The regulator: Q&A

How did a convicted fraudster, who dodged long-standing creditors, get regulatory approval as a licensed lender, when a key requirement is that firms must be of the highest financial and personal probity?

The Central Bank has refused to discuss Ronald Weisz’s case or arrangements he said it made with him.

According to the lender he was the focus of an unspecified consumer-related inquiry two years ago and volunteered to trade under restrictions on his trade. Independently, the regulator confirmed it did pass on complaints to its supervisory division. But confidentiality laws applied. Weisz said he volunteered to trade under restrictions to ensure he kept enough assets in his firm, did not write more than two mortgages a year and transferred loans linked to private homes into his own name.