Ireland
Honohan pressed on Irish staff and salary reforms in final days of office
A senior minister in the Irish government and the outgoing governor of the country’s central bank exchange letters on proposed changes and existing retention pay
Macro-prudential limits would have had ‘substantial’ impact in Ireland last decade, paper finds
Research published by the Central Bank of Ireland models the impact of macro-prudential policies, including effects on credit available to households and house prices
Irish regulations aim to extend protection to SMEs
Regulations published by the Central Bank of Ireland aim to increase the transparency and protection offered to small and medium enterprises borrowing from banks
People: NBIM names real estate CEO; Gerlach moves to private sector
Norges Bank Real Estate Management gets CEO; Stefan Gerlach takes up new role at Swiss private bank BSI; and more
Irish central bank to investigate fund manager fees
The Central Bank of Ireland intends to investigate the levels of fees charged by asset managers based in the country; review will be one of 12 ‘themed inspections’ of the finance industry
Irish economy improving but still vulnerable to shocks, central bank warns
Ireland’s economic outlook improved during the second half of the year, but the country is still vulnerable to financial shocks, says the Central Bank of Ireland in its latest macro-financial review
Irish central bank will persist with housing measures despite public dissent
Chief economist of Ireland’s central bank says it will continue with macro-prudential measures despite public criticism; academic says measures will help slow prices but are ‘insufficient’
Lane tells Irish central bankers he’ll be in touch
New governor of the Central Bank of Ireland says he will be in ‘regular touch’ with his colleagues through his blog, video messages and also directly
Irish central bank defends retention payments to key staff
Ireland’s central bank has defended its decision to pay retention payments to key members of staff despite criticism by local politicians; a senior civil servant will look into the payments
Honohan sets out virtues of new crisis tools in final speech
Irish governor stresses potential of direct recapitalisation and GDP-linked loans to help bolster debt sustainability in crisis-hit countries; expects successor Lane to come in with ‘big broom’
Macro-prudential tools an ‘essential’ part of policy toolkit, Irish deputy says
Macro-prudential policies introduced by the Irish central bank appear to be ‘functioning as intended’, Gerlach says; joint ECB-EC statement sees measures underpinning stability
Ireland: Former financial stability chief and ex-governor clash over crisis
John Hurley firmly rejects an accusation from the former financial stability head of the Irish central bank that senior management suppressed research in the lead-up to the crisis
Lane picked to lead Irish central bank
Distinguished international economist nominated in preference to civil service candidate rumoured to have been in the running; worked ‘closely’ with outgoing governor Honohan
Ireland to move to euro rounding next week
Shoppers in Ireland will have transactions rounded to nearest five cents, Central Bank of Ireland says; scheme to be voluntary and apply only to cash payments
Ireland’s Gerlach points to indirect impact of macro-prudential tools
Deputy governor says evidence suggests LTV and LTI tools are having the strongest effect via indirect channels, rather than their direct impact on credit, although the tools are still new
ECB paper explores fiscal adjustment in stressed countries
Fiscal corrections have been ‘more costly’ in contractionary times in Greece, Ireland, Portugal and Spain over the past 50 years, paper suggests
Financial Stability Board should define shadow banking, Irish market supervisor says
Financial Stability Board is the best body to give regulators a clear definition of the shadow banking sector, says the Irish central bank’s director of markets supervision
Irish central bank proposes staggered rise in financial industry levy
Ireland’s central bank has proposed staggering a rise in the levy to cover financial regulation costs; still supports rise in proportion of costs paid by non-bank institutions
Cyber attacks could represent systemic threat, warns Ireland’s Roux
A string of cyber attacks on financial institutions could start a ‘domino effect’ that triggers a financial crisis, so firms need to improve their defences, deputy governor says
Irish central bank may spread higher levy on finance industry over time
The Central Bank of Ireland may spread the proposed increase in its annual levy on the financial industry over several years, but it still backs the call for non-banks to meet 100% of costs
Irish deputy Stefan Gerlach steps down early
Academic economists praise Gerlach, who was seen as ‘outside appointment’ who improved bank’s research and data provision; deputy had decided not to apply for governorship
Irish central bank restructures monetary policy department
Central Bank of Ireland will appoint two new senior members of staff in the process; one analyst suggests the changes will help sustain contributions on European stage
Central bank restricts lending at half of Ireland’s credit unions
Ireland’s central bank has restricted lending at the country’s credit unions and appointed external auditors to discover the true state of lending in the industry
Ireland invites applications for central bank governorship
Ministry of finance calls for ‘expressions of interest’ in the post, which will be vacated by Patrick Honohan when he stands down later this year