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

Bank of Ireland has transferred over 2,000 staff from its retail banking division in the Republic to the group's central support functions in the face of reduced business activity. Elsewhere, total headcount has reduced by just 5%, but a hiring freeze remains and bonuses have been slashed as part of an ongoing cost-cutting exercise. "Staff numbers are down as a result of a recruitment freeze, a policy of non-replacement of... Read more

Ireland has again fallen victim to Royal Bank of Scotland's wildly swinging axe, after the bank revealed it cutting 108 jobs within its asset financing unit, Lombard. RBS has deemed the division "non-core". This follows job cuts at Ulster Bank and mortgage lender First Active, both arms of the Scottish bank, over the last year. 84 of the redundancies will hit the Republic of Ireland, with the remaining 24 positions going from... Read more

Things aren’t looking so great for employees at the Big Four accountancy firms in Ireland. After KPMG’s revelation that it would not be extending the contracts of qualifying trainees this year, PricewaterhouseCoopers has now announced a 10% cut in salaries for the majority of its staff. Not surprisingly, a lot of them are exploring other options. PwC employs over 500 people in Ireland and says that the pay cuts are... Read more

Graduate opportunities at Irish banks might be drying up, but the Big Four accountancy firms are recruiting for 2009 with the same fervour as last year. And competition for places is heating up. There’s a distinctly frosty feel to graduate recruitment at Ireland’s two biggest banks. Allied Irish Bank has cancelled its scheme entirely this year. Bank of Ireland has already asked half of the 116 students accepted on the... Read more

Official figures indicate that there were just 380 redundancies within the banking, finance and insurance sectors in Ireland since the beginning of this year, so why are people applying for a job in McDonalds? Statistics from the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment suggest things aren’t that bad in the financial sector, with just 151 people losing their job in February and 380 in 2009. However, the Irish... Read more

At best, banking salaries in Ireland have been frozen this year and in worst-case scenarios, they're actually being reduced. However, bank employees should stand up for their rights and ensure they at least receive the minimum rise required by law. Larry Broderick, general secretary of the Irish Bank Officials' Association says that bank staff - faced with pay cuts, possible redundancy and reduced pension provision - should demand that any salary... Read more

Considering the fact that the government is planning to channel the bad debt of Ireland's top 20 property developers through the National Asset Management Agency (Nama), you might have thought a large number of jobs would be created to administer them. Sadly, it seems the plan is to outsource the work to third-parties. The top 20 construction firms in Ireland account for the vast majority of the some €90bn of loans... Read more

Two words can be used to largely sum up the financial services jobs market in Ireland this year – hiring freeze. While it’s true that the vast majority of sectors suffered, some managed to fare well in the face of adversity. 2009 has been a good year for… Insurance: The number of new jobs created might not be astronomical, but the fact that Ireland has continued to attract new insurance entrants to... Read more

A new survey by recruitment firm Joslin Rowe suggests that financial services hiring activity in Ireland is soaring, while growth in Scotland is more modest. Recruitment in Dublin soared between April and May, with permanent hiring activity increasing by a massive 53% month on month. “The financial services sector in Ireland is booming. One of the biggest areas is the funds area, and the fund administration area,” says Helen O’Reilly, head... Read more

We've all seen variations on the list of common questions interviewers ask, but how much have you thought about what questions you should ask a potential employer? The best interviews are really conversations, as well they should be. You want to know if the position is the right fit - just as much as the company does. After all, the work you do makes up a good portion of your waking... Read more

Bank of Ireland Asset Management is looking to hire 18 new staff in the next few weeks. The banks hopes to boost its numbers adding three investment managers and 15 research specialists in a bid to win back lost clients, Businessworld.ie reports. Mick Sweeney, chief executive of BIAM says the business has restructured to include the introduction of a global research platform to “accelerate turnaround in our performance.”

London may pay its financial services employees almost 38% more, but once rent and bills are paid Irish workers may be better off at the end of the month. And it’s all down to tax. A new survey by UBS investment bank shows that workers in Dublin have the third highest purchasing power in the world. The Irish Times reports that after paying for essential goods and services, Dubliners are able... Read more

It may not be a repository of the most exciting and well paid jobs in financial services, but when it comes to sheer appetite for staff, there is little to rival the global custody industry. As things stand, the custody industry already employs tens of thousands of people globally. At the end of last year, Mellon Financial Corporation, one of the world’s larger custodians in terms of assets, employed a total... Read more

Stockbroking and corporate finance firm Merrion Capital is boosting its capabilities in Ireland with a new office in Cork and additional new hires. “We will get bigger over the next two or three months, but we will probably expect to hire six or seven people in the new year into stockbroking and corporate finance,” says finance director Michael Hutton. “We will be looking for reasonably senior level revenue generators. We are... Read more

Life's good if you're about to qualify as a management accountant in Ireland. According to new figures from the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA), 57% are expecting a bonus this year and the majority of soon-to-be qualified candidates anticipate finding a new job. But are they being overly-optimistic? Nearly 50% of people studying for a CIMA qualification in Ireland intend to move jobs this year, with 72% of those planning... Read more

The move from London has seen offices open in Manchester, Belfast and Bournemouth, with more likely to follow. Bank employees are no strangers to relocating to the world’s international centres. But instead of New York or Paris, today’s financial services migrants are increasingly chasing jobs in UK provincial towns and cities. Those involved are mostly in the middle and back office – the same people who have seen jobs move to... Read more