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Election outcome best, with Ahern rated top politician of the last 20 years
FINANCE Magazine readers are reasonably contented with the outcome of the election, and rank Bertie Ahern as the country's top politician over the past 20 years. |
Dublin firms launch new funds
Another bow has been added to the arrow of Ireland's booming aviation finance sector with the launch of two funds by Dublin based players. |
Market on knife-edge between 'hard' and 'soft' landings
As analysts predict further interest rate increases, of up to four in the next 18 months on the most pessimistic assumption, readers of FINANCE polled in a special 20 year anniversary poll are divided in their views as to whether Irish house prices are headed for a 'crash', with as many as 35 per cent predicting that it is, compared with a further 50 per cent who are predicting a 'soft landing'. |
Editorial
Comment from the editor |
Industry welcomes world first for Ireland
The Financial Regulator's publication of 'Stakeholder Protocols', clarifying its objectives in three key areas, has been welcomed by the Financial Services Consultative Industry Panel. However, in its annual report, the panel expressed on-going concern over the resourcing of the Regulator, particularly with regards to information technology, as well as the system of calculating the industry's contribution towards the funding of the Regulator. |
Industry welcomes initiatives but expresses concern over resourcing
The Financial Regulator's recent trip to the US, its revised focus on international financial services, and its current dialogue with the financial services industry with regards to outsourcing, have all been welcomed as being positive developments in the Financial Services Consultative Industry Panel's annual report. However, the panel expressed on-going concern over the resourcing of the Regulator, particularly with regards to information technology, as well as the system of calculating the industry's contribution towards the funding of the Regulator. |
Business wins for HML
Homeloan Management Limited, (HML), a provider of systems and process outsourcing solutions to the mortgage sector, has won two new accounts. |
Irish institutions on the funding trail
Irish institutions are on the funding trail, with a number of banks and corporates raising a significant volume of funds over the past month. |
New quants firm for Dublin
A new financial trading and risk-management advisory firm has opened an office on Baggot Street in Dublin. |
Retail investors shun hedge funds
A survey carried out in the UK on behalf of F&C Investments revealed that 77 per cent of the British public approve of the plans of the Financial Services Authority (FSA), the UK's financial regulator, to extend access to hedge fund products to retail investors. |
Merrion moves into bonds
Eight years after its establishment, Merrion Capital has made the move into bonds. |
Merger driven by staffing needs
The merger of Ryan Glennon and Baker Tilly will give the new firm an advantage in staff retention, according to Aidan Byrne, tax partner at Baker Tilly Ryan Glennon. |
The two events that dwarfed all others
With this issue FINANCE Magazine celebrates its 20th anniversary. To mark it we conducted an online poll on the key changes and events in the past 20 years, the issues facing the industry, and some features of how things have changed, and yet remained the same. |
Two decades of change for Irish stockbroking
Financial reform and economic boom have transformed the landscape for Irish stockbrokers in the past two decades. David Lowe assesses the change from a zero sum game among a small band of institutions to Ireland's emergence as a global competitor. |
The Irish Government bond market - 1987-2007
In 1987, the Irish national debt/GDP ratio stood at a whopping 125 per cent, and the Irish Government was a frequent issuer of bonds aimed at reducing deficits. 20 years on, the scenario couldn't be more different writes Oliver Mangan, with public finances in surplus leading to low bond issuance levels. |
Money & forex markets: changed utterly
Twenty years ago, corporate treasury was in its infancy, not just in Ireland, but worldwide, writes Aengus Murphy, with most companies, including large ones, not having a corporate treasury function. Today, the landscape has changed considerably, with companies now having sophisticated treasury functions, and Ireland establishing itself as one of the leading worldwide jurisdictions for treasury outsourcing. |
Irish commercial property weathers the peaks and troughs
Over the past 20 years, the Irish commercial property market has established itself on a global scale, writes John Mulcahy, benefiting from massive inward investment as global companies set up Irish operations, as well as outward investments as investors buy up properties around the world. The Irish market has also performed particularly well over the past 20 years, he adds, with average annual returns for the 1987 to Q1 2007 period standing at 16 per cent per annum. |
FINANCE readers say market on slide
And what do FINANCE readers think of the prospects for the Irish property market? |
Euro interest rates - 2 to 4 more quarter point rises by end 2008
Following the June increase, which brought the ECB Refi interest rate to 4 p.c., double what it was in December 2005, FINANCE's panel of leading economists see on average two more rate rises by the end of 2008, with the most pessimistic predicting four, and the most optimistic (two respondents out of eight) saying that present levels represent the peak of the cycle. As ECB interest rates represent the most powerful influence on Irish house price trends, the panel's forecasts for house prices in 2007 and 2008 naturally reflect their interest rate expectations. |
Twenty years of tremendous growth - but where to next for Ireland's residential property market?
In the past 20 years the average price of a house in Dublin has increased from under €50,000 to over €500,000 and the average price in Ireland has increased from approximately €45,000 to almost €400,000. However, at the start of 2007 the remarkable growth story of the Irish residential property began to falter, with the average price of a second hand home declining in the first quarter of the year. But, with demand remaining strong and the overall Irish economy in good health, Marian Finnegan believes that there is further growth to come. |
The key to the Irish financial services success story is people
The success of Ireland's financial services industry over the last 20 years has been phenomenal - over 22,000 people are now working within the industry. What's certain is that this success will only continue with emphasis on these people. Mark O'Donnell advises on how firms must implement a talent management strategy and start developing, deploying and connecting employees. |
20 years of Irish corporate finance - from the troubled childhood years through to maturity
The Irish mergers and acquisitions (M&As) market has grown alongside the rest of the economy in the last two decades. It has emerged from the doldrums of the 80s and matured as the years have gone by. R?is?n Brennan evaluates the emergence of the M&A market and foresees private companies becoming an increasingly important component of the M&A market in the years ahead. |
Record achievements in Ireland's fund service industry set the stage for future growth
Gavin Nangle traces the development of Ireland as a premier global funds servicing jurisdiction, examines the role State Street has played in this growth, and casts his eye over possible future trends. |
The names may have changed - but French food remains on the menu
While Dublin's restaurant scene has changed much over the past 20 years, many stalwarts remain favourites with FINANCE readers, as indicated in this review of the major names of the past 20 years. |
20 years of FINANCE
A look back on events of the past 20 years |
What has changed, and what has not in financial services
FINANCE asked some of the leading lights of Ireland's financial services sector over the past 20 years for an insight into what has changed and what hasn't changed over the two previous decades, and found that the unrelenting internationalisation of the business and the increasing burden of compliance are some of the common themes that have emerged. |
Ireland - how it became the envy of Europe
A look back at some of the major events that helped Ireland become the envy of Europe |
20 years of the IFSC - a remarkable story of growth
Twenty years on from the launch of the planning scheme of the IFSC in June 1987, FIONA REDDAN talks to RON BOLGER about his memories of the early days of the IFSC. Bolger, who played a pivotal role in establishing the centre both through his work with the Taoiseach's IFSC Committee and as a partner with KPMG, recalls the days of the 'committee that you could not hide on' and the 'New Orleans showboat'. |
The dramatic growth of Ireland's funds industry
Tara O'Reilly charts the rise of the Irish investment funds business and looks at the challenges ahead. |
The most influential reading
To celebrate 20 years of Finance Magazine, we have created a list of the most influential business books to be published in the last two decades. These works cover all areas of business and offer positive and negative portrayals of various facets of the industry. The one thing they have in common is the impact they have had on their readers. |
20 years - what a difference tax makes!
Tax policy has been central to our economic turnaround over the last 20 years and the IFSC regime has fundamentally changed the whole Irish tax landscape. Let's reflect on how this success story unfolded and how a new chapter can be written for the next generation. |
KPMG's Funds & Fund Management Survey 2007
The 2007 edition of KPMG's Funds and Fund Management survey has just been launched. The survey provides an up to date overview of the accounting, regulatory and taxation regime for investment management in 68 countries. |
The changing face of recruitment across the globe
Recruitment companies have had to evolve with the times to maintain their vital role in the recruitment process, notably by diversifying and specialising, writers Louise Campbell. |
The bankers' banker
As director of corporate banking with Bank of Ireland, Padraig Rushe is in charge of providing a comprehensive range of services to banks, fund managers, administrators, insurers and various other related businesses. |
FS firms driving the market for new HQs
Despite the consistent flow of new office blocks in Dublin city, particularly along the southside of the docks, demand remains strong for buildings sufficiently sizeable to host headquarters for Ireland's growing financial services companies. |
People on the move with FinanceJobs.ie
A run down through the major appointments in finance |
Record number of CFA students
A record number of candidates sat the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) exams on Saturday, June 2nd, according to the Society of Investment Analysts in Ireland. |
