Central Bank fines reinsurer €275,000

Dublin based reinsurer Arch Reinsurance Europe has been fined €275,000 by the Central Bank for breaches of the corporate governance code.

According to a statement from the regulator, Arch Re Europe failed to comply with certain standards because some of its governance structures and internal controls were not sufficiently robust; its risk committee was not sufficiently effective; and it failed to adequately oversee its subsidiary. More specifically, Arch Re Europe did not comprehensively document relevant internal roles and responsibilities for the day to day management of risk until 2014; regulatory returns submitted to the Central Bank in 2012 and 2013 contained some errors; the firm’s investment portfolio risk policy was inconsistent with two specific guidelines which were approved by the board for its investment manager; and Arch Re Europe’s board failed to monitor a trust agreement it had set up.

Arch Re, which was formed in Dublin in 2008, has branch offices in Zurich and London, as well as an underwriting office in Copenhagen, and it provides a wide range of reinsurance products across Europe.

Derville Rowland, the Central Bank's director of enforcement said that the regulator found that the firm took "an informal approach" to certain of its corporate governance responsibilities.

“This enforcement action provides a timely reminder to firms to satisfy themselves that they are in compliance with their corporate governance requirements and responsibilities and that any tasks assigned under the Corporate Governance Code to Board sub-committees are being discharged. Corporate governance risk remains on our agenda as a key enforcement priority across all sectors and firms. Where evidence of poor standards of corporate governance is found in firms, the Central Bank may take enforcement action.”

Warning

Meanwhile the Central Bank also issued a warning on Tuesday. It said that Private Loans Gardens, which had advertised the availability of credit online and gave an email address of privateloansgardens@gmail.com, is not authorised as a retail credit firm by the Central Bank.

It is a criminal offence for an unauthorised person or firm to provide financial services in Ireland that would require an authorisation from the Central Bank.

If you have information about this firm, or any other unauthorised firm, you can contact the Central Bank at (01) 224 4000.

A list of unauthorised persons/firms published to date is available on the Central Bank website. So far this year the regulator has issued warnings on one other firm.