Wells Fargo International Unlimited Company

BACKGROUND WFBI is a public unlimited company, authorised by the Central Bank to carry on banking business pursuant to Section 9 of the Central Bank Act, 1971. It is a wholly-owned, indirect subsidiary of Wells Fargo & Company, a US-based multinational banking and financial services holding company. WFBI’s audited accounts for year ended 31 December 2018 show a turnover of US$586,427,000 and an operating income of US$340,264,000. WFBI is a categorised as a Less Significant Institution (LSI). Each bank’s rating is based on criteria relating to, amongst other factors, its size, its importance to the economy and the significance of its cross-border activities. LSIs are subject to a proportional level of supervision. The level of supervisory engagement with the Central Bank differs depending on whether a credit institution is categorised as a Significant Institution or an LSI. The Central Bank places significant reliance on the regulatory returns submitted by LSIs in order to supervise them appropriately. PRESCRIBED CONTRAVENTIONS The Central Bank’s investigation identified the following five breaches by the Firm: Contravention 1 Failure to maintain robust governance arrangements in relation to regulatory reporting Contrary to Regulations 61(1) and 76(1) and 2(a) to (d) of the European Union (Capital Requirements) Regulations 2014 (S.I. 158 of 2014) (the CRD Regulations) transposing Directive 2013/36/EU (CRD IV), the investigation found that the Firm failed to maintain robust governance arrangements and the board of directors failed to adequately oversee the 4 implementation and monitoring of governance arrangements in relation to the regulatory reporting framework.