Central Bank, regulatory staff to face committee

The governor of the Central Bank and executives from the Financial Regulator will appear before the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Finance and the Public Service tomorrow.

Governor John Hurley, and representatives from the Irish Financial Regulatory Authority are to appear before the Joint Committee on Finance and the Public Service tomorrow to discuss the regulatory and supervisory environment for the financial services industry.

Mr Hurley, Central Bank director general Tony Grimes and assistant director general Tom O'Connell, along with Jim Farrell, chairman of the Irish Financial Regulatory Authority, Mary O'Dea, acting chief executive, and Con Horan, prudential director, will answer questions on their roles in policing the financial services industry.

Michael Ahern TD, chairman of the Committee, said: "The crisis in the Irish banking industry . . . has led to many commentators calling into question the role of the regulator and the Central Bank."

"There is a growing consensus that both the Financial Regulator and Central Bank should have been more proactive in curbing excessive and reckless lending, particularly in the property market."

"This meeting will give members of the Committee the opportunity to question the Central Bank Governor and the Irish Financial Regulatory Authority on the level of supervision and regulation of banks, whether it has been adequate to deal with a growing financial services market in both size and complexity and to establish whether the credibility of our regulatory framework has been damaged by recent events," Mr Ahern said.

The meeting will begin at 11am in Committee Room 1 at Leinster House.

Earlier this month, the chief executive of the financial regulator, Pat Neary, announced his decision to retire early over the handling of the regulator's investigation into the €87 million in secret directors' loans at Anglo Irish Bank.

An internal investigation by a committee of the Irish Financial Services Regulatory Authority found there had been a breakdown in internal communication and process within the regulator's office, following the discovery of the hidden loans to Anglo's former chairman Seán FitzPatrick in January 2008.

Mr Neary said he was unaware of the loans until they were raised with him by Minister for Finance Brian Lenihan last month.