Capita Suffers €1.15M For Regulatory Breaches

By Claire Ann Austria

Oct 14, 2016 06:00 AM EDT

Capita Life and Pensions Services Ireland have been fined by the Central Bank with €1.15m for regulatory breaches over a nine-year period between 2006 and 2015.

The company as a provider of life policy administration services to life assurance companies - admitted the breaches, which saw the firm acting as an investment business in Ireland without Central Bank authorisation. The company was also holding client assets without authorisation.

Capita opened its first office in the Republic in 2000, following its purchase of IRG Registrars, providing share registration and employee share-scheme services to some of the country's main publicly-quoted companies.

The company, which employs over 1,700 in this country, has become best known in recent years for managing and administering loans on an outsourced basis for banks, the National Asset Management Agency and buyers of loans sold during the crisis.

The breaches did not relate to Capita's core business, but to occupational pension scheme administration services undertaken on behalf of a UK affiliate of the firm. In April 2014, regulatory concerns were raised by Capita's UK affiliate, which prompted the company to investigate into its authorisation status.

Given that Capita acknowledges it had clarified its authorisation status by August 2014, it did not report the issue to the Central Bank until the following February.

"In April 2014, regulatory concerns were raised by the firm's UK affiliate, which prompted the firm to commence an investigation into its authorisation status regarding occupational pension scheme administration services," the Central Bank said.

"An unacceptable delay in reporting the breaches which was a matter taken into account by the Central Bank in determining the appropriate penalty to apply" Capita said.

Capita's occupational pension scheme administration services have since been transferred to a UK affiliate of the firm, which has the required authorisation.This is the second settlement agreement announced by the Central Bank this week, following Monday's announcement that KBC Bank Ireland has been fined €1.4m.

So far in 2016 the Central Bank has levied over €4m in fines across six settlements.This is the bank's 102nd settlement agreement since 2006, with over €46m in fines levied.

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