Merrill Lynch: Merrill Lynch has 800 employees in Ireland at offices in Sandyford and Lower Grand Canal Street in Dublin.
The bank established an operation here in 1995 and holds a local banking licence. It began life in Ireland by setting up Merrill Lynch Capital Markets Bank. It opened a private clients division in 2001 and subsequently spent €30 million establishing an innovation centre in Sandyford. In 2006, it relocated the headquarters of its international bank to Dublin from London. At the end of 2007 it had $253 billion in assets and operated Merrill Lynch's activities across 14 countries, according to a spokesman for the bank.
Staff in Ireland yesterday heard details of the deal with Bank of America. A bank spokesman said it was too early to say what impact the deal would have on Merrill Lynch's Irish business.
AIG Ireland
AIG Ireland has operated in this market for more than 30 years. The insurer employs about 400 staff at offices in the IFSC, Merrion Road and Blackrock and is headed by Irish executive Sean Hehir.
AIG underwrites non-life insurance and provides cover to many of Irelands biggest companies
Accounts filed with the companies office show it made a profit of €44.1 million in 2007, up from €24 million in the previous year.
It had total assets at the end of 2007 of €849 million.
Its parent is American International Group, whose "common stock" is listed on the Irish Stock Exchange, as well as New York and Tokyo.
Lehman Brothers
Lehman Brothers has a Dublin-registered asset management arm that does not actually employ people here. Accounts filed for Lehman Brothers Asset Management (Ireland) Ltd show it made a loss in 2007 of $340,094, compared with a $1.2 million profit a year earlier.
Its operating income more than doubled to $49.6 million. The company had two Irish directors - James Scanlon, and former Price Waterhouse managing partner Billy McCann - but no employees.
The fate of the Irish arm is not clear. Lehman's international administrators, PricewaterhouseCoopers, said: "A number of group companies remain solvent and will continue to trade. These include Lehman Brothers Asset Management (Europe)."
Bank of America
Bank of America's activies in Ireland are largely built around its MBNA credit card subsidiary, which set up here in 1997.
With a call centre based in Carrick-on-Shannon, MBNA is one of the biggest employers in Leitrim.
Accounts filed recently for MBNA Ireland Ltd state that its headcount declined in 2007 to 671 from 706 a year earlier.
MBNA made a pre-tax profit of €13.9 million on turnover of €45.9 million in 2007. It made a gain of €10.1 million on the sale of two Irish properties last year.
According to industry sources, Bank of America operates here as a branch of a UK-based arm of the American financial institution. The bank is thought to employ a handful of staff here.
