Financial Regulator reaches settlement deal with MIS

The Financial Regulator has reached a settlement agreement with a financial services provider which breached regulatory requirements.

MIS Financial Services and its director Stephen Donnelly, did not properly inform four of its clients on the terms of their investment policies, according to a report issued yesterday by the Financial Regulator.

"The affected clients were led to believe that the terms of the investment policies which they had taken out were more favourable than was in fact the case," the regulator said.

This breach took place between August 1st, 2004 and February 2005. MIS operated from offices in Ballsbridge during this time. The regulator confirmed that there were no concerns over the integrity of the company's client money.

MIS has agreed to relinquish its authorisation to act as a multi-agency investment intermediary. It has also agreed not to apply for the renewal of its mortgage intermediary licence. All clients have been transferred to another regulated provider.

Mr Donnelly is now disqualified from involvement in the management of a regulated financial services provider for five years. He has agreed to pay an amount equal to the commission earned from August 1st, 2004 onwards on the investment policies in question.

The latest accounts filed for MIS Financial Services show that Mr Donnelly held a directorship at Cullen, Coughlan and Connelly Ltd which went into liquidation earlier this year. Other documents filed with the Companies Registration Office (CRO) indicate that he was also a director of Guist Ltd until April 2005; a liquidator was appointed later than year. According to CRO records he is still a director of Arley Ltd, which develops and sells real estate.