Financial Supervision Committee
Financial Supervisory Authority
One of the Central Bank of Iceland's main tasks is to promote a safe, stable, and effective financial system. The Financial Supervisory Authority of the Central Bank monitors supervised entities to ensure that their activities are in compliance with the law and with Governmental directives, and that they are in other respects consistent with sound and appropriate business practices.
Financial Supervision Committee
Decisions entrusted to the Financial Supervisory Authority of the Central Bank by law or Governmental directives shall be taken by the Financial Supervision Committee. The Committee is authorised to entrust the Deputy Governor for Financial Supervision with taking non-major decisions.
Members of the Financial Supervision Committee are the Deputy Governor for Financial Supervision, the Deputy Governor for Financial Stability, and three outside experts in financial market affairs who shall be appointed by the Minister responsible for the financial market for a term of five years. The composition of the Financial Stability Committee shall be such that the Committee collectively possesses sufficient expertise, qualifications, and experience to carry out the tasks entrusted to it. The Minister may only appoint the same person to the Financial Supervision Committee twice. The Deputy Governor for Financial Supervision shall chair the Financial Supervision Committee, and the Deputy Governor for Financial Stability shall be vice-chair. The Governor shall take a seat on the Financial Supervision Committee as its chair, and the Deputy Governor for Financial Supervision shall be vice-chair, when the Committee takes decisions in the following instances: when adopting rules of procedure, when entrusting the Deputy Governor for Financial Supervision to take non-major decisions, and when deciding on systemically important financial institutions' equity, liquidity, and funding.
Financial Supervisory Policy
The Financial Supervisory Committee sets the Financial Supervisory Policy of the Central Bank of Iceland. The policy covers the activities entrusted to the Financial Supervision Authority by law and articulates the focus, approach and methodology the Central Bank deployes in its financial supervisory activities.
Meetings of the Financial Supervision Committee
Meetings of the Financial Supervision Committee shall be deemed to have a quorum if four of its members are in attendance. Decisions by the Financial Supervision Committee shall be taken by a simple majority of votes; in the case of a tie, the Chair shall cast the deciding vote.
In general, the Financial Supervision Committee shall meet ten times a year. In addition, the Committee may meet if its Chairman or three members of the Committee so request. The Financial Supervision Committee shall adopt rules of procedure concerning, among other things, the preparation of, rationale for, and publication of its decisions. The Financial Supervision Committee shall maintain a record of minutes of its meetings. The Financial Supervision Committee is authorised to make its decisions public. Decisions shall not be published, however, if such publication can be considered to jeopardise the interests of the financial market, if it does not affect the interests of the market as such, or if there is reason to believe it will cause damage to the parties involved that is disproportionate to the matter in question.
The Financial Supervision Committee shall report to Parliament on its activities once a year. The report shall be discussed in the Parliamentary committee of the Speaker's choosing.
Members of the Financial Supervision Committee are Unnur Gunnarsdóttir (Committee chair), Gunnar Jakobsson, Ásta Þórarinsdóttir, Guðrún Þorleifsdóttir and Gunnar Þór Pétursson. When decisions specified in Article 15, Paragraph 2 of the Act on the Central Bank of Iceland are taken, Central Bank Governor Ásgeir Jónsson shall take a seat on the Committee as its chair.