Central Bank publishes Annual Report & Annual Performance Statement 2019

• Annual Report and Annual Performance statement show the breadth of the work of the Central Bank in 2019.
• The resilience of the financial system to the initial shock of COVID-19 crisis has shown the merit of the Central Bank’s work over previous years.
• Financial profit of €2.56 billion reported for 2019. Surplus income of €2.05 billion paid to the Exchequer.

The Central Bank of Ireland has today published its 2019 Annual Report and Annual Performance Statement. The report provides an overview of the key activities and work undertaken by the Central Bank to safeguard monetary and financial stability and to ensure that the financial system operates in the best interests of consumers and the wider economy.

Speaking on the launch of the report, Governor Gabriel Makhlouf said:

“The Central Bank of Ireland is focused on promoting the welfare of the people of Ireland as a whole, and through our membership of Europe’s Monetary and Banking Unions, the welfare of the wider people of Europe.

“Strengthening consumer protection is at the heart of everything we do, from our work to guard against instability and ensure firms are well managed and financially sound to our statutory codes of conduct, redress powers and enforcement actions. Key outcomes in 2019 included the final report of Tracker Mortgage Examination, with lenders paying more than €700m in redress and compensation to 40,500 customers affected by their failings. We also concluded eight enforcement actions, resulting in fines totalling more than €30 million.

“Last year we also continued to focus on strengthening the wider financial system. Our work has contributed to the resilience of the financial system to the initial shock of COVID-19. The impact of the pandemic will continue to be felt throughout society for some time. We are committed to putting in place the necessary conditions to support households and firms through, and out of, the crisis.

“Similarly, in 2019, we worked to mitigate the impact of the UK’s withdrawal from the EU. This issue remains an important priority for 2020.

“The Central Bank has a wide range of responsibilities that stretch from the effective operation of payment and settlement systems and provision of banknotes and coins to the delivery of robust and independent economic advice and analysis that helps support national economic policy development.  This breadth of responsibilities strengthens our commitment to building a diverse workforce. And today we are also publishing the Central Bank’s third gender pay gap analysis. The Gender Pay Profile as at 1 January 2020 is 2.2% in favour of male employees, which is an overall reduction of 0.2% reduction since 2019. While the data reveals a relatively low pay gap and healthy gender representation overall, we are committed to maintaining a focus on this and other aspects of diversity. Alongside this, the Central Bank remains committed to building the diversity of our workforce in the broadest sense and to creating an environment that fully unlocks the value of such difference.

“I want to thank all of the Central Bank’s people for their dedication and hard work throughout 2019 and for their response to the very challenging last few months.”