INSURER RSA LIKELY TO FACE MINIMUM FINE OF ABOUT €5m - British insurer RSA is set to be fined up to €5 million by the Central Bank in relation to financial irregularities that emerged at the business in 2013.
However, this could be reduced to €3.5 million if the Central Bank deems that RSA has co-operated with its investigation and taken sufficient steps to remedy the situation, says the Irish Times. The Central Bank has been conducting an investigation into this matter and its findings are expected later this year. It is thought likely that it will levy the maximum fine possible under legislation pertaining at the time of the irregularities. Last year, the Central Bank imposed the maximum €5 million on Ulster Bank for a series of IT issues that meant customers couldn’t access their accounts for long periods in 2012. This was reduced to €3.5 million as Ulster Bank co-operated fully with its investigation. The issues relating to the irregularities at RSA’s Irish business in 2013 will take centre stage today when a case brought by Philip Smith, former chief executive of the Dublin-based unit, begins at the Employment Appeals Tribunal. Mr Smith is seeking compensation for alleged constructive dismissal with no notice. He will argue he was the fall guy for the problems at RSA Ireland and that the group knew about the issues in the business here. In a break with usual procedure, the tribunal has set aside all five days this week to hear the case. Mr Smith’s evidence is expected to last for at least two days. This will include him being cross-examined by RSA.
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AIRLINE SCRAPS ROUTE BETWEEN SHANNON AND BOSTON OVER EASTER - Aer Lingus will temporarily suspend Shannon Airport's only year-round route to Boston over the busy Easter period. The airline is cancelling flights for all but one day between March 29 and April 8 for what have been described as "operational reasons". It is understood that the airline needs the Boeing 757-200 jet that usually operates the route for another service from Dublin, says the Irish Independent. As a result, all flights between Shannon and Boston for 10 days, with the exception of April 2, have been cancelled. Aer Lingus says it's in the process of contacting those customers who will be affected by the cancellations, and that alternative options are being offered. A spokesman said: "For operational reasons we have had to cancel flights between Shannon and Boston on 10 days between March 29 and April 8. "The flight on April 2 is not impacted. We sincerely regret the inconvenience caused and are doing all possible to minimise the disruption to customers' travel plans." The cancellations come on a busy period for travel, with Easter Sunday falling on April 5.
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EUROPEAN TELECOMS DEALS FACE TOUGHER SCRUTINY, WARNS NEW COMPETITION CHIEF - Europe’s new antitrust chief has warned that telecoms mergers must not endanger “affordable prices” for consumers, in a shot across the bows of dealmaking executives that suggests takeovers will face tougher EU scrutiny. Margrethe Vestager vets all big EU mergers and oversees sensitive investigations ranging from US tech group Google’s alleged abuse of its dominant position to sweetheart tax deals for multinationals, wielding far-reaching powers to impose hefty fines or block takeovers without the approval of a court. With a wave of proposed takeovers reshaping markets from Britain to Denmark, Ms Vestager has stressed the need to avoid price increases in her most detailed comments on the telecoms sector since becoming EU competition commissioner. “I have one interest and that is to make sure that European consumers - that being citizens or businesses - can enjoy relatively innovative markets at affordable prices,” she said in a Financial Times interview. Although she declined to discuss specific deals, her willingness to challenge the industry over the link between consolidation and increased investment will rattle a sector that thought it had won some regulatory leeway. A two-year M&A boom has tested competition rules to the limit and seen the acceptance of deals reducing the number of leading companies in national markets from four to three. Joaquín Almunia, Ms Vestager’s predecessor, cleared tie-ups in Austria, Ireland and Germany with conditions that a host of national competition authorities criticised as too soft.
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CITY IS STILL VULNERABLE TO SUDDEN FINANCIAL SHOCK, MPs WARN TREASURY - UK politicians have called on the Treasury to undertake a series of war games with regulators and the Bank of England to combat a “surprising and urgent gap” in its readiness for another financial crisis, says the London Independent. The report from MPs on the Public Administration Select Committee said it had “not seen sufficient evidence” that the Treasury appreciated the full risks to London’s “vulnerable and exposed” financial centre from potential catastrophes such as a crisis in the eurozone. Despite an enhanced role for the Bank of England since the crisis, the committee also criticised the Government for not including systemic financial risks on its National Risk Register alongside potential events such as pandemics. The Treasury was guilty of the “most surprising and urgent gap” in preparedness for sudden shocks, MPs said.
