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Thursday, 25th April 2024 |
Blueprint for new regulatory structure published
The recently published Central Bank and Financial Services Authority of Ireland Bill 2002 provides the framework for the restructuring of the Central Bank and the establishment of a new single regulator and in this issue we report on the Bill and reactions to it. While concerns exist regarding the funding of the new regulator, the financial services industry has largely welcomed the new Bill. The question now raised is should the sector pay for its own regulation, or is there a case for the Government to pay for it, in order to promote financial services in Ireland.
Writing in this issue, Professor Ray Kinsella of UCD Smurfit Graduate School of Business, has other objections with the Bill and calls for it to be shelved. He believes it is ‘fatally flawed’ due to the complexity of the institutional arrangements, which he describes as ‘an amalgamation of diverse functions and an alphabet soup of anagrams that is so uniquely opaque as to militate against any prospect of efficient and transparent regulation.’
In this month’s issue we publish our annual M&A survey. This year the format has been changed and the survey now features contributions from both corporate finance advisors and Ireland’s top plcs. This is the first time we in Finance have done such a survey, and indeed to our knowledge the first time that it has been carried out in Ireland.
The purpose of the survey is to provide a catalyst for providing dealmakers with information that will be of use and it has thrown up a few surprises in that the winner of the ‘Deal of the Year’ was Irish Life & Permanent’s acquisition of TSB Bank and not as was expected Valentia’s e3 billion takeover of eircom.
The possibility of pan-European pensions is becoming increasingly likely since the European Commission published proposals designed to implement cross border pensions schemes in April 2001. In Tax Monitor on P. 14, Michael Kelly says that a case on which the European Court of Justice will shortly rule is likely to have major implications for pension schemes throughout the EU.
The case was brought by a Finn, Mr. Danner who challenged the ECJ because he was denied tax relief on his pensions in Finland as he made contributions to a German scheme. The Advocate General has upheld his challenge, and a confirmation of this opinion when the court passes its judgement would open up the way to the creation of single pan European pension schemes for multinational groups. |
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| Article appeared in the April 2002 issue.
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