Activity in analysis trade

Lots of activity in the equity analysis business, with NCB, NCB breakaway outfit, Merrion Capital, and ABN-Amro all on the lookout for new bodies to beef up analysis sections that have been reduced for a variety of reasons.

NCB looks like it is in the greatest need with its ranks now reduced to just two - after the recent departure of Ciaran O'Neill back to Fidelity. NCB now has just two analysts, the recently-appointed head of equity research John Reynolds and industrial specialist John Mattimoe. NCB boss Conor O'Kelly has said that appointments are imminent - and not before time with NCB currently having no specialist analyst to cover key sectors such as financials, high tech/ telecoms and food.

And after Joe Gill's move to ABNAmro in London, two of the four big Dublin brokers - ABN-Amro and NCB - have no specialist food sector analyst, although ABN-Amro is thought to be well advanced towards a replacement for Mr Gill. So at the peak of the reporting season when Kerry, Glanbia and Golden Vale all report figures, Davy's John O'Reilly and Goodbody's Liam Igoe are the only food analysts among the "big four".

The NCB breakaway outfit, Merrion Capital, is also on the recruitment trail despite the series of defections to the fledgling outfit from NCB. Word in the market has it that Merrion is firmly fixed on building up a substantial institutional sales business, backed by a strong equity analysis division - evidenced by the addition of Pat O'Neill and Adrian O'Carroll to the sales team headed by Barry Connell. Again, NCB is seen as a likely target for any Merrion onslaught. Don't, however, expect any of the big four brokers - and especially NCB - to easily give up market share to the Merrion Capital upstarts.

Following the initial media-fest after they walked out of NCB, the Merrion lads and lasses have been keeping a low profile - apart from Shane Nolan and Pat Landy's cover feature in Business Plus. Market gossip has it that Merrion expects to have its stockbroking licence within the next six weeks or so, a licence that will require Merrion's deep-pocketed institutional partner to be in place. Commerzbank and Nationsbanc Montgomery are still the names being touted as Merrion's partner.