The Central Bank of Ireland Commission has approved the restructuring of the Central Bank's Financial Regulation functions.
The restructure is aimed at ensuring the Central Bank is suitably equipped to meet its expanded regulatory mandate.
In a statement, the bank said that under the new structure, financial regulation functions will be organised under two pillars - Prudential Regulation and Financial Conduct.
The Prudential Regulation pillar will include the directorates for credit institutions; insurance; and asset management supervision, while the Financial Conduct pillar will include the directorates for consumer protection; securities and markets supervision; and enforcement.
Meanwhile, the Policy and Risk Directorate will support both pillars but will be part of the Financial Conduct pillar for administrative purposes.
The Central Banking pillar and the Operations pillar of the Central Bank will remain unchanged.
Central Bank Governor Professor Philip Lane said that the changes are driven by two factors.
He said that due to the expanded mandate of the Central Bank and the move to a more intrusive method of supervision, the scale of financial regulation activity has sharply increased in recent years.
"The level of European engagement has also been transformed, with the SSM in particular requiring extensive input," Professor Lane said.
"This restructuring places clear emphasis on the importance of our financial conduct mandate, which includes consumer protection, investor protection, the orderly operation of financial markets and enforcement," he said.
"This restructuring will provide the Central Bank with strong foundations to carry out its vital financial regulatory mandate, ensure the Central Bank can maintain its strong performance across the European Supervisory Authorities and ensure robust protection of consumers and investors in line with our mandate and our mission to safeguard stability and protect consumers," Professor Lane added.
