Irish banks and Central bank Authorisation

In order to operate as a bank in Ireland and in most countries you need to have a valid license from the Central bank and be authorized to carry on financial business in the country. In order to get your license the bank has to fill out an application form which it then sends to the Central bank for approval. Part of this form is a declaration that you meet the ratios of assets to liabilities (and other ratios and fitness to trade requirements) that are laid down by the central bank (this is one of the reasons Quinn Direct was taken out of the control of the Quinn family because it didn't have the necessary liquid reserves to finance all of its insurance holders making a claim at once). The bank also has to give an undertaking to inform the Central bank if its circumstances change so fundamentally that the bank no longer meets these criteria. Now if a bank has to be bailed out by the Irish or any other government then logically it cant have been in a solid financial position and couldn't have been meeting the required criteria. So first it may have been untruthful in filling out the application form or else it may have not informed in a timely fashion the central bank of its financial position. These are criminal matters and they mean that the bank is in effect unauthorized to trade in Ireland as a bank. There was a recent case in the Supreme court Tom Darcy vs Allied Irish Bank about this matter.Its worth listening to http://www.tnsradio.com/31/post/2013/02/truthful-irish-special-tom-darcy.html to hear what Mr Darcy to say on the matter. This is the central banks position on unauthorized banks All firms which have an authorisation from the Central Bank of Ireland to operate in Ireland are shown in our Registers section. Prior to entering into a financial services transaction, members of the public and shareholders should always check the regulatory status of the firm. Please note that some firms based in the European Economic Area may be regulated in their Home State and may be authorised to provide services in Ireland under Passporting arrangements. Please contact the Central Bank to check the regulatory status of such a firm. Tel: 00353 1 224 4000. Consequences of Dealing with an Unauthorised Investment Firm Consumers should be aware that, if they deal with an investment firm which is not authorised, they are not eligible for compensation from the Investor Compensation Scheme and they will not have access to the Financial Services Ombudsman. Furthermore, the Central Bank cannot initiate an Administrative Sanctions Procedure against an investment firm which does not hold an authorisation. Unauthorised Investment Firms and Warning notices Under the MiFID Regulations (EC (Markets in Financial Instruments) Regulations 2007) and the Investment Intermediaries Act, 1995, as amended (‘the IIA’), the Central Bank of Ireland has the authority to publish Warning Notices naming firms which operate as investment firms in Ireland without an appropriate authorisation. A list of unauthorised firms for which we have issued Warning Notices is available at: List / Search Unauthorised Firms We add new names to this list as soon as possible, but if the firm which has approached you does not appear on our list, do not assume it is legitimate – it may not have been reported to us yet.