Central Bank ‘re-prioritises’ supervision work amid ‘Brexodus’ spike

The Central Bank has been forced to "re-prioritise" its normal supervisory work as the regulator draws on resources to deal with a spike in authorisation applications relating to Brexit.

Deputy Central Bank governor Ed Sibley told a meeting of the Central Bank Commission, or board, on November 28th, that the institution was dealing with a "sizeable activity" in relation to authorisations, according to minutes of the gathering.

“In light of the material increase in authorisation activity, there had been a necessary re-prioritisation of existing supervisory work,” the minutes said, adding that the bank was carrying out a “proportionate assessment” of all aspects of the business model of firms looking to move activities to Dublin as they prepare for the UK’s exit from the European Union.

A spokesman for the bank said the most important supervisory work was prioritised last year and its regulatory regime remained anchored in placing the greatest emphasis on the most significant financial firms in the State.

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“For a limited amount of supervisory work there was a consideration of: rescheduling supervisory work to 2019, non-completion of de-prioritised supervisory work, reduction of on-site activity, deferral of non-critical process changes and additional use of eternal resources,” he said.

Brexit tracker

The Central Bank has previously said that it has received more than 100 Brexit-related applications for authorisation. EY, the accountancy and consultancy firm, said on Monday that its latest Brexit Tracker report found that Dublin continues to be the top location for financial firms looking to relocate operations from the UK as a result of Brexit.

The latest figures were for the end of November 2018, and mark an increase from 21 in September, according to the accountancy and advisory service group. Frankfurt remains in second place, at 17, followed by Luxembourg, at 16. Paris has also moved up the scale, to 15, in November, from 10 in September.

Mr Sibley told the commission meeting in November that the Central Bank's Brexit steering committee, running alongside its Brexit task force, was continuing to co-ordinate the bank's efforts to mitigate the short-term cliff-edge Brexit risks to the financial system.

“The most material cliff-edge risks have been identified,” the minutes said. “Work plans to mitigate these risks, to the extent possible, were in train and being prioritised, based on their impact and probability.”

The Central Bank had workforce of 1,910 full-time equivalents (FTEs) at the end of October, up by more than 172 from the start of the year. Its latest three-year plan, published late last year, envisages that the organisation will grow to no more than 2,085 FTEs by the end of 2021.