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

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

With employment opportunities within domestic banks obviously rather scarce, firms in the IFSC are currently providing the bulk of the Irish financial services jobs. Not surprisingly, they're proving rather popular. The hiring freeze continues within Ireland's big banks, but after a difficult period it’s the international firms in the IFSC that are creating jobs again. Insurers like Aviva, Canada Life and Zurich are all adding to their ranks while... Read more

Bad news for certain employees of Bank of Ireland – the firm has unveiled details of which assets it's likely to dispose of in order to meet the terms of a European Union restructuring plan. Asset management, pensions and life assurance businesses are all up for sale. BoI, which revealed losses €1.8bn in the nine months to December 2009, is being forced to meet the terms of a restructuring plan under... Read more

In the current market conditions, optimism within Ireland's banking sector is hard to come by. But, while the situation does not look like drastically improving in 2010, the majority of financial services professionals we surveyed in January believe the worst is behind us. Nearly half (48%) of respondents to our survey said they were confident 2010 will be better than 2009, as opposed to 33% who feel the opposite. Around 20%... Read more

Gaining work experience in financial centres outside of Ireland could mean you ultimately end up earning as much as 11% more than your less travel-minded contemporaries. At least that's the theory put forward by the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI), which suggests that Irish emigrates who spent at least a year working abroad earned more when they returned home. The ERSI interviewed over 42,000 workers across various industries for its research,... Read more

Ireland's financial sector is still in the midst of a jobs crisis, which could eventually see the loss of 10,000 positions, according to the country's finance union. The headline figure from the Irish Bank Officials Association (IBOA) could, of course, create panic among Ireland's financial services employees, but the majority of these roles may have already been lost. However, Bank of Scotland (Ireland)'s decision to axe 750 jobs last week, and the... Read more

If NAMA gets the nod from the European Commission, it won't just be good news for Ireland's banks – property investors are also waiting in the wings to swoop on the distressed debt, which is likely to provide decent levels of recruitment in the near future. Ex-Barclays heavyweight banker Roger Jenkins unveiled plans to target Irish banks' distressed assets through his new Dublin-based venture Elkstone Capital. He's recruited a handful of... Read more

The National Pensions Reserve Fund (NPRF) is on the hunt for a new investment director, and NAMA is in the process of building its portfolio management team. Comparatively speaking, this is a flurry of hiring activity for the country's asset management sector, and recruiters are expecting competition to be stiff. In a rather understated job advert, the NPRF says it's for someone holding a CFA or equivalent with experience... Read more

After a torrid 2009 for Ireland's financial services industry, it's still slightly difficult to see a light at the end of the tunnel. However, here’s our considered opinion on which sectors will fare better than others next year. 2010 could be a good year for: Fund administration: Arguably one of the largest employers within Ireland's financial services industry, fund administration has shifted from recruitment frenzy to hiring freeze over the last... 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

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

The 450 staff of KBC Bank Ireland can breathe a sigh of relief, at least for the time being, now that it's escaped the restructuring plan imposed on its Belgian parent by the European Commission yesterday. Ireland has not been considered a core market for KBC for some time now, so employees here were on tenterhooks as the bank agreed to sell certain assets in return for receiving state aid.... Read more

If, as many in the recruitment sector will tell you, the situation is looking up for Ireland's financial services jobs market then it's a very slow process. However, adding to the gradually growing tide of optimism is the fact that there were more vacancies last month than at any other point during 2009. The number of new job vacancies in September rose by 31% on August, according to recruiters Premier Group's... Read more