Financial news Ireland – job market news, recruitment & career trends in Ireland for the finance sector

Junior accountants in Ireland might want to think twice before booking that plane ticket to the UK – you're likely to earn more by staying at home. The National Competitiveness Council has just produced a voluminous report on the cost of doing business in Ireland (and hence its attractiveness to international investment). This is based on the four key areas of labour, property, utilities and business services. Rather obviously, we've honed in... Read more

In advance of tomorrow’s UK budget, next weekend’s G20 meeting, and the likelihood of further measures to curb banking pay and profitability, here’s a quick roundup of where we are right now in terms of global banking punitive rankings. Notably, the most worst place so far is probably Holland. However, the EU is keen on coming in close behind. 1) Holland Dutch banks adopted a new voluntary code of conduct in September... Read more

If the prospect of a pay rise in the Irish financial sector last year seemed like an implausible ambition, it's not entirely beyond the realms of possibility in 2010. Nearly 30% of financial services employers in Ireland surveyed by recruiters Premier Group expect to raise salaries by as much as 10% this year. Don't get too excited, though – the majority (62.8%) intend to keep pay static, while a... Read more

Anglo Irish's decision to award 70 staff 'modest' pay rises is not only out of kilter with continued poor results at the bank, but is also unreflective of salary trends in the country's financial sector generally. The move to award salary increases to 40 staff in Ireland, 20 in the UK and 10 employees in its US operations has not gone down well at all. Needless to say, after nationalisation,... Read more

Corporate bankers in Ireland have seen their salaries shrink by as much as €18k over the last year as redundancies and lack of new job opportunities took their toll on pay. The latest salary survey by recruiters Robert Walters illustrates just how bleak the last 12 months have been for corporate bankers. The majority of roles in this sector have seen salaries shrink, but relationship managers with more than five... Read more

One of the unfortunate consequences of the Irish economy remaining in the doldrums last year was a massively increased rate of insolvency among businesses in the country. Sadly, this doesn't look like abating in 2010, but the upside of this is increased job opportunities for accountants with expertise in this area. According to data compiled by InsolvencyJournal.ie, 1,406 Irish firms were declared insolvent in 2009, which represents an 82% upswing on... Read more

Around 65% of financial services firms in Ireland are not planning on handing out bonuses this year, and it may be 2011 before discretionary payments are back on the agenda again. The latest salary survey by Irish recruiters Brightwater reflects what has been an incredibly difficult year for the financial services industry. Pay offered to new hires is down by an average of 4-10%, according to their research, and salaries have... Read more

If you work in risk or compliance you’ve got a better chance than most Irish financial services workers of getting a new job this year. However, if you’re in corporate banking or operations, you’ll be facing the recession with less cash in your pocket. The latest salary survey by recruiters Robert Walters paints a predictably bleak picture of Ireland’s financial services industry. Pay has largely remained static, due to the... Read more

Irish financial sector workers will face a year of static salaries and shrinking bonuses in 2009, according a new salary survey. The survey, the latest from recruiters Brightwater, understandably paints a quite different picture to this time last year, when those in financial services were experiencing rapid pay hikes as firms tussled over a limited talent pool. The good news is that salaries aren’t likely to deteriorate, but there isn't... Read more

Businesses and non doms are heading for Ireland to escape increasingly punitive taxes in the UK. But will the average banker really be any better off in Ireland? At first sight, the answer is no. While the UK government has just raised the personal income tax allowance to £6,035, Ireland’s tax system offers no tax allowance and works instead on the basis of ‘tax credits’ once the tax on... Read more

Bear Stearns’ 150 Irish staff pocketed salaries of less than half the going rate for its employees elsewhere in the world last year. The bank reported pre-tax profits in Ireland of $27.7m (€17.5m) in the 12 months to the end of November, down from $29.7m (€18.7m) in 2006. Staff costs for the year rose to $16.4m (€10.3m), giving an average salary for its 150 or so Dublin-based workers of around $109k... Read more

Thought your pay was rising? Think again. Ireland’s fund administrators can comfort themselves with the thought that they are still ahead of their counterparts in Glasgow and Edinburgh when it comes to salaries. But with pay levels static on last year, and the gap with Scotland rapidly closing, it’s about the only good news they have. According to a survey by recruitment firm Robert Walters, Dublin fund administration salaries remained rigidly... Read more

Financial services salaries are on the up in Dublin, but the numbers of jobs and candidates available are falling. The average pay for financial services employees working in the back and middle office rose by €5k to €39.1k, according to the latest figures from recruiters Joslin Rowe. This is up from a €33k average from this time last year, but has slipped from the record €43.5k in October of last year.... Read more

Entry-level fund administrators have seen pay increases of 17% over the last year as Ireland leads the way in Western Europe salary hikes. The 2007/08 salary survey by recruiters Joslin Rowe says that the typical pay for entry-level and junior fund administrators is €30k – up from €25k in 2006. A separate study into potential salary rises, by Mercer Human Resource Consulting, says that Ireland is predicted to increase pay by an... Read more

Are you being paid enough? Is it time you asked your boss for a rise? Salary surveys are a good way of gauging average earnings, but they don’t all say the same thing. According to recruitment firm Manpower, Irish banking salaries haven’t risen at all since last year. Across retail, funds, treasury, stockbroking and corporate lending, all the numbers are as static as can be. But this isn’t entirely accurate, according... Read more

Thinking of relocating in search of higher pay? Don’t bother. At least, don’t bother relocating to Scotland. New figures indicate that Dublin’s fund professionals are paid on a par with their Scots counterparts. A fund administrator in Dublin can earn between €24k and €28k a year, while the salary for the same role in Scotland ranges from €28k to €39k, according to a survey from recruitment firm Robert Walters. However, a senior fund... Read more

The latest salary survey from recruitment agency Robert Waters suggests Dublin’s equity analysts generally start out on a basic salary of €30k – which rises quickly once they get experience under their belt. Analysts at asset managers can command €44k after three years, and tend to break through the €65k market after five years. After that, salaries can spiral upwards to as much as €120k. Equity analysts at stockbroking firms aren’t exactly... Read more