THE ACTING chief executive of the Financial Regulator, Mary O’Dea, has been appointed to a new role within the reformed financial watchdog overseeing European Central Bank (ECB) funding to the banking system and market-related issues.
Ms O’Dea will take over the post of assistant director general of financial operations, reporting to Tony Grimes, head of central banking, in the new Central Bank of Ireland, which will see the re-merging of the Central Bank and the Financial Regulator.
Matthew Elderfield, the current banking regulator in Bermuda, will take over the role currently held by Ms O’Dea from January 4th but under the new title, head of financial supervision.
His position will be at the same level as Mr Grimes but on the opposite side of the new Central Bank as the new head of the financial regulation division.
Ms O’Dea succeeded Pat Neary as chief executive of the regulator on an interim basis after he stepped down last January following the hidden loans to directors controversy at Anglo Irish Bank and the near-collapse of the Irish domestic banking system.
Staff within the regulator and Central Bank were informed of Ms O’Dea’s appointment yesterday. Ms O’Dea was the regulator’s consumer director until becoming acting chief executive in February.
She will be paid a salary of about €180,000, the equivalent pay grade to the post of consumer director. Ms O’Dea’s annual pay had increased to €260,000 as acting chief executive of the regulator.
She will be responsible for interacting with the ECB and financial institutions and monitoring payments and market systems with the sector. Ms O’Dea will hold the post for a period of five years with the possibility of the role being renewed.
She will sit on the management board of the new Central Bank in her new role and will advise the governor Patrick Honohan and Mr Grimes on ECB funding policy within the Irish financial system.
Two more senior roles within the regulation side of the new Central Bank have yet to be filled – the assistant director general for financial institution supervision and the assistant director general for financial markets supervision.
These roles fall under the responsibility of the regulator’s prudential director, Con Horan. His position has been split into three and he has been appointed to one of these positions – assistant director general for regulatory risk and enforcement – within the regulation side of the bank. He will report to Mr Elderfield.
The OECD’s annual report on Ireland, to be published today, is expected to criticise the regulator for failing to curb the credit boom and to take measures to reduce speculative property and development lending before 2006.
