Individuals must be held to account in Davy scandal
- Central Bank must clarify if it plans to fine the Davy 16.
- Incumbent on regulator to formally disclose findings of investigation to An Garda Siochána.
- Foot-dragging on new Senior Executive Accountability laws inexcusable.
Labour Finance spokesperson Ged Nash has called on the Central Bank to clarify if it plans to impose fines on the individuals at Davy’s stockbrokers whose actions in 2014 saw the regulator impose a fine of €4.13million on the firm yesterday.
Deputy Nash said:
“The findings of the Central Bank investigation are extraordinary. Six years after the bank bailout, and after we lost our economic sovereignty, high rollers in Dublin’s finance inner-sanctum were engaged in the kind of high-risk high-personal return antics that brought the country to its knees.
“The costliest nixer in the history of the State will cost Davy’s over €4million in fines for regulatory breaches. It really isn’t acceptable for Davy to make no public statement on this.
“The question that arise now is; will those involved in these transactions be held to account individually? It is not just corporations that make decisions. People do.
“The Central Bank need to make a clear statement on the action it intends to take next. The section of legislation used by the regulator to conduct the investigation permits the Bank also to fine individuals involved in the management of a financial services provider as well as the firm. In this instance it is a matter of public record that the case involved the actions of senior executives.
“Given the significant information obtained by the regulator in the course of this investigation, the Central Bank also must confirm if they plan to hand over any material to An Garda Siochana for further investigation?
“These are not victimless activities. Actions must have consequences. It is high time the government finally introduced the ling awaited Senior Executive Accountability Regime legislation to once and for all make senior decision makers in this industry liable and accountable for their actions.
“Only then can we say that lessons have been learned from the financial crash of 2008. The Minister for Finance and the NTMA should also take a clear position on whether it believes it is acceptable for Davy to be used for the sale of public debt. There must be consequences beyond just fines for what happened at Davy.”