14 November 2024
On 17 October 2024 the Central Bank of Ireland (“CBI”) published their Fitness and Probity Performance Report detailing key metrics for H1 2024.
The Report was published in line with the CBI’s commitment to providing clear, open, and transparent information regarding its assessment of PCF applications. It relates to PCF applications from both existing and newly authorised firms. The table below sets out some of the findings of the Report which will be discussed further.
| Total Applications | Existing Authorised Firms | Newly Authorised Firms | Applications approved within 90-day target | Applications withdrawn | Applications returned as incomplete | Number of interviews conducted |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1,289 | 975 | 314 | 80% | 59 | 165 | 34 |
The CBI approved 1,289 PCF applications in the first half of 2024 and met its target of a 90-day approval timeline in 80% of applications. The maximum time it took the CBI to approve a PCF application was 343 days (over three and half times the length of its target) and the minimum time was 1 day. On average, the CBI took 53 days to approve PCF applications.
Approvals for H1 2024 were comprised of 314 applications linked to newly authorised firms and 975 linked to existing firms. The maximum time it took the CBI to approve a PCF for firms with an existing authorisation was 236 days. The average time for approval for this cohort was significantly less than its target at 28 days. Overall, the CBI met its target in 96% of these applications.
The CBI took significantly longer to approve applications linked to newly authorised firms, meeting its 90-day target in 14% of those applications with the average approval time being 131 days, more than four times longer than for applications relating to existing firms.
It is interesting to note that there were zero refusals, however 59 applications were withdrawn by firms. In addition, 165 applications were returned as incomplete.
Out of the 1,521 applications received, the CBI conducted just 34 interviews. This, together with the fact there were no outright refusals, could indicate that there has been both a greater understanding from applicants/firms around their obligations and Regulator satisfaction with the standard of applications.
Our Financial Services Regulation team possess extensive knowledge and experience having dealt with issues spanning across a wide range of industries, and have an intimate understanding of Central Bank requirements, so if you have any regulatory queries or issues, please reach out to us.
