Public statement relating to Settlement Agreement between the Financial Regulator and Jim Mannion & Co (Insurances) Limited

• Date: 17 February 2010

PO BOX 9138 T +353 1 224 4000

College Green F +353 1 224 6022

Dublin 2

Settlement Agreement

between the Financial Regulator and Jim Mannion & Co (Insurances)

Limited

The Financial Regulator has entered into a Settlement Agreement with effect from 17

February 2010 with Jim Mannion & Co ( Insurances) Ltd Strokestown, Co. Roscommon, a

regulated financial service provider, in relation to breaches of regul atory requirements.

The breaches relate to a fail ure to comply with provisions of the Consumer Protection

Code and section 30 of the Investment Intermediaries Act 1995.

These breaches relate to the sale of an unsui table investment p roduct, the Friends First

ISTC Creati ve Bond, in that the firm fail ed to properly inform one customer about the

investment risks and guarantee limitations associ ated with this bond. Additional

breaches occurred with the sale of other products and related to a failure to record

certain customers’ information, failure to provide a customer with a copy of the firm’s

terms of business prior to providing a service to that customer, failure to issue

statements of suitability to certain customers prior to providing a service to those

customers as required by the Consumer Protection Code. The breach of section 30 of the

Investment Intermediaries Act 1995 relates to a failure to issue receipts to certain

customers for payments received for onward transmission to in surers.

The Financial Regulator is satisfied that the failure by the firm to issue section 30

receipts did not result in financial loss to any customers.

These breaches were detected by the Financial Regulator duri ng the course of an

inspection i nto the sale of the Friends First ISTC Bonds and a subseq uent inspection of

the firm.