From recent research by British Newspaper, The Observer, it has been stated that Dublin is the most popular destination for financial companies moving businesses out of London in the past year. Many of these companies specialize in financial services and it has been found that a total of 34 companies have found to have jobs shifting into the capital city. In 2016, the EU passed a referendum which has caused firms located previously in the city to start leasing space in other cities such as Amsterdam, Paris, Luxembourg, and Dublin. This is to ensure that they are still able to keep maintaining business with their EU clients.
Credit Unions are also planning on launching a new credit card within the next month. The Irish League of Credit Unions has been testing this new card in Ballinasloe in preparation for launching the card with another 14 credit unions across Ireland within the first half of 2021. This card removes the credit union member’s dependency on cash and will give them another option in payments or doing their banking services with their credit union.
New apartments in Dublin have been locking first-time buyers out from considering them as a mortgage option recently due to their high prices. Costs of these properties will continue to rise beyond the prices that first-time buyers can afford to borrow. There are plans from the city in building over 26,000 new apartments in the area within the next seven years. The average cost of these apartments that are two-bed is currently over €407,000, with three-bed housings to be priced at €23,000 more.
The Bank of Ireland has also considering downgrading some of the nearly 300 branches that it has established across the country, to either cut costs or centralize its processes. The lender has announced plans to propose closing down branches that reflect the customers’ shift to more online and digital banking preferences. Over the counter services in these banks make up fewer than 10% of the total transactions overall, and these banks need to consider such proposals especially during the COVID pandemic where the financial situation of organizations can be direr.
Lucas Zhang was a Finance major at Ohio State University. He writes about finance, mortgages, and technology for Irish Mortgage Brokers.
Relevant Links: Dublin tops European HQ locations, Financial Services
