Government says 9,000 financial services jobs created since 2015

The Government has said 9,000 jobs have been created in the international financial services (IFS) sector since 2015, leaving it within reach of a five-year target outlined before the Brexit referendum took place.

The latest annual update from the Department of Finance on the so-called IFS2020 Strategy, launched in March 2015, said the jobs created cover all sub-sections of the industry, including banking, insurance, funds and asset management, aircraft leasing, fintech and payments, and business services. The plan targets a creation of 10,000 IFS jobs by the end of the decade.

The net numbers of jobs created were compiled from data supplied by IDA Ireland and Enterprise Ireland, according to the department’s report. Some 44,000 people are now employed in the IFS sector in Ireland across 430 companies, it said.

Single market

Banking giants Barclays and Bank of America Merrill Lynch, insurers XL Insurance, Beazley, Hiscox and Bupa, and asset managers such as an arm of Morgan Stanley, Legg Mason and Aberdeen Standard Investments, have outlined plans to set up centres here to retain access to the single market as a result of the UK leaving the union.

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However, the number of jobs moving to Dublin as a result of Brexit remains low, with more front office activities moving to Frankfurt and Paris, according to industry sources.

“2019 is the last year of a successful strategy that has increased the size and depth of the international financial services sector in Ireland,” said Michael Darcy, Minister of State for Financial Services . “We have started work on formulating a successor strategy for the IFS sector. This successor strategy will focus on helping the IFS sector to adapt and build on what has worked well in the past while addressing emerging challenges and capitalising on new opportunities.”