The Central Bank does NOT authorise and regulate which one of the following entities established in the State?

• A. Credit intermediaries.
• B. Life assurance companies.
• C. Home reversion firms.
• D. Reinsurance companies.

Answer: (A)

The Central Bank focuses its authorisations on institutions that bear and manage financial risk in a formal way, such as insurers and regulated financial service providers. Life assurance companies and reinsurance companies are clearly part of the insurance sector that the Central Bank licenses and supervises, ensuring they meet capital and conduct requirements. Home reversion firms, which offer equity-release-like financial products linked to property, operate within the regulated financial services space as well, so they fall under the same supervisory umbrella to protect consumers in these complex arrangements.

Credit intermediaries, by contrast, act as middlemen between borrowers and lenders rather than taking on the primary risk or handling the funds themselves. Their regulation is typically handled under separate consumer credit or financial services regimes rather than by the Central Bank. That distinction is why the Central Bank does not authorise and regulate credit intermediaries in this context.