Season 3 - Episode 8: Consumer Protection Regulation - Part 1

The Compliance Files

Protecting consumers is at the heart of the Central Bank of Ireland’s mandate. Their role is to ensure that the best interests of consumers are protected while enhancing confidence and trust in the financial system through effective regulation of financial service providers and markets. In a two-part series, we talk to Nora Beausang, solicitor and the author of ‘Consumer and SME Credit Law’ published by Bloomsbury Professional, about consumer protection issues applying to financial services business in Ireland, with a particular focus on lending (cash loans).

In the first episode, Nora addresses the role of the Central Bank as conduct regulator, the different categories of lenders (cash loans), the beneficiaries of lending-related consumer protection rules and the thorny issue of the interpretation of ‘consumer’ under those rules. The second episode will deal with the high-level statutory protections applying to lending to consumers in Ireland under both domestic and EU rules.