Central Bank fills final two top positions

THE CENTRAL Bank has filled the last two of 11 roles at assistant director general level, appointing external candidates Peter…

THE CENTRAL Bank has filled the last two of 11 roles at assistant director general level, appointing external candidates Peter Oakes and Gareth Murphy to the posts in charge of enforcement and markets supervision respectively.

Mr Oakes, a solicitor and managing director of Compliance Ireland and City Compliance, and Mr Murphy, who joins the Central Bank from the Bank of England, will report to the head of financial regulation, Matthew Elderfield.

Four of the 11 appointees to the roles of assistant director general come from outside the Central Bank, which is being restructured, rehousing the Bank and Financial Regulator in one organisation.

The other appointees previously held roles in the old Central Bank and Financial Services Authority of Ireland, which is being reformed after the financial crisis.

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Mr Oakes, an Australian, has 20 years’ experience in financial services and has advised banks and other financial firms on corporate governance, regulatory compliance and financial crime issues.

Mr Murphy, who is originally from Dublin, began his career at the Bank of England in 1992 and spent 13 years in the hedge fund and investment banking industries before rejoining the Bank of England in 2008 as a senior adviser in the area of financial stability.

His recent work includes leading a consultation on the structure of the UK securitisation market, advising on the potential role of contingent capital for banks and on the structure of the credit ratings industry.

During the financial crisis, Mr Murphy was involved in the resolution of distressed UK deposit-taking institutions and he conducted a consultation with the hedge fund industry as part of the UK authorities’ response to the failure of US bank Lehman Brothers.

Mr Murphy takes over from Con Horan, who was previously prudential director at the Financial Regulator. Mr Horan has been acting assistant director general for markets and has taken up a new role of special adviser to Mr Elderfield.

Mr Oakes and Mr Murphy will start their positions in October.

The Central Bank also announced the first appointments to its panel of risk advisers, which will advise and support the Central Bank in assessing and mitigating risks in financial institutions. The three appointments are Michael Bourke, the former chief executive of Latvia’s Rietumu Bank; Aidan Cassells, a former senior executive at insurance giant Axa; and Liam Manahan, a former executive at Bank of Ireland.

The bank has also appointed Fiona McMahon as the new head of retail insurance supervision and Colette Drinan as the new head of wholesale insurance supervision.

They will report directly to Jonathan McMahon, the assistant director general of financial institutions supervision, who in turn reports to Mr Elderfield.