Investment Firms Q&A Archive

This page contains an archive of Q&A documents relating to Investment Firms.

The Investment Firms Q&A sets out answers to queries likely to arise in relation to the Central Bank Investment Firms Regulations, MiFID II and MiFIR. It is published in order to assist in limiting uncertainty. It is not relevant to assessing compliance with regulatory requirements. You should check the website from time to time in relation to any matter of importance to you to see if the position has altered.

Read our current Q&A document on our Regulatory Requirements and Guidance page.

  • The first edition of the Investment Firms Regulations Q&A was published on 13 March 2017.
  • Second Edition: On 28 June 2017, the Central Bank published the second edition of the Investment Firms Regulations Q&A. New questions ID 1022 - ID 1025 were added and questions ID 1005, ID 1006 and ID 1010 were amended.
  • Third Edition: On 6 October 2017, the Central Bank published the third edition of the Investment Firms Q&A. This incorporated new questions ID 1026 - ID 1031.
  • Fourth Edition: On 2 October 2018, the Central Bank published the fourth edition of the Investment Firms Q&A This contained an amendment to existing question ID 1001 and new questions ID 1032-1037. ID 1014 has been deleted as a template for the annual outsourcing return is now available. ID 1025 is no longer relevant given the amendment to Regulation 19 of the Central Bank (Supervision and Enforcement) Act 2013 (Section 48(1))(Investment Firms) Regulations 2017 (S.I. No. 604 of 2017).
  • Fifth Edition: On 8 October 2018, the Central Bank has published the fifth edition of its Investment Firms Q&A containing an additional question ID 1039. Question ID 1039 relates to the scope of the term “transferable securities” and addresses circumstances where securities have restricted transferability, for example, loan notes and shares in private companies. The response to Question ID 1039 reiterates the understanding of the term “transferable securities” set out in the European Commission’s Q&A on the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive. The response also indicates that investments firms should consider whether securities with restricted transferability are “transferable securities” for the purposes of the definition of investment instruments in Section 2 of the Investment Intermediaries Act 1995. In circumstances where investment firms are providing services in relation to securities with restrictions on transferability firms should assess on a case-by-case basis whether those securities are “transferable securities” under the European Union (Markets in Financial Instruments) Regulations 2017 or the Investment Intermediaries Act 1995. Based on that assessment an investment firm must provide its services in compliance with the applicable regulatory requirements.
  • Sixth Edition: On 16 January 2019, the Central Bank published the sixth edition of its Investment Firms Q&A containing an additional question ID 1031. Q&A ID 1031 relates to Regulation 5 of the MiFID II Regulations. Regulation 5 requires, inter alia, that a cooperation agreement be in place between the Central Bank and a third country competent authority before a third country firm supervised by that third country competent authority can provide investment services to professional clients and eligible counterparties without being deemed to operate in Ireland.