Towards our future financial wellbeing

Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Ireland Colm Kincaid spoke today (Thursday) at the Financial Services Ireland Chief Executive Roundtable.

Addressing the CEOs of Ireland’s financial service providers, in his first public speech as Deputy Governor for Consumer and Investor Protection, Colm Kincaid described how the Central Bank is enhancing its approach to how it protects consumers and investors, through a new integrated supervisory model, implementation of the recommendations of the OECD review of the Central Bank’s consumer protection approach and implementation of the modernised Consumer Protection Code in early 2026.

Speaking ahead of the event, Deputy Governor Kincaid said: “Since I took up this role in August, I have spent time engaging with the public we serve, the firms we regulate and others in public life.   

“This has included sitting with people in community groups, charities, sports clubs, budgeting advisors, consumer advocates, healthcare workers, representatives of rural areas as well as industry leaders and colleagues in other jurisdictions facing challenges similar to those we face in Ireland today.

“Throughout all these conversations, the importance of financial well-being for individuals, families and businesses has shone through.

“I have heard first-hand the frustration of consumers and investors who do not always receive the quality of service they paid for and deserve, and people working in financial services to whom I spoke acknowledged this. We will complete a review of how firms are handling complaints from their customers to raise standards ahead of the new Consumer Protection Code coming into force early next year.

“I also believe there is a lot more we can do to simplify financial services for consumers and investors. Too often have we seen regulatory requirements incorrectly cited as the reason for unsatisfactory service or reams of unhelpful material, while other firms operating under the same rules manage to do better.

“We will continue raising consumer and investors’ awareness of how to protect themselves against frauds and scams, using our status as Trusted Flagger to require criminal content to be taken down by online platforms, as well as detecting and punishing unauthorised providers and market abuse.

“We will continue to support the Government’s National Financial Literacy Strategy and its Action Plan on Insurance Reform, and work to enhance how investors access capital markets to provide for their future.

“We will focus on how digital innovation can support consumers and investors, including through our Innovation Hub and Sandbox.”

Speaking to the future of financial services for consumers and investors, Deputy Governor Kincaid said: “The supervision of regulated firms by the Central Bank will not solve all the problems facing users of financial services in the period ahead. Increasingly, the solutions to these problems will require coordinated action by a range of public bodies, including the Central Bank, the financial services industry and other sectors. We will need to find new ways of working together to ensure our financial well-being.”

ENDS