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C Bank set out enforcement priorities

Tuesday, February 12 12:00:03

The Central Bank this morning set out its priorities for 2013 in enforcement and themed reviews and inspections for the financial sector.

It said it will pursue enforcement actions across a number of topics, including non-compliance identified by its Supervisory Divisions, targeting brokers, payment protection insurance, errors and overcharging among others.

"Where serious breaches of these regulatory requirements occur, regulated entities and their management can expect vigorous investigation and follow through by the Central Bank," it warned.

During 2012, the Central Bank entered into 16 enforcement settlements with regulated entities resulting in fines totalling E8,492,900 being imposed.

All of the actions taken during 2012 related to one or more of the priority areas highlighted at the outset of the year.

"The Central Bank aims to build upon the work carried out in these priority areas in 2013," it said. Head of Enforcement 1 Division, Derville Rowland said: "This is the third year that the Enforcement Directorate has published a list of Enforcement Priorities highlighting areas of significant importance to the Central Bank. We have again worked closely with our Supervisory Divisions to prioritise the areas of greatest concern to them."

The Central Bank also published its planned series of themed reviews and inspections for this year.

Among the main themes will be a focus on how lenders adhere to the Code of Conduct on Mortgage Arrears. This will be a review of various elements of the mortgage arrears process to inform its upcoming review of the CCMA, it said.

It is also looking at Sales incentives in the banking, insurance, investment and stockbroking sectors. This will be an assessment of how firms have structured staff remuneration and sales incentives to ensure they meet the Consumer Protection Code and other relevant regulatory requirements.