Joe Brennan

Dublin

Markets Correspondent at Irish Times

Markets Correspondent with The Irish Times. Ex Bloomberg finance reporter in Dublin. E-mail: [email protected] https://t.co/hSrpaMGAt7

Articles

Goldman Sachs reported to be in talks to launch retail bank in Ireland

1 day ago | irishtimes.com | Joe Brennan

Wall Street banking giant Goldman Sachs’s is considering launching its online retail bank Marcus in the Irish market in an effort to get access to billions of euros of deposits from domestic households, according to a report. Bloomberg News reported on Tuesday that the group has held preliminary talks with regulators in recent months on a potential widening of the Marcus brand into the Republic, which continues to be dominated by the three domestic banks.
DCC to return €950m to shareholders after sale of healthcare division

2 days ago | irishtimes.com | Joe Brennan

DCC, the energy to technology distribution and services group, said it plans to return £800 million (€950 million) to shareholders after agreeing last month to sell its healthcare division. The group also reported on Tuesday that its operating profit rose 4.9 per cent to £703.6 million in its financial year to the end of March, driven by its energy group.
Irish-founded Tullow Oil faces $1.4bn refinancing headache amid falling crude prices

5 days ago | irishtimes.com | Joe Brennan

It didn’t take Tullow Oil investors long to get over news in December that the Irish-founded company had been jilted by a second would-be partner in a little over two years. While the stock slumped almost 20 per cent over five days of trading before markets took a break for Christmas, it would rally strongly into the early days of the new year. A tie-up with US oil and gas group Kosmos Energy would have undone efforts by Tullow in recent years to lower its borrowings.
Germany’s Dax hits record high as European shares rise on trade deal hopes

5 days ago | irishtimes.com | Joe Brennan

European shares advanced on Friday, with Germany’s DAX index closing at an all-time high, as signs of easing global trade war relieved investors as they eyed talks between the US and China over the weekend. The pan-European Stoxx 600 index ended 0.4 per cent higher. Frankfurt’s DAX index climbed 0.6 per cent. The Iseq All-Share index rose 0.4 per cent to 10,883.69. Banking stocks were mixed.
PTSB chief praises takeover target Finance Ireland at historically short AGM

5 days ago | irishtimes.com | Joe Brennan

PTSB chief executive Eamonn Crowley has said Finance Ireland “is a fine business”, but declined to comment on the bank’s bid approach for the nonbank lender. The Irish Times reported last month that PTSB made an unsolicited overture late last year to buy the largest nonbank lender in the State, run by Billy Kane, a former chief executive of Irish Permanent, a precursor of the bank.
CRH chair says Irish AGMs still ‘appropriate’ even as holding of meetings overseas is approved

6 days ago | irishtimes.com | Joe Brennan

CRH chairman Richie Boucher has insisted that holding its annual general meetings (AGM) in Ireland remains “appropriate”, even as investors approved a resolution allowing it to hold such meetings oversees in future. Some 99 per cent of voting shareholders backed a resolution at the building materials and services giant’s AGM in Dublin on Thursday that would allow it to amend its articles of association to enable general meetings to be held outside of the Republic.
Finance Ireland pretax profit almost doubles to €20.3m

1 week ago | irishtimes.com | Joe Brennan

Finance Ireland, the State’s largest nonbank lender, reported on Thursday that its pretax profit jumped 95 per cent last year to €20.3 million as lending grew and funding costs for the sector declined. The company, led by chief executive Billy Kane, said that its total new lending rose 19 per cent from 2023 to €646 million. Customer loan balances increased by 14 per cent to €1.2 billion, comprising car, commercial real estate, agri and small business loans.
State set to exit AIB within months as €1.2bn share buyback proceeds

1 week ago | irishtimes.com | Joe Brennan

The Government is on track to sell its final shares in AIB within months after the bank proceeded with a buyback of €1.2 billion of taxpayers’ shares, following a rally by its stock on Wednesday to within half a cent of the price at which the deal had been agreed. A transaction had looked doubtful in recent weeks, as AIB’s shares had slumped after the minimum price had been set in late March, amid a global equites slump following US president Donald Trump’s ‘Liberation Day’ tariffs announcement.
Ulster Bank on track to return banking licences

1 week ago | irishtimes.com | Joe Brennan

Ulster Bank is on track to return its banking licence in the Republic in the coming months after 165 years in the market, following the transfer of unclaimed customer deposits to a trust, according to sources. The bank, a unit of NatWest Group, may hand back the licence to the Central Bank of Ireland as early as next month, though the timing could drift into the third quarter, the sources said. The company aims to operate under a retail credit licence as it continues its winddown.
AIB plan to buy back €1.2bn of Government shares hangs in balance

1 week ago | irishtimes.com | Joe Brennan

AIB’s plan to buy back €1.2 billion of shares from the State hung in the balance on Wednesday evening, as the stock closed to six cents below the price that had been agreed for the deal before global equities slumped five weeks ago. The US stock market, which often sets the tone for equities globally, turned volatile hours later after the Federal Reserve left interest rates unchanged, as expected, and warned of rising economic uncertainty with trade concerns weighing on households.