Seanad debates

Thursday, 27 March 2003

Central Bank and Financial Services Authority of Ireland Bill 2002: Second Stage.

 

I am concerned about whether the Central Bank is the right body to represent customers. From that point of view, what we are doing is similar to placing responsibility for the Office of Consumer Affairs under the aegis of IBEC. The latter is a producers' and employers' organisation and it is not part of its culture to place the interests of customers first. However, it would be extremely foolish of the members of IBEC to disregard those interests. Similarly, the Central Bank has always been more of a producers', rather than a customers', organisation. Its role has not been to represent the banks, but to regulate them. It has always seen its main job as keeping the banks in business, in order to sustain competition, by protecting them from anything that would threaten their ability to survive. That is right and proper and it is an essential function that the bank has performed very well.

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