Ireland Said to Weigh Bank Regulator Shake-Up Amid Brexit Influx

Ireland’s central bank is considering splitting the role of deputy governor for financial regulation into two positions, according to a person with knowledge of the industry, anticipating the demands the institution may face from an influx of banking jobs post-Brexit.

The central bank may separate the deputy governor role into two positions -- one to manage prudential regulation, overseeing financial stability and banks’ capital levels, and another role in charge of protecting consumers, according to the person, who asked not to be identified as the plans are still under deliberation. A second, less likely, possibility is one role to regulate domestic commercial and retail banking, and another to supervise international banking operations based in Ireland, such as trading and investment banking, said the person.

The central bank, based in Dublin, declined to comment.

The possible changes come as some companies set up front-office trading operations in Dublin and U.K.-based firms consider moving staff to Ireland after the U.K. voted to leave the European Union. Financial regulator Cyril Roux said in February he plans to step down, giving Governor Philip Lane an opportunity to reshape the way the Irish central bank operates.

“The scale of financial regulation is now so demanding -- we’re trying to come up with a configuration that makes sure that all of that sphere is properly handled,” Lane told an Irish parliamentary hearing on April 4. “Within a number of weeks, I think we’ll have a revised setup.”

The central bank named consumer-protection head Bernard Sheridan as acting deputy governor earlier this week. Sheridan will become director of corporate affairs once the deputy governor job has been filled.