Irish Nationwide Building Society

the Central Bank has reprimanded INBS and imposed the maximum applicable fine of €5 million. As INBS does not have any assets, it would not be in the public interest to pursue the collection of the fine and, accordingly, the Central Bank will not do so on this occasion. It was a matter of significant public interest to ensure that a thorough investigation was carried out by the Central Bank to examine key issues arising within INBS between August 2004 and September 2008. 2 This investigation by the Central Bank is unparalleled in its degree of complexity and scale to any case which preceded it. It has taken a number of years to bring this investigation to fruition and distil it into the case recently referred to Inquiry. INBS has admitted multiple failings at several levels of its commercial lending process, from operational lending, to credit review, its Credit, Provisions and Audit Committees all the way to its Board of Directors. INBS’s admitted failings amount to a consistent and, at times, wholesale disregard for its own policies and procedures. It is imperative that all regulated firms comply with financial services law and regulation and have robust systems and controls in place to continuously test and ensure compliance with their internal processes and controls.

PO BOX 9138 T +353 1 410 4000 College Green F +353 1 410 4900 Dublin 2 Settlement Agreement between the Financial Regulator and Irish Nationwide Building Society The Financial Regulator has entered into a Settlement Agreement with effect from 7 October 2008 with Irish Nationwide Building Society (“Irish Nationwide”). The Financial Regulator had reasonable cause to suspect that Irish Nationwide committed a breach of a regulatory requirement in relation to General Principle 1, Chapter 1 of the Financial Regulator’s Consumer Protection Code. This suspected breach relates to the circulation by Irish Nationwide of an email on 1 October 2008. In doing so, the Financial Regulator believed that Irish Nationwide failed to act professionally and with due regard to the integrity of the market. The Financial Regulator reprimanded Irish Nationwide and required the firm to pay a monetary penalty of €50,000. Irish Nationwide apologised unreservedly and accepted that its behaviour was a breach of the Financial Regulator’s Consumer Protection Code. The Financial Regulator confirms that the matter is now closed.