The Friday Interview:Mary O'Dea - consumer director, financial regulator.

The towering bulk of Sam Stephenson's Central Bank dominates Dublin's Dame Street, a constant reminder to passing citizens of the might of the financial world.

Among the buildings dwarfed by this concrete behemoth are the nearby offices of the Irish Financial Services Regulatory Authority, the body entrusted with representing the rights of consumers dealing with 10,000 companies in the financial services industry.

For many observers, the architectural metaphor serves to illustrate the mismatch within financial regulation, which has traditionally focused on industry issues over the concerns of consumers.

There are hopes that this imbalance may shortly be righted, however, as a new Consumer Protection Code, introduced last week, begins to take effect.

The 40-page document sets down new standards for financial services companies to adhere to in their dealings with customers, including formal complaints procedures, a suitability test for products, restrictions on cold calling and a ban on unsolicited pre-approved credit increases.

Mary O'Dea, the regulator's consumer director, promises that the statutory code will make "a huge difference".

"For the first time, in creating this type of regulation in a statutory code, we've reached out to consumer groups and said 'what are the issues?' It's about levelling the playing field for consumers to make firms behave appropriately in dealing with them. The result is a new way of doing business, so we're now one of the few countries in Europe to provide this level of statutory protection."

O'Dea says that firms will be legally required to act honestly, fairly and in the best interests of customers. The presence of an audit trail should help consumers in cases where things go wrong.

"For some firms in the industry, this won't be a huge change, because they've been behaving in that way; for other firms, there will be significant changes required under the code."

The new rules also provide for fines of up to €5 million on companies which break the code, although it is more likely that most offenders will suffer nothing worse than a caution or reprimand.

The code is being implemented at least a year late, something O'Dea puts down to the complexity of the issues and the need to get a single document covering the entire sector rather than to any resistance from the industry.

O'Dea, a 20-year veteran of the Central Bank, sees no conflict of interest in the same organisation regulating the industry and acting as a consumers' advocate. Being under the one roof makes it easier to deal with systems and corporate governance issues, she believes, while consumers and the industry share a common interest in the solvency of financial institutions.

"Customers are worried about mis-selling, but they're also concerned that the bank will be there when they go to take their money out. So the protection of capital in banks and insurance companies has all to do with deposit-holders and policy-holders."

Yet aren't there issues where the interests of banks and customers diverge - profit level and high executive pay, for example? The regulator has had little to say on these issues, and others that might be judged as critical of the industry.

"You don't get this with other companies," O'Dea responds. "Big IT companies can make lots of profits, but provided they're giving a really good deal and service to customers then people don't really care what profits they are making."

The regulator is often accused of being timid, and of sticking to a narrow interpretation of its brief. Last month, a report into the Equitable Life scandal spoke of the "unjustifiably passive approach" of the British and Irish authorities, while the regulator's own consumer panel accused it of slowness and excessive caution.

"There are areas where things move more slowly, where there are frustrations for us, as there are for everyone else, that we have to do things at a particular pace," the 43-year-old Dubliner admits. "But in other areas we have acted very quickly, such as overcharging, issues around payment protection insurance and advertising by financial services companies."

The regulator has to use its powers "responsibly" in consumers' interests, with the aim being the best long-term outcome for consumers.

The new National Consumer Agency threatens to steal some of the regulator's thunder, but O'Dea denies talk of a turf war. While welcoming the agency, she says talks have begun to ensure that there is no overlap.

O'Dea has a reputation for being media-shy and she gives few interviews, which is surprising given the ease with which she communicates. My suggestion that the regulator has failed to speak out on behalf of consumers produces an impassioned denial.

"Advocacy is about getting the best outcome for consumers. It's not saying something for the sake of saying something. How does that help the consumer? Unless advocacy is producing an outcome, I honestly don't see the point of it."

ON THE RECORD

Name:Mary O'Dea

Job:Consumer Director at the Irish Financial Services Regulatory Authority.

Age:43

Family:Hannah (9), Sam (5) and husband Tony, a socio-economic consultant.

Career:From Raheny, Dublin, she studied economics in UCD and worked in a variety of posts in the Central Bank before taking up her current post.

Interests:Yoga, gardening and live music.

Something you might expect:She's an avid bargain-hunter.

Something that might surprise:Probably the only consumer director at last month's Arctic Monkeys gig at Malahide Castle.

Why is she in the news?The financial regulator has this week activated the final elements of a new consumer protection code.