Bank of America to locate EU legal entities to Dublin
IDA Ireland has welcomed Bank of America confirmation that it has chosen Dublin as the preferred location for its principal EU legal entities following the UK’s departure from the EU. Bank of America celebrates 50 years of operation next year in Ireland and Dublin is the home of more of its employees than any other European city outside of the UK. The decision was confirmed by Brian Moynihan, Chairman and CEO of Bank of America at a meeting with An Taoiseach Leo Varadkar and IDA Ireland CEO Martin Shanahan.
The decision to consolidate its legal entities in Dublin will ensure that the company can continue to serve its customers, both in Ireland and across the EU, after the UK leaves the European Union.
An Taoiseach, Leo Varadkar welcomed the announcement. “I was delighted to meet Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan who confirmed that Dublin is their preferred location for their post-Brexit EU entity. Bank of America has a long-standing commitment to Ireland and I look forward to this relationship growing and deepening in the years ahead.
“This announcement follows a number of recent announcements by leading global financial institutions and is a strong endorsement of Ireland’s attractiveness as a location for investment, and of the Government’s approach to securing Brexit-related activities. Bank of America also has a long tradition of philanthropy in Ireland, and I was delighted to learn of its plans for further investment in the Music Generation scheme to support music education in Irish schools.”
Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise and Innovation, Frances Fitzgerald said: “This is another vote of confidence in Ireland and its expanding international financial services sector, and shows that our track record, pro-business environment, highly skilled talented workforce and an unwavering commitment to the European single market continues to appeal to investors.”
Minister of State at the Department of Finance, Michael D’Arcy agreed: “This is a very welcome development from this global banking establishment. Ireland has made great progress in becoming a strong hub for international financial services business as this announcement by Bank of America further demonstrates. I look forward to continuing working with our State Agencies in implementing the Government’s IFS 2020 Strategy.”
Martin Shanahan, CEO IDA Ireland said: “Today’s decision reflects the importance of Ireland as a gateway to the Single Market. As the only English speaking, common-law jurisdiction in the Euro zone, Ireland is well positioned to provide certainty to companies servicing the European market in a post Brexit world.
“This is yet another very important signal to the market that financial services companies can come to Ireland and service their European customers with minimum disruption to their business.
“Ireland has the right mix of regulation, skills, experience and office space to make us a very logical place for financial services to locate,” concluded Martin Shanahan.
