THE HEAD of financial regulation in Bermuda, Matthew Elderfield, has been appointed head of financial supervision, assuming the role of chief executive of the Financial Regulator vacated by Pat Neary last January but within the new Central Bank of Ireland.
Mr Elderfield, a British citizen, has been chief executive of the Bermuda Monetary Authority since July 2007 where he managed a staff of 151. He previously worked for the UK Financial Services Authority (FSA) for eight years.
A spokeswoman for the regulator said final arrangements were being made on Mr Elderfield’s salary and that details of his pay would be made available before he started his work in January. Mr Neary’s annual pay was €291,000.
Mr Elderfield will take over from Mary O’Dea who has been acting head of the regulator since succeeding Mr Neary in February.
Before joining the FSA, Mr Elderfield set up the European operations of the International Swaps and Derivatives Association (ISDA), a trade group that represents banks and other parties in over-the-counter derivatives.
A graduate of Cambridge University and Georgetown University in the US, he has also worked at the London Investment Banking Association, the British Bankers Association and the Institute for Strategy Development, a consultancy in Washington DC.
Central Bank governor Patrick Honohan said Mr Elderfield had “very extensive experience of financial supervision and he has qualities that are ideally suited to this very challenging role. We look forward to working with him as we reshape the financial regulatory system in Ireland.”
As a result of the banking crisis, the Government plans to reform regulation by remerging the Central Bank and Financial Regulator under the Central Bank of Ireland Commission, with Prof Patrick Honohan heading up the organisation.
Mr Elderfield will report to the governor as head of financial regulation, as will his counterpart on the central banking side of the new commission, Tony Grimes, director general at the Central Bank who has taken up the new role of head of central banking.
As head of financial regulation in Bermuda, Mr Elderfield supervised an insurance industry with $442 billion (€296 billion) in assets, an investment sector worth $171 billion, a banking industry with assets of $23 billion and the Bermuda Stock Exchange, which has a market value of $226 billion.
Appointments have yet to be made to several further senior roles, the holders of which will report to Mr Elderfield and Mr Grimes within their respective financial regulation and central banking functions.
The existing role of prudential director, who reported to the chief executive of the regulator, is being split into three assistant director general roles – for financial institution supervision, for financial markets supervision and for regulatory risk and enforcement.
Con Horan, the current prudential director, will take up the role of assistant director general for regulatory risk and enforcement.
The other two roles have to be filled, but a hiring process is under way. All three will report to Mr Elderfield. The post of assistant director general for financial operations, who will report to Mr Grimes, has also yet to be filled.
