The Central Bank has warned that Irish residents who sell their services as non-executive directors of international investment funds based in Ireland, will have to cut back on the number of such directorships they hold if the Bank decides they have taken on too much work.
Ireland’s success as tax efficient base for funds management has created opportunities for financial services professionals, lawyers and accountants to act as directors of the management companies who oversee these funds.
These directors can be paid an annual fee of up to €20,000 and the Central Bank has identified, though not named, just 13 individuals who hold a combined 652 directorships or an average of 50 each – generating average fees each of up to €1m per annum.
The Bank says it won’t cap the number of directorships held but will be closely monitoring those who work more than 2,000 hours per year and have seats on at least 20 boards.
Speaking to Reuters yesterday Gareth Murphy, head of markets supervision at the Central Bank said, "We will be putting pressure on those individuals and we will use the full range of our supervisory tools and regulatory powers where necessary."
