Lawlor Welcomes Proposal by Central Bank to Meet with Bank Auditors

Fine Gael TD for Kildare North, Anthony Lawlor, has today (Monday) welcomed a proposal by the Central Bank to meet with external auditors of Irish banks twice a year.

“I am very pleased to hear that the Central Bank has proposed to meet with the external auditors of Irish banks twice a year, before and after their audits. This move by the Central Bank is to prevent past mistakes made within the banking industry from occurring again. It will also ensure that the auditors are adequately fulfilling their duties.

“Earlier in the year, it was reported in the Nyberg report that the auditors €“ including KPMG, PwC, Ernst & Young and Deloitte €“ were too narrow in their assessments of the banking industry. I believe that this failure on their part contributed to the current economic crisis and that auditing companies should be held more accountable for their actions.

“This proposal highlights the intention of the Central Bank to play a more active role in regulating the banking industry. This is just the kind of action that we urgently need to get our banking system back on track.”