Significant Questions Remain on How the State Regulates Firms such as Davy - Tóibín
Ahead of the meeting with the Central Bank, Finance Committee Member and Aontú leader Peadar Tóibín has called for the strengthening of State regulations of the Financial Sector. He stated;
“Davy significantly breached state financial regulations, worse than that they actively tried to scupper efforts to bring their actions to light. These actions happened because of weak internal and external control in relation to conflicts of interest management and personal account dealing at the time. Allowing this lack of oversight and supervision created an elevated level of risk for investors and also significantly damages Ireland’s reputation internationally”.
“Ireland has invested hugely in Internationally Trade Financial Services. Having cases such as this splashed over international media such as the Financial Times does this investment real damage. I will be asking a number of questions of the representatives of the Central Bank who will come before the Finance Committee today. This will include;
Why did the Central Bank regulatory and supervisory toolkit not identify these types of deals? This case was brought to light on the back of a court case. How do we know if this has happened before with Davy and elsewhere? Is it possible to broaden the scope of financial audits in future to identify this type of conduct?
How come this has taken 7 years for the Central Bank to get where it is now? Does it have the staff and resources necessary to tackle this type of scandal?
If Davy committed this act against Patrick Kearney, would they have been able to act in a similar fashion against the state’s interest?
If sunlight is a disinfectant against malpractice why have all the people involved in the O’Connell Partnership not been named? Is this an example of different rules for Financial elites and the rest of us?
This is not the first time that this has happened with Davy. In 1993 a similar action was undertaken against Greencore. Of the three chief executives of the firm that have been named, two were associated with the previous Greencore scandal in 1993. Does the Central Bank not have a role on tackling this culture? What individual disqualifications and prohibitions if any have been issued here due to this and previous actions at Davy?
Why has the Senior Executive Accountability Regime not been implemented. Britain has legislation in place since 2016.
Is there not a problem with the practice of the revolving door between state organisations such as the NTMA and corporate Ireland. Should there not be a significant cooling off period before the regulator become the regulated?
