In the summer of 2012, with bond markets pricing in a chance of a euro breakup, Mario Draghi pledged to do “whatever it takes” to preserve the currency union. It worked: spreads fell, though the programme behind the pledge, Outright Monetary Transactions (OMT), was never used. Despite having no formal relationship with national fiscal authorities, the central bank stepped in because markets had doubts about some governments’ solvency, and this threatened the monetary union’s existence. We are familiar with Sargent and Wallace’s “unpleasant monetarist arithmetic,” and Leeper’s  “active/passive” monetary/fiscal, where fiscal authorities prioritise debt sustainability and monetary authorities price stability. However, the original theory did not anticipate the euro area: one monetary policy with twenty-one fiscal policies. The missing piece is not so much coordination, as it is clear mandates, communicated well.   Price stability is not negotiable, but it requires credible fiscal commitment to debt stabilisation.“Whatever it takes” showed what happens when that fiscal commitment looks fragile. Barred by treaty, the ECB was never going to fund a deficit directly. Instead OMT was designed to make it irrational for markets to bet on a eurozone government losing access to funding. We saw fragmentation risk twice more, during the pandemic – leading to the pandemic emergency purchase programme (PEPP) – and when rates rose rapidly during 2022 – leading to the Transmission Protection Instrument (TPI). None of these instruments finance a deficit in the sense of Sargent and Wallace. They are a softer version of the problem: sovereign market disruptions reshape what the central bank must do to keep monetary policy working across the monetary union.The EU has tackled the problem through a rules-based approach. The 2024 reform of the Stability and Growth Pact aimed to achieve credible national fiscal commitments. With Excessive Deficit Procedures in place for several Member States, the litmus test will be whether country-specific consolidation paths can be achieved. Inevitably, the opposite version of this problem gets less attention, because it looks like good news rather than a crisis. When a Member State is running a surplus – which may or may not be built on solid foundations – it may feel relatively unconstrained in its spending plans.  Such a scenario has obvious implications for price stability, particularly if the economy has little slack. I say all of this as someone who has sat on both sides of this relationship: from 2011 to 2019 I ran the New Zealand Treasury and I now sit on the ECB's Governing Council. What looks like a coordination problem from the outside looks quite different from within each institution. New Zealand operated “consensus assignment,” where monetary policy took the primary stabilisation role and fiscal policy focused on sustainability and building buffers. This was not formally coordinated. Each institution was clear about its own role,  avoided working at cross-purposes, and was independent enough not to be called upon to do the other’s job. It was held together by clarity of mandate and institutional memory of what happens when that clarity breaks down.In a speech just over 8 years ago, reflecting on lessons from the Global Financial Crisis, I wondered whether “better coordination of fiscal, monetary and financial stability policy [would] help lift the economy’s performance over the cycle as well as help lift the economy’s sustainable growth rate”.  Eight years on, a clear answer is that coordination is not always bad. For large shocks, some alignment of fiscal and monetary policy is appropriate. I saw this from the fiscal side when the Christchurch earthquake struck in February 2011, which was followed by a large fiscal mobilisation with comparatively little monetary policy response. During the pandemic, I watched the same dynamic from the other side of the table, as both fiscal and monetary policy moved in the same direction. So, crisis-alignment can be the right call, depending on circumstances. But the lesson is that this type of coordination must not become a standing expectation of fiscal support, thereby undermining central bank credibility and its ability to meet its price stability mandate.Credibility must be actively maintained. I am not just talking about achieving the mandate, but also clearly communicating your actions and the reasons for them. Central banks have spent three decades building public understanding of why price stability matters, through transparent frameworks, plain language, and consistent accountability. Fiscal authorities need the same discipline. The challenge is that the costs of undisciplined public finances are diffuse and delayed, while the benefits of spending are immediate and visible. Making the case for fiscal rules to the citizens who determine whether governments hold to them is itself part of what credibility means. Commitment that lacks public legitimacy will not long survive contact with a political cycle, however firmly it is written into law.To conclude, coordination in the sense of a standing, negotiated division of roles is not credible in the euro area. For large shocks, some alignment is desirable, but grounded in each institution’s mandate, not according to some moveable boundary agreed in advance. The rest of the time, the euro needs twenty-one fiscal authorities that can stick to credible commitments through good times and bad. In this way, the ECB will never have to choose between its mandate and other goals.  Of course, a centralised fiscal capacity – underpinned by a single safe asset – would help but that’s another topic altogether.

Central Bank of Ireland has today launched a new map showing the location of every ATM and cash service points in the country. The public can now also notify the Central Bank if they believe there is insufficient access to cash in their community.From today (Tuesday 30 June 2026), the public can submit a local deficiency notification through an online form available on the Central Bank's website. The Central Bank will carefully assess each notification, consider the specific circumstances of the local community and assess the proportionality of remediation. If we determine that further cash infrastructure should be provided, we will notify the designated entities that are responsible for addressing this (currently AIB, Bank of Ireland and Permanent TSB). This new framework represents an important step in implementing the Finance (Provision of Access to Cash Infrastructure) Act 2025.Data published for March 2026 shows that the overall level of cash infrastructure is largely in line with the criteria set by the Minister for Finance. There are around 4,000 ATMs in Ireland and around 1,200 cash service points. However, in certain instances, there may be specific challenges in accessing cash at a more local level. The local deficiencies framework caters for such possibilities.The public can now access on the Central Bank’s website: Cash access map showing the location of every ATM and cash service points across Ireland, so people can easily find their nearest point to access cash.Local deficiency guidelines – with information explaining what constitutes reasonable and effective access to cash and setting out the Central Bank's assessment process.Local deficiency notification form allowing the public to notify the Central Bank if they think there may be a local access to cash deficiency in their community.Deputy Governor Vasileios Madouros said: "The Central Bank is committed to ensuring that cash remains available as a means of payment for individuals and businesses across Ireland. Today's publication of the local deficiency guidelines and cash access map follows a public consultation and engagement with stakeholders. It represents an important milestone in our role in implementing the access to cash legislation. While our data shows the overall cash infrastructure is largely in line with the criteria set out by the Minister for Finance, we recognise that localised issues may arise. This new framework caters for the possibility of such local deficiencies, and its implementation is a further step towards safeguarding sufficient and effective access to cash across Ireland.”View the cash access map, local deficiency guidelines, and local deficiency notification form.Notes to the Editor24 February 2026: Central Bank of Ireland publishes first access to cash report5 December 2025: Central Bank of Ireland launches Access to Cash consultation24 November 2025: Central Bank of Ireland welcomes announcement of access to cash regulationsFurther InformationMartin Grant / 086 078 7868 / martin.grant@centralbank.ie Media Relations: media@centralbank.ie 

 Warning:Unauthorised Retail Credit Firm Unauthorised Firm NameLoan Empower Solution Websitehttps://www.lesolution.eu Purported addressThe Merrion Buildings, 18–20 Merrion Street, Dublin 2, D02 XH98, Ireland Email address usedcontact@lesolution.eu Phone number used+49 30 1234 5678 Authorisation in IrelandLoan Empower Solution is not authorised as a retail credit firm in Ireland.  Additional informationLoan Empower Solution appears to be engaged in ‘advanced fee fraud’, where a payment is sought upfront for providing credit services, which are then not provided.Notes:Any person wishing to contact the Central Bank with information regarding such firms / persons may telephone (01) 224 5800 or report an unauthorised firm directly to the Central Bank.For more information on how to protect yourself from financial scams, please visit www.centralbank.ie/financialscamsThe name of the above firm is published under section 53 of the Central Bank (Supervision and Enforcement) Act 2013.

Good morning.It is a pleasure to welcome you this morning to the Central Bank of Ireland and to the tenth annual Macroprudential Conference, organised jointly with the Deutsche Bundesbank, the Nederlandsche Bank, and the Sveriges Riksbank.Let me begin by thanking the scientific committee for bringing together such a distinguished group of policymakers and researchers, and for developing a programme that is both ambitious and timely. Let me also note that it is the first time the conference is held in Ireland and that we are honoured to welcome you in Dublin today.A tenth anniversary is an opportunity to take stock. Since this conference first met in Stockholm in 2015, the financial system has changed significantly. Yet the fundamental purpose of macroprudential policy remains constant: to protect society from the wider costs of financial instability.Households and businesses rely on the financial system to make payments, safeguard savings, manage risks, and finance investment. When the system functions well, it supports economic activity and enhances prosperity. When it fails, the consequences extend far beyond financial markets and financial institutions, affecting communities across society, and often falling most heavily on those least able to bear them.Ireland's experience leaves us in little doubt about those costs. It also however shows the value of building resilience before it is needed. Our macroprudential framework, introduced as Ireland emerged from the financial crisis more than ten years ago, now encompasses borrower-based measures, bank capital buffers, and measures for non-bank finance. These policies cannot prevent every shock, neither should they seek to prevent all risk-taking. Their role is to reduce the likelihood that shocks are amplified by the financial system and to ensure that essential services can continue when shocks occur.Over the past decade, macroprudential policy has moved from a young discipline towards a more established part of our policy frameworks. And, over this period, our collective understanding of this relatively new field of policy has advanced significantly. Indeed, many of the attendees here today have been influential contributors to this advancement. But maturity must not mean complacency. The financial system is changing quickly, and our frameworks must continue to evolve with it.The programme for the next two days illustrates the scale of that change.It ranges from bank supervision and non-bank finance to cross-border payments, central bank balance sheets, resolution, stablecoins and cryptocurrencies. These may appear to be quite different subjects. Together, however, they describe a financial system in which risks can emerge in new places, move through new channels and crystallise with greater speed.The opening session on Silicon Valley Bank is a reminder that vulnerabilities can build over time beneath apparently reassuring indicators. It asks us to distinguish between reacting to losses once they are incurred and responding to risks as they are taken.That distinction captures a central challenge for financial stability policy. We need to be able to see risks forming before they crystallise, while recognising the limits of our knowledge and the costs of acting under uncertainty. This requires good data, sound models and effective supervision. It also requires intellectual openness: the willingness to test our assumptions, to draw lessons from experience, and to recognise where our understanding is incomplete.But identifying risk within individual institutions is only part of the task.Many of the boundaries around which financial policy was built are becoming increasingly blurry. Risks move between banks and non-banks, across markets and jurisdictions, and between the traditional financial system and new forms of digital finance. Cross-border payments remind us that the infrastructure through which finance operates is itself a source of both opportunity and risk.The frontier of macroprudential research is increasingly found in these connections. We need to understand not only individual nodes, but also the network; not only first-round effects, but also amplification and feedback; not only the amount of risk, but where it is held, how it is financed and how it may move under stress.This has practical consequences for policymaking. Frameworks built for one structure of finance may become less effective as activity migrates elsewhere. Measures intended to strengthen one part of the system may shift risk into another. And new technologies can change behaviour more quickly than our data, models or rules can adapt.The answer is not to pursue a financial system without change or without risk. Innovation, risk-taking and the movement of capital are essential to a productive economy. The task is to ensure that the financial system can adapt and innovate while remaining resilient.Research is central to that task. Historical research can reveal recurring patterns beneath apparently novel developments. Conceptual work can identify risks before the data are sufficient for precise measurement. Empirical work can map connections and test how shocks propagate. And policy evaluation can tell us whether measures work as intended, where costs arise and how frameworks can be made simpler without weakening resilience.No central bank can answer these questions alone.  In fact today, we are publishing proposals to enhance the evaluation of our policy-making toolkit.   Underpinned by serious research, careful analysis and wide engagement and consultation, we want to support robust, evidence-based decision-making and ensure that our policy interventions are proportionate, transparent, predictable, connected, forward-looking and agile, and support appropriate consideration of their impacts on the functioning of the wider financial system.  I would welcome feedback on these from a range of stakeholders.Finance is global, while our ability to observe and address vulnerabilities remains, in important respects, national and sectoral. Shared standards, comparable data, candid exchange and mutual trust allow national action to add up to global resilience. At a time when the international order is under strain, we should not take that infrastructure for granted. We should invest in it.The same is true of cooperation between policymakers and academia. Good policy research combines institutional knowledge, high-quality data, methodological rigour and the freedom to challenge established thinking. No institution has a monopoly on those qualities.At the Central Bank of Ireland, our Research Exchange Program is intended to make that cooperation practical. Through visiting scholars, research affiliates, scientific advisers and other partnerships, it connects our researchers and policy work with the wider research community. Applications for the next intake of visiting scholars are currently open and, given the expertise in this room, I would be delighted to see your engagement with the Central Bank of Ireland continue to flourish into the future. This conference is itself an example of cooperation in practice. It brings together four central banks, an exceptional scientific committee, and participants with deep experience of research and policymaking. The fact that it has reached its tenth edition is an achievement. More importantly, it demonstrates a sustained commitment to learning together.Over the past decade, macroprudential policy has become a more established part of the policy framework. The next decade will bring risks and innovations that we cannot fully anticipate today. Our enduring purpose must therefore be matched by a continued willingness to question, to adapt and to cooperate.The discussions over the next two days will not resolve every question on the programme. Indeed, a successful research conference usually identifies new questions as quickly as it answers existing ones. But it can sharpen our understanding, challenge our assumptions and improve the choices we make.The ambition of our research should match the importance of our responsibilities. Through rigorous research, honest reflection and international cooperation, we can build a financial system better able to absorb shocks rather than amplify them, and better able to serve households, businesses and communities through periods of change.Thank you. I wish you a productive and enjoyable conference LinksMacroprudential Conferences | Deutsche Bundesbank10th-annual-macroprudential-conference-dublin-2026-agenda.pdf

The Central Bank of Ireland has today launched a public consultation seeking views on its approach to Regulatory Impact Assessment (RIA) and on its approach to consultation with stakeholders. The consultation forms part of the Central Bank’s ongoing work to deliver a more effective and efficient regulatory framework, building on our recent new supervisory approach and roadmap of regulatory initiatives. It reflects the Central Bank’s commitment to ensuring that regulation remains clear, coherent and proportionate, while continuing to support the protections and resilience on which the financial system depends.Commenting on the launch of the consultation, Governor Gabriel Makhlouf said: “Good regulation matters for consumers and investors, for firms and the wider economy, and for the resilience and stability of our financial system. As markets evolve and the choices facing policymakers become more complex, we have to keep evolving how we develop policy and how we make decisions. “Evidence, analysis, engagement and judgement are central to how we develop policy at the Central Bank of Ireland. This has always been the case and is reflected in the important policy decisions we have made. “This consultation is about strengthening that process: setting out, more clearly and consistently, how we weigh evidence, assess costs and impacts and reach judgements, so that the regulation we deliver is well-founded and well understood.”“By bringing together evidence, analysis and stakeholder perspectives in a structured and proportionate way, we can ensure that our decisions are informed by the best available information." The Governor concluded that the consultation reflected the Central Bank’s broader ambition to be a learning institution.“Effective institutions should be willing to challenge themselves, review their approaches and adapt as circumstances evolve. Good policymaking does not end when a decision is taken.  How a policy is implemented, and the outcomes it delivers, matter just as much. I would encourage everyone with an interest in these issues to engage with this consultation and help us strengthen the way we develop, assess and review policy in the years ahead.”ENDSNotes to EditorsRead more in the Governor’s blog.The Central Bank is interested in hearing from stakeholders across the financial system, including industry, civil society and consumer representatives, the public, policymakers and peer institutions. Submissions are welcomed through the dedicated online submission form, by email, or in writing. The Central Bank will consider all submissions received and will publish a feedback statement in due course.The deadline for submissions is 30 September 2026. 

Good regulation matters. It matters for consumers and for investors. It matters for firms and the wider economy, and for resilience and the stability of the financial system. In the Central Bank, regulation is central to how we deliver our safeguarding outcomes: protecting consumers and investors, maintaining financial stability, supporting the safety and soundness of firms, and protecting the integrity of the financial system.As I have said before, good regulation should be forward looking, connected, proportionate, predictable, transparent and agile.While all are important principles underpinning our current approach, in the current environment I would emphasise that regulation and regulators can’t stand still. As markets evolve, technology advances, business models change, and consumer expectations transform, regulation needs to continue to evolve to promote resilience, to keep pace with rapid innovation in finance, while supporting financial markets to work effectively for consumers, investors and the wider economy.Regulators must adapt too. As the environment becomes more complex and the choices facing policymakers become more difficult and the quality of decision-making becomes increasingly important, it is essential that we evolve how we develop policy and how we make decisions.Our Strategy set out to transform regulation and supervision. Last year, we introduced our new supervisory approach and in December we set out our ambition to deliver a more effective and efficient regulatory framework, including a comprehensive roadmap of initiatives across the breadth of our regulatory and supervisory work. And today, as part of that ambition, we have launched a consultation seeking views on our approach to Regulatory Impact Assessment, and our approach to consultation with stakeholders. The consultation represents another milestone in delivering our ambitions and reflects our commitment to continuous improvement in how we develop, assess and implement regulatory policy. It is central to our  work on making regulation clearer, more coherent and easier to navigate, while maintaining the protections and resilience that the financial system depends on. That work is not about lowering standards or weakening resilience. It is about ensuring that regulation remains effective, proportionate and responsive as circumstances evolve.By outlining our proposed approach to Regulatory Impact Assessment, we are taking the next step in strengthening how we develop, assess and review policy interventions across the financial system. Evidence, analysis and decision makingEvidence, analysis, engagement and judgement are central to how we develop policy at the Central Bank of Ireland.  This has always been the case and is reflected in the important policy decisions we have made.The aim of the proposals being announced today is to better – and more fully – deliver on this approach to policy, making it more consistent, more transparent and more firmly embedded across the organisation and throughout the policy lifecycle. Good policymaking depends not only on the decisions that are ultimately reached, but also on the process through which those decisions are made. That means being clear about the problem we are trying to solve and about the outcomes we are seeking to achieve. It means considering alternative approaches and challenging our own assumptions.At its core, good policymaking is about combining evidence, analysis, experience and judgement. And it requires an assessment of likely impacts, including costs, benefits, risks and unintended consequences.No single source of information is sufficient on its own.Research helps us understand emerging trends and risks.Data helps us understand how markets, firms and consumers behave.Supervisory experience helps us understand how regulation operates in practice.And engagement with stakeholders helps us understand perspectives and consequences that may not otherwise be visible.Bringing these insights together is not always straightforward. But doing so is essential to support the judgement of policymakers in making decisions that are effective, proportionate and deliver the outcomes they are intended to achieve.By bringing together evidence, analysis and stakeholder perspectives in a structured and proportionate way, Regulatory Impact Assessment supports good policymaking, helping to ensure that decisions are informed by the best available information. Better-informed decisions are more likely to deliver the outcomes we are seeking to achieve And it matters because regulatory decisions have real-world consequences,  affecting consumers and investors, firms and markets and  the ability of the financial system to support the wider economy.Learning and improvingThe proposals we are consulting on also reflect a broader principle. Effective institutions should be learning institutions.They should be willing to challenge themselves, review their approaches and adapt as circumstances evolve. For regulators, good policymaking does not end when a decision is made. How and when policy is implemented, and the outcomes achieved, matter. This is why assessment, consultation, implementation and review should all be viewed as part of a continuous process of learning and improvement.The objective is not better process but better decisions leading to better regulation.Better regulation, in turn, leads to better outcomes for consumers, investors, firms and society as a whole. That is the objective that sits behind the consultation we have launched today.I encourage everyone with an interest in these issues to engage with them and help us strengthen the way we develop, assess and review policy interventions in the years ahead. 

Good morning and thank you to BIPAR for inviting me to speak at your event today, as we approach the start of the Irish Presidency of the Council of the European Union. As the financial sector continues to evolve, the contribution of intermediaries remains as important as ever. Around 2,500 of the 3,300 firms the Central Bank of Ireland supervises are retail intermediaries. They provide a critical distribution channel for insurance, pensions, investments and mortgages. The extensive network of intermediaries here in Ireland, and across the EU, helps to ensure that consumers can access professional advice and the products and services they need. I would like to start therefore by examining how these consumer needs are evolving and the specific role of insurance and financial intermediaries.Evolving Consumer Needs and the Role of the Retail Intermediaries Sector Consumer needs and expectations are changing rapidly, largely driven by technology. Our 2026 Regulatory and Supervisory Outlook Report notes that advancing digitalisation and changing consumer expectations are reshaping the nature, form and delivery of financial products.1 Technology is increasing the pace at which consumers demand to receive services, the quality of the information they expect and the range of places they go to get advice about their finances (including via social media and AI). This digitalisation of consumer financial services is, on balance, positive for consumers.  But it is also introducing new risks and challenges.2 As highlighted in the OECD’s 2026 Consumer Finance Risk Monitor3 ,these risks include the rising level of online frauds and scams as well as digital exclusion. That Risk Monitor also notes that consumer financial products and services are becoming more complex, and that globally consumer complaints about financial services are on the increase.Against this backdrop, retail intermediaries have a unique role to play in helping consumers navigate complexity by delivering professional advice in an increasingly fast paced digital landscape. The regulated intermediary also has an important role to be the trustworthy actor in a landscape where it can be increasingly difficult to tell what is regulated from what is not.  Savings and Investments Union and efforts to grow retail participationFor the benefits of financial services to be realised, consumers must be supported to participate in them. Here again, intermediaries have a critical role to play. For the most part, that support to participate in financial services is there – and augmented most recently here in Ireland by the provisions we have introduced in the Consumer Protection Code, for example to support mortgage and insurance switching. But it remains the case that more can be done to better mobilise Europe's substantial household savings4 toward productive investment, supporting innovation, growth and the transition to a more sustainable economy. For individual citizens, this represents an opportunity to better provide for their long-term financial needs, including retirement. The Savings and Investments Union is an important initiative to achieve these goals and one the Central Bank of Ireland supports. A key element of the Savings and Investments Union is the development of investment accounts, following the European Commission's recommendation on this topic. I welcome the discussion taking place through the Savings and Investment Forum to advance a framework for a Personal Investment Account here in Ireland. These Personal Investment Accounts have the potential to make investing more accessible to ordinary savers and to better position retail investors for the future. Regulatory frameworkTo support this ambition of greater retail participation in capital markets, the regulatory framework must provide confidence to consumers that they are protected. It must also be fit for purpose for the times we are in, and the challenges we can anticipate.The EU’s Retail Investment Strategy aims to achieve a more coherent cross-sectoral framework governing the manufacture and distribution of retail investment products, and advice on those products. In the face of the trends I have mentioned, this is to be welcomed. Here in Ireland, we have also been proactive in modernising our rulebook. The Central Bank’s new Consumer Protection Code strengthens requirements on firms:to act in consumers’ best interests, to move from mere disclosure to informing consumers effectively, to put consumers at the heart of digital design, to better manage conflicts of interest, and to recognise and deal appropriately with consumers in vulnerable circumstances.The proper implementation of these requirements will underpin the protection of consumers who seek to make greater use of the opportunities financial services offer, including through the Personal Investment Account.It will be a core concern of the Central Bank to see that the standards set are indeed met. Regulating and Supervising WellThe Central Bank of Ireland is committed to ensuring that our regulatory and supervisory framework is fit for purpose. This means many things but it includes having a simplification mindset. Rules must be understood, applied predictably, and achieve their purpose without unnecessary burden or complexity.That is why we chose not just to participate in national and EU measures to simplify regulation, but to also publish our own simplification roadmap for ourselves.  We remain committed to delivering each of the 21 separate items in that roadmap within the timelines it specifies.  This does not mean lowering standards, as our mandate and objectives have not changed but it does mean we are open to simpler ways of achieving them.  We have also sought to enhance our gatekeeping process (of critical importance to intermediaries) to be clearer, more transparent, more efficient and more predictable. We continue to do so through our ongoing work to centralise our gatekeeping functions, invest in technology and deepen our understanding of innovation.5 Our annual Authorisation and Gatekeeping Report6 will continue to provide transparency on our progress.It is also instructive to consider what simplification means from the point of view of consumers. I believe firms can do more to make their own product lines and service delivery simpler for users. A more integrated approach to supervision Consistent with our commitment to ensure we remain effective and efficient into the future, in January 2025 the Central Bank launched a new approach to how it supervises financial services.7 This more integrated supervisory approach is enabling us to draw better risk-based insights and support a more joined-up view of firms, markets and consumers. This is especially beneficial to the supervision of firms and business models that traverse a range of ‘sectors’, as is often the case for intermediaries. And the Central Bank continues to play its part in fostering coherence in our supervisory approach at EU level, where we have consistently supported outcomes focused, risk based supervisory convergence. Some specific areas of supervisory focusI want to conclude by sharing with you some areas the Central Bank identified in our 2026 Regulatory and Supervisory Outlook8 of particular relevance to retail intermediaries. These are driven by our commitment to tackling the issues of greatest impact for consumers in their day-to-day lives – including as evidenced by the complaints those consumers themselves have been making. Consumer experience and vulnerability: How firms treat customers, how they respond to queries, how firms handle complaints – these are the moments that build or undermine trust. This year we will conclude a cross-sectoral thematic review which includes a focus on the customer support that firms (including retail intermediaries) have in place. We will also commence a review of how firms identify and treat customers in vulnerable circumstances – recognising vulnerability is not always a static, innate or permanent characteristic and that certain customers at certain times will require additional support.Commissions and conflicts of interest: The remuneration arrangements used in a sector inherently influence the behaviour of individuals working in that sector. Properly designed, they promote availability and choice, high standards and good consumer outcomes. Poorly designed, they incentivise mis-selling, product churn and poor value for money. This year we will commence a cross-sectoral review of certain intermediary commission arrangements to understand how they are designed and managed to secure consumers’ best interests.Unregulated financial activities: I mentioned earlier how difficult it is becoming for consumers to tell clearly what is regulated and what is not. This includes where regulated financial service providers choose to also sell products of a financial nature that are not regulated. Our Consumer Protection Code now includes specific provisions on how firms must manage the risk this inevitably brings that a consumer will purchase an unregulated product or service thinking it to be regulated. Our new requirements mean regulated firms are unlikely to be able to offer, under the same or similar branding, unregulated things that resemble regulated things. Shortly, we will commence a review to ensure this new provision has been implemented properly.ConclusionRetail intermediaries have a valuable role to play in supporting the financial wellbeing of consumers. You are often the first point of contact for consumers navigating complex financial decisions. You see consumer needs and vulnerabilities before anyone else. This puts you in a position of significant influence and responsibility.This is all the more important as technology drives rapid change and policy makers look to enhance retail participation. Consumers will be making more financial decisions, more rapidly and in more complex circumstances. More consumers will be seeking advice and from a wider range of sources. More consumers will be relying on intermediaries to guide them through increasingly complex choices.You can shape the outcomes these consumers have in a positive way – helping people build financial resilience, plan for their future, and navigate life's challenges. This requires a commitment to putting consumers’ interests first, managing conflicts effectively, and maintaining the trust that is essential to the proper functioning of financial markets. It also requires that you internalise the implications of technology for the services you provide into the future.The Central Bank of Ireland will continue to support those who work to get it right for their customers and hold to account those who fall short. As we enter the Irish Presidency, I look forward to hearing about the opportunities you see to enhance the financial services consumers and investors receive – now and into the future. Thank you.[1] Supervisory Outlook Report 2026 [2] Eurobarometer survey: The digital decade (2024)[3] Consumer Finance Risk Monitor 2026 [4] EU households hold around €39.5tr in financial assets, of which €10-12tr is held in cash and deposits. [5] Opportunities and responsibilities – international financial services in fragmenting times - Speech by Deputy Governor McMunn[6] Authorisations and Gatekeeping Report Edition 3 [7] Our Approach to Supervision [8] Regulatory & Supervisory Outlook 

Inflation forecasts have been revised upwards notably, to 3.5 per cent this year and 2.9 per cent in 2027Weaker consumer spending expected in 2026 but continued growth in MDD is projected over the forecast horizon with MNE-related investment playing a prominent role GDP fell sharply in the first quarter of 2026, highlighting its sensitivity to the (onshore and offshore) activities of a small number of multinational enterprisesA swift resolution to the conflict would see oil and gas prices fall below baseline assumptions, supporting modestly stronger MDD growth and lower inflation than in the central forecast.The Central Bank has today (18 June 2026) published its second Quarterly Bulletin of 2026. At the launch of the Quarterly Bulletin, Robert Kelly, Director of Economics and Statistics said: “The global economy continues to face challenges and heightened uncertainty arising from the conflict in the Middle East. With the disruption in the Strait of Hormuz continuing into its fourth month, despite news of a resolution, uncertainty remains.”“Even when the conflict is fully resolved the restoration of supply chains will take an extended period. Accordingly, there has been exceptional volatility in spot prices for oil alongside related commodities and more persistent challenges to supply leading to a higher outlook for energy prices generally than at the time of our March forecasts. For Ireland, higher energy costs are eroding household real incomes and damping consumer confidence, while also feeding through to broader inflationary pressures. The conflict poses complex risks to global supply chains beyond energy, with potential downstream effects on production costs and economic activity. Against this backdrop, domestic economic policy faces the dual challenge of supporting those most vulnerable and enabling households and firms build resilience to these shocks generally, while avoiding measures that unnecessarily add to demand or entrench inflationary pressures within the economy.”These developments have led to changes to the economic outlook that prevailed before the conflict, with somewhat divergent views on consumer spending and business investment. Modified domestic demand (MDD) growth is projected to moderate, reflecting the damping effects of higher energy prices on real incomes and consumption. However, the momentum in MNE-led investment is expected to be significant in contributing to overall MDD growth over the forecast horizon. Against this uncertain backdrop, the preliminary National Accounts data for Q1 2026 epitomised the dual nature of the Irish economy. MDD grew strongly, heavily influenced by multinational-dominated investment, particularly in AI and data centre-related capital goods. In contrast, headline GDP contracted sharply during the quarter, reflecting base effects from the volatile swings in exports of polypeptide hormones last year and a contraction in offshore goods trade. These divergences underscore the necessity of looking beyond headline measures to understand underlying momentum in the domestic economy.Inflation forecasts have been revised upward notably: 3.5 per cent in 2026 and 2.9 per cent in 2027 under the baseline, with energy prices the primary driver. The outlook for energy prices is substantially higher than assumed in the March Bulletin and a range of outcomes are possibly given ongoing geopolitical uncertainty. In a severe scenario assuming higher and more persistent global energy prices, inflation could approach 5 per cent in 2027, while a swift resolution to the conflict could bring it slightly below the 2.9 per cent projected in the baseline.Direct energy price effects are clearly visible in headline inflation. Indirect effects are also evident, as higher energy costs feed into production costs, transport, and prices for energy-intensive goods and services. Services inflation has remained elevated. The key risk is second-round effects — workers seeking nominal wage increases to compensate for real income losses, and firms passing these higher labour costs into consumer prices. While no widespread evidence of such effects has emerged, the risk remains significant.The unemployment rate has increased over the past year with forecasted rates above 5 per cent for the first time since 2021. The seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate in Q1 2026 measured 5 per cent, up from 4.6 per cent in Q4 2025 and the highest level since Q4 2021. This increase would have been larger if not for a decline in labour force participation amongst 15-24 year olds as those leaving employment moved out of the labour force rather than into unemployment . This pattern is consistent with seasonal fluctuations in the youth labour market activity as participation rates typically peak in Q2 and Q3 as younger cohorts seek summer employment. These movements are expected to add to aggregate employment growth in 2026 despite the weak Q1 outturn. GDP fell by 17.1 (12.1) per cent year-on-year (quarter on quarter) in 2026 Q1, driven by a sharp drop in both polypeptide-hormone exports and net trade related to offshore goods. This was a significant negative surprise relative to the flash estimate of a 6 per cent (year-on-year) decline released by the CSO in April 2026. The reasons for the decline are concentrated in the pharmaceutical sector, in particular, a sharp drop in both cross-border goods exports (which were exceptionally large in the first quarter of 2025, partly due to a frontloading effect from expected tariffs) and MNE-related offshore net trade. The former is driven by the dynamics of exports of polypeptide hormones, a key component of weight-loss drugs, which were extremely volatile through 2025. Global demand for these products produced in Ireland is expected to be solid over the medium term. ENDSFurther information - The Bulletin presents a baseline forecast alongside three alternative scenarios to reflect the exceptional uncertainty around the outlook:Milder scenario: A swift resolution to the conflict would see oil and gas prices fall below baseline assumptions, supporting modestly stronger MDD growth and lower inflation than the 2.9 per cent baseline forecast for 2027.Adverse scenario: In the adverse scenario, global oil and gas prices rise by 10 and 14 per cent, respectively, above the baseline in 2026, with prices remaining persistently higher than the baseline out to the end of 2028. In the this scenario, inflation would increase by 0.3 percentage points above the baseline projection and MDD growth would be 0.2 percentage points lower in 2026.Severe scenario: In the severe scenario, the equivalent increases in oil and gas prices above the baseline in 2026 are 32 and 63 per cent, respectively. Persistently higher energy and food commodity prices could push inflation toward 5 per cent in 2027 while significantly slowing growth. Broader global supply chain disruptions — including sharp price increases in fertilisers and helium, a critical semiconductor input — pose further downstream risks not fully captured in these scenarios.Signed article info –Today, we are publishing a Signed Article that assesses the medium-term outlook for the public finances. The analysis finds that the headline and underlying (excluding windfall CT) budget balances are forecast to deteriorate out to 2030, with a lower proportion of estimated windfall corporation tax being saved. Continued spending overruns would further deplete fiscal buffers, with the underlying deficit deteriorating to 6 per cent of GNI* (or €25.7 billion) by 2030, adding to inflationary pressures and limiting the government’s capacity to respond to future negative shocks. While expenditure has increased significantly, the tax base has become more dependent on uncertain corporation tax (CT) and needs to be broadened to finance the substantial increases in future age-related spending and to mitigate the risk from a potential loss of corporation tax. The planned increases in government capital spending can alleviate bottlenecks and boost long-term growth, but effective implementation is needed to maximise these gains. An effective fiscal anchor would help to prevent overheating during periods of strong demand and high inflation, while enabling supportive fiscal policy during downturns, thereby lessening the risk of repeated boom-bust cycles.  Further information Media Relations: media@centralbank.ie

 Warning:Unauthorised Investment Firm / Investment Business Firm / Crypto-Asset Service Provider  Unauthorised Firm Name Lambestone Holding Limited (CLONE) Website• www.lambestoneholding.com• www.secured.lambestoneholding.com• www.lambestone.com/en/  Email address used• support@lambestone.com• thomas.clark@lambestone.com• support@lambestoneholding.com Telephone Numbers used• + 44 7935319927• + 44 2045798184• + 579 9845330• + 1 782 612 0080• + 16472438410• + 442081500056 Authorisation in IrelandLambestone Holding Limited (Clone) is not authorised to operate as an investment firm or provide crypto-asset services in Ireland. Additional InformationThis scam firm cloned the details (name, address and CRO number) of a registered CRO company in order to add an air of legitimacy to the scam.  It should be noted that there is no connection whatsoever between the legitimate CRO company and the scam entity.Notes:Any person wishing to contact the Central Bank with information regarding such firms / persons may telephone (01) 224 5800 or report an unauthorised firm directly to the Central Bank.For more information on how to protect yourself from financial scams, please visit www.centralbank.ie/financialscamsThe name of the above firm is published under section 53 of the Central Bank (Supervision and Enforcement) Act 2013.

Warning:Unauthorised Investment Firm / Unauthorised Investment Business FirmUnauthorised Firm NameMakoTrade Website addresshttps://www.makotrade.netEmail address usedsupport@Makotrade.comAuthorisation in IrelandMakoTrade purporting to be part of the BlauStein Investitionen Gruppe is not authorised as an investment firm or an investment business firm in Ireland.Notes:Any person wishing to contact the Central Bank with information regarding such firms / persons may telephone (01) 224 5800 or report an unauthorised firm directly to the Central Bank.For more information on how to protect yourself from financial scams, please visit www.centralbank.ie/financialscams The name of the above firm is published under section 53 of the Central Bank (Supervision and Enforcement) Act 2013.

Warning:Unauthorised Investment Firm / Investment Business FirmUnauthorised Firm NameAllianceBernstein Limited (CLONE)Email Address’s• clientservices@abprivatemanagement.com• info@abprivatemanagement.comAuthorisation in IrelandAllianceBernstein Limited (Clone) is not authorised to operate as an investment firm or investment business firm in Ireland.Additional InformationThis scam firm cloned the details (name and address) of the legitimate Central Bank authorised firm in order to add an air of legitimacy to the scam.  It should be noted that there is no connection whatsoever between the legitimate Central Bank authorised firm and the scam entity.Notes:Any person wishing to contact the Central Bank with information regarding such firms / persons may telephone (01) 224 5800 or report an unauthorised firm directly to the Central Bank.For more information on how to protect yourself from financial scams, please visit www.centralbank.ie/financialscams The name of the above firm is published under section 53 of the Central Bank (Supervision and Enforcement) Act 2013.

Warning:Unauthorised Investment Firm / Investment Business Firm / Crypto-Asset Service ProviderUnauthorised Firm NameSMH Markets (Clone)Websitehttps://smh-markets.com/Email addresses used• support@smh-markets.com• complaints@smh-markets.com• privacy@smh-markets.com • legal@smh-markets.com • bryan.stone@smh-markets.com Phone number used• +1 6479481664• +1 787 945 2353• +35315314800Authorisation in IrelandSMH Markets is not authorised to provide investment services in Ireland.This unauthorised firm has cloned the details of an authorised firm to pass itself off as legitimate to deceive consumers.There is no connection between the legitimate firm and the unauthorised firm.Notes:Any person wishing to contact the Central Bank with information regarding such firms / persons may telephone (01) 224 5800 or report an unauthorised firm directly to the Central Bank.For more information on how to protect yourself from financial scams, please visit www.centralbank.ie/financialscams The name of the above firm is published under section 53 of the Central Bank (Supervision and Enforcement) Act 2013 

Warning:Unauthorised Investment Firm / Unauthorised Investment Business FirmUnauthorised Firm NameLARL F.S / LARL Financial Services (CLONE)Websitehttps://larlfs.com/Email addresses used• enquiries@larlfs-eu.com• info@larlfs.com• liam.mccarthy@larlfs-eu.comAuthorisation in IrelandLARL F.S / LARL Financial Services (Clone) is not authorised to provide investment services in Ireland.Additional InformationThis firm is cloning the identity of the legitimate Central Bank authorised firm LARL Financial Services Limited (C176004). The clone firm is falsely claiming to be regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland under reference number C176004 in order to add an air of legitimacy to the scam. It should be noted that there is no connection whatsoever between the legitimate Central Bank authorised firm and the scam entity.Notes:Any person wishing to contact the Central Bank with information regarding such firms / persons may telephone (01) 224 5800 or report an unauthorised firm directly to the Central Bank.For more information on how to protect yourself from financial scams, please visit www.centralbank.ie/financialscams The name of the above firm is published under section 53 of the Central Bank (Supervision and Enforcement) Act 2013.

Warning:Unauthorised Investment Firm/ Investment Business Firm/Alternative Investment Firm ManagerUnauthorised Firm NameOristan Ireland Designated Activity Company (CLONE)Website• www.oristanirelanddac.com • https://oristanireland-dac.com/ • https://oristan-ire.com/ • https://oristanportal.com/Email address used• info@oristanirelanddac.com• j.armstrong@oristanirelanddac.com• r.gorman@oristanirelanddac.com• r.gorman@oristan-ireland.com• glenmiller@oristanirelanddac.comPhone number(s) used• +353 1 233 9840 • +353 1 685 5471• +353 1 685 3966Authorisation in IrelandThis clone firm is not authorised to operate as an investment firm or an investment business firm or an alternative investment firm manager in Ireland.Additional InformationThis clone entity, operating the above websites, has cloned the details of a company which is authorised by the Central Bank of Ireland, Oristan Ireland Designated Activity Company.  The details cloned include the name, address and the Central Bank of Ireland registration number of the legitimate authorised entity.    The clone entity is seeking to pass itself off as the legitimate authorised entity in order to deceive consumers. There is no connection between the legitimate authorised entity and the clone entity.  The legitimate authorised entity has no connection whatsoever with the above websites.Notes:Any person wishing to contact the Central Bank with information regarding such firms / persons may telephone (01) 224 5800 or report an unauthorised firm directly to the Central Bank.For more information on how to protect yourself from financial scams, please visit www.centralbank.ie/financialscams The name of the above firm is published under section 53 of the Central Bank (Supervision and Enforcement) Act 2013.

Good afternoon and thank you for inviting me to speak today.Last week, the ECB’s Governing Council decided to raise interest rates by 0.25%. This is the first change since June 2025 – the first increase since 2023 – and brings the main policy rate, the Deposit Facility Rate, to 2.25%.Our decision is a response to inflation pressures from higher oil prices and other supply disruptions arising from the war in the Middle East. My colleagues and I on the Governing Council were unanimous in making the decision; all of us are committed to a monetary policy that delivers our 2% inflation target over the medium term.In the first part of my speech, I set out the context for last week’s decision, outlining the economic outlook for the euro area. The experience of inflation in 2022 showed that net energy importers like Europe — and Ireland in particular, where 80% of our energy is imported, compared to an EU average of 60% — are very exposed to energy price shocks. As our latest Financial Stability Review put it, if the conflict in the Middle East is unresolved, rising inflation and slower growth will be acutely felt by households and businesses.In the second part of my remarks I focus more closely on Ireland, covering the implications of the energy price shock for the Irish economy and  my take on the extremely volatile GDP data we saw recently.  On Thursday this week, we will publish our second Quarterly Bulletin of the year which will set our views on the outlook for the Irish economy more fully.The outlook for the euro area economyThe conflict in the Middle East has delivered a significant supply-side shock to the global economy. Oil prices rose sharply at the onset of the war and remain exceptionally volatile, driven in-part by reporting around how an agreement to end the war might work in practice. The price of energy-intensive products, particularly where production is concentrated in the Gulf region such as fertiliser and helium have also jumped. More generally, rising petrochemical prices, a key factor in the production of many everyday items we consume from food packaging to cosmetics and clothing, are contributing to upward price pressures across the supply chain. The direct effects of the energy shock have already shown up in consumer prices, while the indirect effects are beginning to emerge. The flash estimate for euro area headline inflation in May was 3.2%, up from 3% in April and 1.9% in February. Energy inflation alone was close to 11% in May.Global supply chain pressures intensified in March and April, pointing to further upward pressure on goods prices in the months ahead. Other upstream indicators reinforce this picture: surveys show rising input prices and lengthening supplier delivery times and firms are telling us they expect selling prices to increase in the next three months. All of this shows that the initial energy shock is spreading and, notably, these patterns are broad-based, across all sectors, that is, retail, services, industry, and construction.These are not comfortable numbers, and they are moving in the wrong direction. The question is whether this is a repeat of the 2022 experience that followed Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The two shocks rhyme – in that they are both geopolitical events that push up energy prices – but it is also that case that starting economic backdrop today is quite different, and this could matter for how the initial shock transmits to the broader economy. In 2022, the energy shock arrived into an economy recovering strongly from the pandemic, with demand momentum and labour markets exceptionally tight. The inflation that followed was a combination of supply disruption and demand pressure. The policy response was a rapid sequence of rate increases calibrated to cool demand as well as anchor expectations.Today, demand is well below the levels we experienced coming out of the pandemic.  And since the start of the war, euro area GDP growth has been revised down.  Consumer confidence has fallen and private investment is hesitant in the face of ongoing uncertainty. The latest shock also arrives at a challenging time for European manufacturers, who are impacted by China’s transition to a producer and exporter of complex, high-tech goods that directly compete with Europe’s core industrial sectors. This relatively weaker economic matters, because we know from previous episodes the pass-through of oil shocks to consumer prices tends to be weaker in low-inflation or weaker demand environments. This can happen because, in the face of weaker demand, firms find it harder to pass-on extra costs and workers have weaker bargaining power when it comes to wage demands.The timing and scale of the impact on core consumer goods and services will also depend on the persistence and scale of the shock itself, which remains highly uncertain, notwithstanding this weekend’s news. In addition, how wages and profit margins respond to the initial inflation shock — so-called ‘second-round effects’ — could contribute to stickier services inflation.While conscious of the economic backdrop, I am also wary of taking too much comfort from a ‘this time is different’ narrative, for a few reasons. As I already indicated, the incoming hard and soft data shows clear upward price pressures. Another concern I have is the potential for longer-term energy supply disruption relating to the destruction of infrastructure, on which we have little clarity at this stage. And of course, a channel I pay close attention to is what is happening to inflation expectations. We track expectations because the prices that businesses and consumers expect in the future can shape price-setting and wage demands today.ECB research shows that after the outbreak of the latest Middle East conflict in February, euro area consumers revised their short-term inflation expectations upward sharply while simultaneously marking down their growth expectations. At the median, consumers’ twelve-month ahead expected inflation rose from just over 2.5 to 4 per cent in March and has remained there since. Short-term inflation expectations tend to react quickly to spikes in energy prices, and if the initial shock fades, these expectations can revert.  This is why we also pay attention to medium-term expectations, which have been more stable of late, across consumers, firms, and financial markets. For example, data from inflation swaps that allows us to gauge average inflation over the coming five years showed little movement since the onset of the war, currently sitting just above 2.1%.Despite this, we also need to account for the fact that households are encountering this new shock already carrying the memory of the post-pandemic inflation surge. That accumulated experience has made them more sensitive to price developments: even as inflation had returned close to our 2% target last year, close to 41% of consumers surveyed in the ECB Consumer Expectations Survey said they were still paying close attention to price changes. When the conflict escalated at the end of February, that figure rose again to 50%. The message is clear: consumers have not forgotten, and they are watching closely.Let me be clear about what raising rates in this environment does and does not mean.It does not automatically mean we are embarking on a new extended tightening cycle equivalent to 2022 and 2023. The context is different, the starting point is different, and the calibration should be different. Yet we know from the past, as well as from the incoming data, that supply shocks cannot simply be accommodated when they risk being persistent and when expectations are as sensitive as the data suggest they currently are. It does mean that the path ahead remains genuinely uncertain and, for policy, data-dependent. The latest staff projections have inflation in the baseline averaging 3% in 2026 but peaking in the second half of the year at 3.4%.  For 2027 and 2028 it averages 2.3 and 2.0%, respectively. It is worth comparing these with the projections from June 2022, where the communication from the Governing Council at the time was that this was the start of a hiking cycle: inflation was projected to average 6.8% in 2022, 3.5% in 2023, and 2.1% in 2024.  Reflecting uncertainty around energy prices, the June 2026 projections also consider the impact of milder, adverse, and severe energy scenarios on inflation.  In these scenarios, inflation ranges from 2.9 to 4.0% in 2026, 1.8 to 5.0% in 2027, and 1.8 to 3.0% in 2028. Prior to the weekend’s announcements, my view was that we were tracking closer to a scenario where oil prices only come down slowly through 2027 and 2028 but remain above pre-war levels. The ‘milder’ scenario had a faster decline through the second half of 2026, returning to pre-war levels by mid-2027. While much remains unclear, I welcome news of the proposed memorandum of understanding to end the war, in particular for the people and families in the region directly impacted by the conflict. But let me be clear: an end to the conflict does not necessarily mean an immediate end to the shock. The balance of risk in staff projections – that is considering the mild-to-severe scenarios I outlined – showed that a rate increase in June was the right approach to bring inflation back to our 2% target over the medium term. It remains to be seen how quickly supply chains normalise and energy prices adjust. The direct price pressures might not fade so quickly if the infrastructure damage from the war means production only recovers with a lag. Then there is the question of shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, on which there remains little clarity. So, despite the recent and relatively positive news, we really need clarity around energy supply. And until then, I continue to monitor the pass-through of the shock, focusing on the indirect and second-round effects I have described. What might this latest shock mean for Ireland?For Ireland, Modified Domestic Demand, our preferred measure of underlying activity, is expected to slow to a more moderate pace compared to more recent years. Our March projections incorporated the initial effects of the Middle East war on international energy prices. This resulted in inflation being revised significantly higher, prompting knock-on downward revisions to households’ real disposable income and consumption. Working in the opposite direction, the outlook for modified investment has improved on the strength of double digit, broad-based growth in 2025 and a continued robust performance in the first quarter of 2026. Compared to our projections from March, and up until the recent announcement, we had been moving closer to the oil price assumptions embedded in the ‘adverse’ scenario set out in those projections. That is, where oil prices remain about $90/barrel through 2026, and only come down very gradually to around $70/barrel through 2027 and 2028. In this scenario, inflation was closer to 3.6% on average in 2026 as opposed to the baseline projection of 2.9% (2.3%) from March (December). Growth was also marginally weaker in a more adverse energy scenario, averaging 2.7% in 2026. Later this week, we will publishing our updated projections and fuller assessment of the outlook for the Irish economy.Ireland’s Q1 GDP in the spotlightFinally, I want to highlight recent developments in the Irish economic data which have been the subject of much discussion among economists and others.Ireland’s Q1 2026 GDP figures showed a striking 12.1 per cent quarterly decline, which was significant enough to drag overall euro area GDP growth into negative territory for the quarter. But as is often the case with Irish data, the headline figure reflects the outsized role of foreign-owned multinationals in the Irish accounts rather than a genuine deterioration in domestic economic conditions. Foreign multinationals account for around half of measured Irish GDP, and trade equates to 230 per cent of GDP, reflecting Ireland’s role as a globalised production and export hub, particularly in pharmaceuticals and ICT.The Q1 decline had two distinct drivers. First, a base effect: an exceptional surge in exports of polypeptide hormones (a high-value input into diabetes and weight-loss medicines) during Q1 2025 made for a difficult comparison this year, an effect that had already been anticipated. Second, and more of a surprise, was a sharp fall in net trade related to “merchanting” and contract manufacturing (activity undertaken abroad on behalf of Irish-resident companies as part of their global value chains). This is the main driver of the decline.Importantly, Modified Domestic Demand, the measure that strips out these globalised factors and captures consumer spending, investment, and government spending within Ireland, actually rose by 0.6 per cent over the same quarter. This divergence underlines why modified measures, rather than headline GDP, are the better guide to underlying conditions facing Irish households and businesses, and why this volatility, while dramatic, does not, in my view, signal a material change in the fundamentals relevant to the broader economic outlook.The financial sectorMy speech this evening focuses on economic developments. But, before I conclude, allow me to say a word about our approach to regulating the financial sector.  The volatile and uncertain environment I have just described has direct implications for how we think about regulation and supervision.Our Regulatory and Supervisory Outlook report set out our priorities for the year ahead, shaped by three themes: building resilience to geopolitical risk and macro-financial uncertainty,  protecting consumers and investors in a rapidly changing world, and responding to technology-driven transformation across the financial sector. These are, in many respects, the same forces I have been describing throughout this speech, viewed through a different lens.Alongside this, we continue to deliver on our roadmap for regulating and supervising well, making our framework more effective, more proportionate, and easier to navigate, without compromising resilience.  We will shortly consult on a refreshed framework for how we assess the impact of our regulatory decisions, to ensure that approach is evidence-based and transparent. In a world that is becoming less predictable, firms and consumers need a regulatory environment that is a source of stability, clear, and proportionate and consistent in its approach to managing evolving risks.ConclusionLet me close by connecting the threads of what I have covered this evening.Europe is navigating a serious near-term shock. The energy price surge driven by the Middle East conflict has pushed near-term inflation higher, is softening growth and putting real pressure on households and businesses. This is acutely so in Ireland, given our energy import dependency. Last week’s rate rise was necessary to prevent temporary energy-driven inflation from becoming embedded in wage and price expectations, reflecting the ECB's primary mandate to maintain price stability across the eurozone.This latest shock is a reminder of just how exposed a small open economy such as Ireland is to these sorts of increasingly frequent geoeconomic fragmentation shocks. The volatility I highlight, in energy prices and in our own national accounts, underlines why building economic resilience domestically remains so important, and increasingly urgent.Earlier this year, in my letter to the Tánaiste, I set out a number of domestic priorities for exactly this reason: growing the supply-side capacity of our economy (including energy infrastructure), strengthening the indigenous business sector alongside FDI, building fiscal buffers for the investment still needed, and enabling greater household participation in financial markets. None of those priorities were written with these particular events in mind, but they illustrate precisely why they matter. An economy with deeper buffers, energy independence, and more diversified sources of growth is better placed to absorb shocks, whatever their origin.I will return to these themes, and to the outlook for the public finances specifically, in my annual pre-budget letter to the Minister.  For now, the lesson from recent weeks is a familiar one, but worth repeating: resilience is not something built once and then set aside. It needs to be tended to and reinforced, particularly in a world where the shocks keep coming, and where their origin is increasingly hard to predict.

In his latest blog, Governor Gabriel Makhlouf explains the ECB Governing Council decision to raise interest rates by 0.25 per cent. This first change since June 2025 brings the Deposit Facility Rate to 2.25 per cent. He supported the decision and, along with his colleagues on the Governing Council, is committed to delivering our 2 per cent inflation target over the medium term.

IntroductionGood morning, I am delighted to be here and many thanks to Patricia at FSI for the invitation.1You have a busy agenda today, discussing some of the key issues currently facing the financial sector and financial regulators.As the title of this conference suggests, we are living through a time of fragmentation; and, as I said earlier this week, this is coming alongside a period of rapid technological transformation.2While they say that there is nothing permanent except change3 I think it is fair to say that the scale and pace of change underway is potentially unprecedented – and comes on top of an already complex and interconnected risk landscape.4 Managing, navigating and responding to this is the clear and present challenge which we are all facing.It presents both risks and opportunities for global financial services firms, and for global financial centres, and it is against this backdrop I would like to set out some perspectives this morning.Firstly, on financial regulation amidst financial fragmentation – both the approach of Central Bank of Ireland as well as what we expect of firms.And secondly, our commitment to Regulating and Supervising well – which includes risk-based, outcome-focused supervision, robust and efficient gatekeeping, and delivering on simplification, all of which I would like to update you on today.Combined – a strong and well-run sector, operating in a robust and well-regulated environment – these represent to me important foundations for financial services firms as you look to respond to an increasingly complex and challenging world in 2026 and beyond.Global responsibilitiesSo, what does it mean to me, as Deputy Governor, Financial Regulation at the Central Bank of Ireland, and my teams to regulate and supervise a significant international financial centre – in particular in the context of international fragmentation.We have spoken before of the sectors’ rapid growth, and how it has become bigger, more complex, more digital and more international.5This has been the defining feature of the changing landscape of financial services in Ireland over the last decade, and as the people in this room represent, Ireland is home to significant parts of the international banking, insurance and asset management sectors – while being an increasingly important EU hub for fintech and payments.As I said early this week, global significance comes with global responsibilities. And our international responsibilities are something we take seriously at the Central Bank, indeed something we embrace – as we work to contribute our part to the global public good that is global financial stability. For me this involves a number of things, but in particular:A continued commitment to international engagement, standards, cooperation and scrutiny; and, crucially,Ensuring the sector is resilient and well run, so that consumers and the financial system in Ireland, Europe and beyond are well served and well protected by Irish based firms.On the first point, while the narrative and focus is very much on fragmentation, it would be remiss not to recognise that the global economy and financial system remains highly interconnected – and indeed I believe is likely to remain so. International trade, including in financial services, and the inter-connectivity of our economies and financial sectors continues – and even if globalisation may be in retreat, this is the primary context in which we continue to operate.  For our part, we remain fully committed to the global regulatory framework and global supervisory cooperation.We actively support the work of the international standard setting bodies, and the implementation of global standards in Europe. And we work  closely with supervisory colleagues in Europe and around the world.As you all know, as regulators we think through the cycle.While this applies to our regulatory frameworks, I have always firmly believed in also building regulatory relationships that operate through that cycle – part of why we put such an importance on bilateral engagement, as well as our commitment and contribution to the wide range of EU and International fora we are part of.Speaking to you, I would say that firms should also be thinking through the regulatory and political cycle.And rather than championing, and capitalising, on divergence, they should continue to advocate for, and indeed practice, convergence. Which means for me taking a longer-term view, and applying the best standards internationally, rather than the lowest standards locally.This is something I know first-hand many of the international firms here do – knowing the value of high standards and resilience.And indeed I have seen many upstream benefits from international subsidiaries, in terms of best practices from local entities influencing better outcomes at group level.Opportunities and responsibilitiesThis brings me to my second point – namely our focus on ensuring our sector is resilient and well run, and what we expect of you in this world of fragmentation, volatility and rapid change. Speaking to this audience, let me focus my remarks on how we think about – and what we expect from – those firms that are part of wider international groups.The first thing to say is we are clear on the commercial and practical implications of being part of these groups – in terms of competing for resources alongside other entities across the globe, the leveraging of functions, and the down-streaming of group decisions. But secondly, while this is important context that we understand, we believe that it is in the best interest of everyone that subsidiaries based in Ireland are part of a well-regulated, stable jurisdiction – and subject to the high standards and risk-based supervision that sets them up sustainably for success. This includes being resilient, financially and operationally, but also in terms of governance and risk management – ensuring the local entity is substantive, and sufficiently independent.Thinking in particular of the current risk landscape, Irish entities part of global groups, have distinct opportunities and responsibilities. In terms of opportunities, having access within your groups to global networks and intelligence, global infrastructure and data, as well as exposure to global best practices in risk management, can provide real benefits. In the face of a rapidly changing external environment, including rapid technological change, this can be something that you can harness to the benefit of your consumers and the wider economy.But alongside these opportunities you have clear responsibilities, to ensure that your Irish and European franchise is substantive and well governed.This means that leveraging of group resources is not done to the extent to which it compromises the independence of the local board, or creates conflicts of interest that are not adequately managed, or leaves boards unable to fulfil their oversight function, their regulatory obligations or, simply, their duty to their customers. This has always been the firm principle under which we regulate our large internationally oriented financial sector – and one that I reinforce today.6 And while as I said these benefits can be a distinct advantage navigating the current external risk environment, amidst global fragmentation and rapid innovation, such local responsibilities become all the more important.This is something my teams and  I have discussed with many of you – and I know of the ongoing commitment of our sector to robust boards demonstrating both autonomy and responsibility, understanding and expertise.Regulating and Supervising well – minding the gate…Turning to our broader regulatory framework, you have heard me speak before about Regulating and Supervising well – which for me means robustly, effectively and efficiently.  As you know our revised integrated supervisory approach,  introduced in January 2025, builds on the strong foundations of our risk-based approach to supervision, incorporates our European and international supervisory responsibilities, and the domestic and European regulatory framework in which we operate.Through risk-based and outcomes focused supervision, robust and efficient gatekeeping, and clear and predictable regulation, we deliver the high standards and stable environment which underpins a strong financial services sector.In particular today, I would like to cover two aspects of this: our approach to authorisations and gatekeeping and how we are delivering simplification.Firstly, gatekeeping – which is a key part of the regulatory and supervisory framework, and indeed a large part of our work. Over the last 10 years we have authorised or approved:3 Banks, 32 Payment Institutions and 30 E-Money Institutions;Over 9,000 Funds7;60 (re)insurance firms, and 11 Solvency II special purpose vehicles;57 MIFID Investment Firms and around 1,900 retail intermediaries8; and around 9,000 debt prospectuses and nearly 30,000 people in key roles in financial services as part of the Fitness and Probity Regime.And today we are publishing our annual Authorisation and Gatekeeping report9, which sets out expectations and metrics on how we are delivering on this role, and demonstrates that the pipeline is still strong, and that it is expected to continue to be so.But why is gatekeeping important?Well, gatekeeping  is all about ensuring firms, individuals and products meet the required standards, in particular those responsible for the public’s money – and in this way it plays a fundamental role in contributing to our safeguarding outcomes, namely: financial stability, the safety and soundness of firms, the protection of consumer and investor interests, and the integrity of the system.Given the volume and importance of this role, our approach to authorisations is:Risk-based and is framed in the context of legislative requirements, guidelines and best practice. Proportionate and reflects the nature, scale and complexity of firms’ activities. Outcomes focused, in that it is not about checking boxes but about ensuring we deliver the right outcome, which is a firm set up to be well run, sustainable and to serve its consumers well. Robust – considering an authorisation granted by the Central Bank is an entry point for providing services into the Irish and European financial markets and therefore has to mean something in terms of high standards. We also work hard on supervisory convergence across Europe to ensure common high standards for our single market.But recognising the importance of innovation, new entrants, and the proper and orderly functioning of our financial sector, in addition to ensuring our process is robust, in recent years we have also focused our efforts on ensuring it is efficient. We know that the speed and predictability of regulatory processes matter to firms making investment decisions; but at the same time we also know the importance of the high standards that should be associated with regulatory approval from Central Bank of Ireland.As such, this does not mean we prioritise speed over rigour. But it does mean we have sought to enhance our gatekeeping process, to be more clear, more transparent, more efficient and more predictable.We have done this out of a desire to continuously improve. But also in the face of feedback that our clarity and responsiveness to incoming applications could be improved, as well as the review of our Fitness and Probity approval process in 2024 – which has helped further strengthen our approach.10We have listened and acted on that feedback, have learned the lessons where our processes may not have always been up to the required standards and have fully implemented the recommendations from that review. The positive response from industry and other stakeholders underlines the progress we believe we have made here.To enhance transparency, today we are publishing our second report on implementing the F&P review recommendations.11 All 12 recommendations are now fully implemented and embedded. Highlights include:Efficiency: 97% of F&P application assessments are completed within 90 days – with average approval time of 50 calendar days.Clarity – we have consolidated our guidance into streamlined and user-friendly materials;Governance – we have established a dedicated F&P unit, as well as a Gatekeeping Decisions Committee, which I chair; andEngagement – we have actively engaged with industry stakeholders, including through workshops, increasing transparency and building trust.While satisfied with our progress – both on this work and our broader approach to authorisations – we know we are not perfect, and that there is always room to improve.But we also know it is not about being perfect – for fear it becomes the enemy of the good. Rather it is about being a mature regulator committed to learning and improving. It is about responding to feedback, changes in the framework and legal clarifications. It is about being more effective and efficient, as well as addressing any issues identified with our processes or communications – all of which is designed to support good supervisory judgement, and good outcomes.As we continue to improve in our gatekeeping work, I would highlight three areas for the future:First, as noted in our simplification roadmap, following the success of our F&P Unit we are centralising our broader gatekeeping functions to make it more effective, while bringing greater, clarity, consistency and efficiency to this work.Secondly, we are investing in and improving our technology, including through automation and AI – which will provide efficiencies, transparency and consistency in the internal and external experience of the authorisation process for all sectors and products.And thirdly, we are firmly committed to continuing to deepen our understanding of innovation in the financial sector, which includes our own internal expertise, our innovation engagement – through the hub and the sandbox –  but crucially also our engagement at the gate, where we are increasingly seeing innovative business models and applications from both new and incumbent providers.All of this is aligned with our commitment to being more forward looking, more open and engaged, and to regulating and supervising well.  And sets us up well to continue to deliver on our important gatekeeping role into the future, helping to maintain the stability of the sector while ensuring the financial system is operating the best interests of consumers and the wider economy.…and delivering a more effective and efficient frameworkFinally, let me touch on a topic we are very much engaged with in the Central Bank, namely the simplification agenda.In my first speech as Deputy Governor a little over a year ago, I set out my thinking on simplification and how my teams and I would approach this issue.12I said we would proactively look for areas to simplify; and we would engage with stakeholders on their views.I said we would enhance our approach to weighing the costs and benefits of regulatory interventions; and that we would be effective and efficient in our regulation and supervision.And I said that while engaging on these issues, we would remember and remind others of the lessons from past – and call out instances where we believe simplification was sliding into deregulation.Over the last year I believe we have done that, though of course with more to do. We have engaged openly with our stakeholders, and have looked at our own frameworks. We have continued to embed our new supervisory approach, which is more integrated, more risk based and more outcomes focused, building on the strong foundations of our previous model.We have broadened and enhanced our evidence-based policy making, further embedding this in our regulatory approach.And in December we published a comprehensive multi-year roadmap of simplification initiatives across regulation, supervision, gatekeeping and reporting – of which I would like to give you an update today.13I am pleased to say we are on track on our commitments.Some examples include: Setting out in more detail our annual supervisory plans – which were included in our Regulatory and Supervisory Outlook this year, and I was glad to hear this was useful and well received.Completing a review of our Cross-Industry Guidance on Outsourcing, which was specifically called out in our engagement with stakeholders. Following this review we have decided to remove the current guidance and replace it, removing any duplication while still assisting firms through non-mandatory good practices. We will be engaging with the sector on this new guidance later this year.In terms of our review of more than 50 domestic insurance artefacts – we have prioritised areas affected by the Solvency II reforms, and will be engaging with the sector on proposed changes over the rest of this year, including at a half-day event next week.On data and reporting, we are centralising our approach to data in the Bank. We have streamlined new data requests, and are engaging in a comprehensive review of data collections. We have already identified early candidate reports for retirement/consolidation – and will progress this in the second half of this year.And finally, we have developed a new regulatory impact assessment framework – which we will publish and consult on in the coming weeks. This work further embeds and brings greater consistency to how we do policy in the Central Bank, as well as how we conduct and publish regulatory impact assessments for those areas of policy where we are exercising meaningful discretion.This will bring greater clarity and transparency to our approach, will enhance and support good evidence-based policy making, as well as deepening the consultation process through a better and clearer articulation of the trade-offs and outcomes we want to achieve.ConclusionLet me conclude.We are undergoing a period of fragmentation and rapid change, which presents risks and opportunities for the financial sector.For our part, we are firmly committed to global cooperation and standards – and through regulation and supervision playing our role in a well-functioning financial sector operating in the best interests of consumers and the wider economy in Ireland, Europe and beyond. For your part, while internationally oriented you must do so from strong domestic foundations. This includes your ongoing commitment to resilient and well-run firms, leveraging the best of your international opportunities while firmly delivering on your local responsibilities. For we must remember our financial sector is built on the foundations of robust supervision, high standards, strong global connections, and innovation done well. In uncertain and challenging times these foundations are more important, not less. And so we should focus on reinforcing them – thinking through the cycle, and recognising that resilience is a strategic advantage, rather than a burden to be undone.As the old saying goes: When the roots are deep, there is no reason to fear the wind.14 Wise words to heed in times of challenge and change  – as we look to, and indeed weather, the future to come.Thank you! [1] Many thanks to Cian O’Laoide for his help preparing these remarks.[2] McMunn Navigating and responding to change – resilience, innovation and regulation in the Funds Sector June 2026[3] Attributed to Heraclitus[4] Regulatory and Supervisory Outlook 2026 and Financial Stability Review I 2026[5] Remarks by Mary Elizabeth McMunn at bpfi - 7 May 2026[6] Remarks by Mary-Elizabeth McMunn Director of Credit Institutions Supervision at Federation of International Banks in Ireland annual conference November 2022[7] QIAIF, RIAIF, UCITS and ELTIF fund types[8] Including debt management firms[9] Authorisations and Gatekeeping report[10] Fitness and Probity Review July 2024[11] Fitness and Probity Review – report on implementation of recommendations 2026[12] McMunn Shocks and shifts – regulation and supervision in a changing world April 2025[13] Regulating & Supervising well – a more effective and efficient framework December 2025[14] African proverb

My thanks to the Tánaiste and his Department for the invitation to be here today. I am delighted to take part in this National Financial Literacy Strategy Stakeholder Forum. It is an important event as part of a necessary collaborative approach across public and private stakeholders in delivering Ireland’s National Financial Literacy Strategy – a strategy in which Central Bank of Ireland is proud to participate. As we are here in the oldest continuously operating maternity hospital in the world, it seems fitting to start by noting the parallels between financial literacy and health literacy. Research has shown that lower levels of health literacy1 result in higher mortality rates.2 If you are better informed about your health, you typically have more effective consultations with health care providers, are better informed about medications or treatments, and as a result have improved health outcomes. The same principle applies to financial literacy. The more financially literate you are, the more resilient you become to economic shocks and the better equipped you are to secure your financial future.As Deputy Governor of Consumer and Investor Protection at Central Bank of Ireland, I am responsible for leading the strategic development and execution of the Central Bank’s consumer and investor protection mandate across all sectors within the Irish financial system. I am here today to talk to you about the work the Central Bank does to advance the objectives of the Financial Literacy Strategy through that Consumer Protection mandate.Financial Literacy and Awareness as a principle in financial consumer protectionLet’s start with the global standard. Principle 4 of the G20/OECD High Level Principles on Financial Consumer Protection requires all stakeholders to promote financial literacy and develop mechanisms that equip consumers to understand risks, make informed choices, and support their financial wellbeing.The Central Bank supports Ireland’s achievement of this principle by working to ensure the firms we regulate act in a manner that helps the achievement of these objectives. Our recently modernised Consumer Protection Code is central to this effort. The Consumer Protection Code as an enabler of financial literacy The Code creates an environment that helps support the promotion of financial literacy. Here are some examples: The Code requires firms to ensure that information is provided in a way that the material features of the product or service can reasonably be understood and that all customer information is clear, accurate, up to date, written in plain and accessible language, and avoids unnecessary technical terms. Firms are now specifically required by the Code to ensure digital services are designed to be easy to use and navigate, that the technology is tested, and that it produces consistent and objective outcomes.Mortgage Switching is made easier under the new Code and when buying on credit online (like "buy now, pay later"), firms must give consumers enough time to think about whether this type of credit is right for them.The Code contains new requirements for firms to counter the risk of frauds and scams, keeping consumers informed and supporting them if they fall victim.Through measures such as these - and there are many more in the Code - we aim to create an environment that supports the better consumer outcomes.  And we will work to ensure that these requirements are properly implemented by the firms we regulate, who have a critical role to play in promoting financial literacy. I have noted on previous occasions, for example, how industry could make their contribution to the important policy objective of simplification by making their product offerings and processes simpler for the consumers who use them.Making consumers aware of the risks and their rightsThe Central Bank also has a role to play to inform consumers of the risk landscape that we see in a way that is meaningful for those consumers when it comes to making key financial decisions. We also want to ensure consumers understand the protections available to them when using financial services and products. We do this in a number of ways including through our Consumer Hub, where we continue to provide information to support consumers, through the publication of plain language explainers and videos to inform and educate. This includes warnings to consumers about potential risks such as our recent consumer information campaigns dealing with frauds and scams, crypto, and Buy Now Pay Later. Advancing Financial wellbeing through Consumer ProtectionThe financial decisions consumers make – at different points in their lives – can have a profound impact on their long-term financial wellbeing, and as a result, their overall quality of life. We know that consumers who are financially literate are better placed to make good financial decisions and to look after their interests to safeguard their financial wellbeing.A strong, effectively supervised, consumer protection framework supports financial wellbeing by ensuring that consumers are informed effectively, and that they have access to quality financial products and services that support them in managing their finances.Through a comprehensive programme of work in 2026 and beyond, we will continue to ensure that firms are placing consumers at the centre of their decision-making and operations. By holding firms to account on how they treat their customers and by monitoring their compliance with our modernised consumer protection code, we aim to create an environment where consumers are better protected, better informed, and better equipped to make sound financial decisions. This is how, working with the stakeholders here today, we advance financial literacy and financial wellbeing at scale.Concluding remarks The G20/OECD principles I referred to speak about “financial wellbeing”. Financial decisions are often complex and difficult. Just like the decisions we make about our health. And I wish we could say we are as attentive to our financial wellbeing as we are to our health more generally, accessing the professional help we need and getting better outcomes. This is why building financial literacy and creating supportive systems is so essential.With better financial literacy we will have better financial wellbeing outcomes. I hope that years from now, perhaps in this very venue, future generations will remark on the journey to bring those better financial wellbeing outcomes into being. [1] Health Literacy [2] Association between low functional health literacy and mortality in older adults: longitudinal cohort study

Deputy Governor McMunn's speech to IOB Funds and Asset Management Forum on 8 June 2026.

Central Bank of Ireland has today (Friday 5 June 2026) published its Annual Report and Annual Performance Statement for 2025.Speaking on publication of the report, Governor Gabriel Makhlouf said: “2025 was a year of significant uncertainty and adjustment. “Inflation across advanced economies continued to moderate from the highs experienced in previous years. In the euro area, we kept interest rates at levels necessary to ensure that inflation returns sustainably to our 2% target even as geopolitical tensions, technological change and the climate transition continued to reshape the landscape of our economies and financial systems. The uncertainty continues even now, and my colleagues and I will continue to act in line with our mandate, remaining data-dependent.“The Irish economy demonstrated resilience, supported by strong employment and investment. We continued to face the challenges of infrastructure constraints and the uncertain external environment which so affects us as a small open economy with a large, internationally-connected financial sector. We must continue to strengthen Ireland’s resilience to global shocks – while 2025’s disinflationary process was driven primarily by the continued unwinding of energy price shocks, the supply shock from the war in Iran is already showing up in higher energy commodity prices, passing quickly into consumer and business energy costs.” Reflecting on the Central Bank’s achievements over the last year, Governor Makhlouf said: “During 2025, the modernised Consumer Protection Code came into effect, following a comprehensive review of the existing framework to stay abreast of the way financial services are provided in a digital world. The revisions enhance the areas of informing effectively, protecting consumers in vulnerable circumstances, mortgage switching, insurance auto-renewals, frauds and scams, and the provision of unregulated products and services by regulated firms.   “We continued to develop our Innovation Sandbox programme with a call-out for projects on the theme of innovation in payments, strengthening engagement with innovators in this area and enriching our insight into emerging technologies and business models in the Irish financial system. The 2025 theme was combatting financial crime and we brought together seven projects across innovation areas such as information sharing, identity verification and fraud prevention. “In 2025, we implemented our new supervisory approach aimed at delivering on four critical and overarching safeguarding outcomes: the protection of consumer and investor interests; the integrity of the financial system; the safety and soundness of firms; and financial stability. We continue to signal our priorities and methodologies through the annual Regulatory & Supervisory Outlook Report, and in December, we published our ‘Regulating & Supervising well – a more effective and efficient framework’ report which outlines our approach and experience to date in reducing complexity and improving clarity while maintaining resilience and important protections in the system.“At an organisational level, our new framework created multi-disciplinary teams working together within and across sectors to deliver our supervisory priorities in a more effective way.“We progressed implementation of new EU regulatory regimes such as the Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation, the Digital Operational Resilience Act, and the EU AI Act, applying its responsible AI governance model to the deployment of our own internal AI tool, BankChat, and AI-enhanced business intelligence.“At the beginning of 2025, we set up a dedicated team to investigate and prosecute offences under financial services legislation. We became a Trusted Flagger and began our efforts to have illegal online content removed by certain large technology firms and ran an advertising campaign to raise awareness about scams and empower people to avoid them.“We also issued two commemorative coins, one to mark Daniel O’Connell’s 250th birthday, and the other the achievements of George Bernard Shaw on the 100-year anniversary of his becoming a Nobel laureate.“Reflecting our commitment to the continued availability of cash, we commenced our responsibilities under the Finance (Provision of Access to Cash Infrastructure) Act 2025, processing the registrations of cash-in-transit companies and ATM Deployers operating in the State, designating entities responsible for compliance with the Act, and launching two public consultations (one on Local Deficiency and another on Requirements for ATM Operators). “We responded to the Government’s 2025 insurance reform action plan, delivering on greater market transparency to deliver a fairer and more affordable insurance market with faster releases from the National Claims Information Database.“Our multifaceted and demanding work is only made possible by the people who work here, whose dedication and professionalism are commendable in rising to the challenge. Our values – integrity and care, courage and humility, teamwork and excellence – guide all of us. Our diversity and inclusiveness strengthen us, and on behalf of myself and the Commission, we thank them for their dedication and commitment to the public interest and the welfare of the people as a whole.”ENDSFurther InformationGheorghe Rusu | 086 102 9986 | gheorghe.rusu@centralbank.ieMedia Relations Office | media@centralbank.ie Notes to EditorGovernor Makhlouf has written a blog on the Annual Report, containing an overview of the economic outlook, a summary of the Central Bank’s achievements and an update on our financial position at the end of last year.