New appointments at Central Bank

The Central Bank has today announced a number of appointments including two new assistant director generals.

The organisation also confirmed the first three appointments to its newly-established Risk Advisers Panel on financial services and commercial matters.

The two regulatory appointments are to restructured divisions of the Central Bank. Peter Oakes has become assistant director general of enforcement while Gareth Murphy takes on the role of assistant director general of markets supervision.

Mr Oakes is a solicitor with 20 years experience in financial services He is the founder and managing director of Compliance Ireland and City Compliance which advise and train financial firms on corporate governance, regulatory compliance and financial crime.

Mr Murphy began his career at the Bank of England in 1992. He spent 13 years in the hedge fund and investment banking industries before rejoining the Bank of England in 2008 as a senior advisor in the Financial Stability Directorate.

His recent work includes leading a Tripartite 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, he was directly involved in the resolution of certain 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 Lehmans.

New appointments have also been announced today in the Central Bank's insurance supervision division, which has been split into two separate departments, wholesale and retail. Fiona McMahon is the new head of retail insurance supervision and Colette Drinan has been appointed as the new head of wholesale insurance supervision.

Additionally, the Central Bank appointed Michael Burke, Aidan Cassells and Liam Manahan to its new panel of risk advisers.

The panel will provide advice and support to the Central Bank in the assessment and mitigation of risks in financial institutions. It will also provide advice on risks in individual industry sectors and will be involved in the assessment of the fitness and probity of individuals applying to take up senior positions in the financial services industry.