2020 has been a year like no other. One contradictory aspect of this
year’s enforced lockdown is that some days have seemed long, drawn out,
almost never ending, while at the same time weeks, months, and indeed
the year has simply flown by! For me, anyway. In similarly contradictory
fashion, for six years now in Ireland, Consultation Paper 86 (CP86)
like a badly calibrated pendulum, has swung between being viewed as
critically important to being an incidental afterthought, from being
urgent and imperative to a marginalized lower priority, all depending on
who you ask.
What’s more certain however, is we appear to be at
end game for Irish Fund Management Companies (FMCs) caught by CP86. As
most readers will already know, on October 20th the Central
Bank of Ireland (CBI) published a “Dear Chair” letter outlining findings
of the CBI’s thematic review of the CP86 framework. The letter is the
result of an 18-month review of all 358 active FMCs in Ireland.
The
“Dear Chair” letter points out several areas in need of improvement,
including more challenge of fund delegates by designated persons, better
quality of reporting, board composition, time commitments, and
succession planning. Within the letter, the CBI demand that FMCs
“critically assess their position” against the letter’s findings and
prepare a board-approved action plan by the end of March 2021.
The action plan ensures compliance with the recast parameters of the
CP86 framework, with a timeline agreed for the action plans’ execution.
The CBI will conduct an industry-wide review of these matters in 2022
“to assess firms’ actions on foot of these findings”. As such, the
industry is mobilizing already to ensure compliance.
While the
letter is clear on most issues, there were two questions raised
uniformly across the industry as it digested its contents, which the
Central Bank have subsequently responded to:
1. Do the CBI’s prescribed minimum three full-time employees (FTE) apply to Self-Managed Investment Companies (SMICs)?
Here,
the CBI is unequivocal and confirms the 3 FTE requirement is a minimum
requirement, applying to all FMCs, including SMICs (as well as
internally managed alternative investment funds).
2.
The letter states that FMCs must appoint locally based Designated
Persons who conduct managerial functions including oversight of
delegated activities. Does this mean all Designated persons must be
based in Ireland?
This question is far more
nuanced, and arises primarily because the CBI already prescribes an
effective supervision rule through Regulation 104 of the Central Bank
UCITS Regulations 2019, colloquially known as the “Location Rule”, which
speaks to the CBI’s ability to effectively supervise FMCs, including
the physical proximity of FMC directors and designated persons. The
letter sets out certain recalibrated expectations which to some, were
slightly unclear.
The CBI’s response provides some specificity
to the local resource issue, but also leaves it open ended and somewhat
to the FMC’s own discretion to ensure they have the requisite a level
of resource to comply with the CP86 requirements.
The clarification letter states:
