohibition Notice as currently the Subject must apply to the High Court and cost may be prohibitive

To read our comments in full, please download the document found on this page.