Central Bank publishes consultation on the industry funding levy methodology for banks, investment firms, fund service providers and EEA insurers

The Central Bank has published a Consultation on New Methodology to Calculate Funding Levies. The industry funding levy is paid by regulated financial service providers to the Central Bank to cover the costs of prudential, consumer protection and anti-money-laundering supervision.

The Consultation Paper lays out the Central Bank’s proposal to revise the way the industry funding levy is calculated for banks, investment firms, fund service providers and EEA insurers. It is proposed that the industry funding levy for banks be calculated according to the ECB methodology. The industry funding levy for investment firms and fund service providers would be smoothed, replacing the stepwise levy by a smoothed function. EEA insurers, which are regulated by the Central Bank for conduct of business, would be levied more if they are large or write motor business in Ireland.

Deputy Governor (Financial Regulation), Cyril Roux said “We always look for ways to refine and improve our funding levy methodologies for various sectors. Building on the change we brought in last year to the funding levy methodology applicable to retail intermediaries, we propose to introduce further refinements this year to the way we allocate our costs among firms within select industry sectors.”

Interested parties are invited to make a submission to [email protected] by 28 April 2017. Submissions will be published along with a feedback statement on www.centralbank.ie following the consultation period.