IRELAND Law and Practice Contributed by: Keith Robinson, Barry Tyrrell and Julia Mullin, Dillon Eustace LLP
CRD V was transposed into Irish law pursuant to regulations signed on 22 December 2020. The Criminal Justice (Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing) Acts 2010-2021 comprise the primary legislation governing anti-money laundering in Ireland and implement the EU Money Laundering Directives. The CBI is the competent authority for monitoring compliance with this legislation by banks and other financial service providers. 2. Authorisation 2.1 Licences and Application Process Any institution wishing to engage in bank - ing activities in Ireland must be appropriately authorised. In Ireland, any entity seeking to operate as a bank must obtain authorisation from the CBI. Section 7(1) of the Central Bank Act 1971 makes it illegal to engage in banking business without an authorisation. Banking business is defined as any business that consists of or includes: • receiving money on the person’s own account from members of the public either on deposit or as repayable funds; and • the granting of credits on own account (sub - ject to certain exceptions). Deposit taking, in broad terms, means receiving money from the public either on deposit or as repayable funds. A person may apply for a banking licence under Section 9 of the Central Bank Act 1971. Since the introduction of the SSMR, the ECB is the competent authority for the granting of bank - ing licences. Applications for authorisation may
also be made under Section 9A of the Central Bank Act 1971 for an Irish branch of a bank that is authorised in a third country (ie, a non-EEA country). It is prohibited for persons to hold themselves out or represent themselves as a banker, or to carry on banking business, unless appropriately authorised. The process of obtaining authorisation to oper - ate as a bank within Ireland involves multiple stages, wherein the applicant will frequently interact with the CBI. If the CBI considers that the conditions for authorisation are met by an applicant, it will submit the application to the ECB with a recommendation that it be approved. The final authority to grant or refuse the applica - tion rests with the ECB. Once a person is authorised to carry on bank - ing business the authorisation covers a range of typical banking activities including deposit tak - ing; lending; e-money; payment services; and investment activities regulated by the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (2014/65/EU) (“MiFID II”). The key requirements of the application and authorisation process are as follows. Authorisation Requirement To qualify for authorisation, credit institutions will be required to meet certain requirements and standards in respect of the following. • Capital adequacy: minimum capital require - ments, which are aligned with the Basel III framework under CRR. • Corporate governance: a board of directors and senior management with appropriate experience and fitness to manage a bank.
243 CHAMBERS.COM
Powered by FlippingBook