Speech by Gerry Cross, Director, Capital Markets and Funds, Central Bank of Ireland at Compliance Institute AGM - Supervising for success: some themes for a time of change
Executive Summary
This speech by Gerry Cross, Director of Capital Markets and Funds at the Central Bank of Ireland (CBI), outlines key supervisory priorities including securing customers' interests via the revised Consumer Protection Code, Individual Accountability Framework (IAF) implementation, regulatory simplification, resilience, technology leverage, and an evolving outcomes-focused supervision approach. It matters because it signals CBI's expectations for compliance professionals to drive these outcomes in firms, emphasizing proportionality and ongoing engagement amid regulatory evolution. Compliance teams must integrate these themes to align with CBI's shift toward less process-driven, more effective oversight. #
What Changed
- Revised Consumer Protection Code: Introduces new Standards for Business, building on the Code reviewed with industry input; focuses on delivering good outcomes for consumers and the economy. - Individual Accountability Framework (IAF): Implemented 18 months prior (circa mid-2024); enhances clarity on responsibilities, supports governance, and aligns with outcomes-focused regulation rather than enforcement-heavy approaches. - Supervisory Approach Evolution: Shifting in 2025-2026 to risk-based, outcomes-focused, less process-driven supervision integrated across financial stability, consumer protection, safety/soundness, and system integrity. - Regulatory Simplification: Openness to reviewing frameworks (e.g., fitness and probity) for simpler, outcomes-based alternatives without compromisin
What You Need To Do
- Implement Revised Consumer Protection Code
- Adopt Outcomes-Focused Practices
- Engage with CBI
- Leverage Technology
Key Dates
Compliance Impact
Urgency: Medium. This speech reinforces imminent obligations like the 24 March 2026 Consumer Protection Code effective date (less than 2 months from speech/publication), requiring immediate readiness checks, but lacks new rules or critical enforcement threats. It matters for long-term alignment with CBI's outcomes-focused supervision, reducing future supervisory risks through proactive embedding o
Who is Affected
Summary
Introduction Good morning and thank you to Michael for inviting me to speak at the Compliance Institute’s Annual General Meeting. It is always a real pleasure to engage with compliance professionals. At the Central Bank, we recognise the essential role played by the compliance community in ensuring that financial firms are well-run and contributing to a financial system that is trusted and resilient. We also recognise the important role played by the compliance institute, equipping those work...