15th August 2018: Fexco today announced the acquisition of London's leading retail foreign exchange (FX) company, Thomas Exchange Global (TEG). The deal strengthens Fexco's position as the largest independent FX operator in the UK where it holds 12% of a £9 bn market. The acquisition of TEG which serves over 1 million customers in London across its 15 prominent branches also positions Fexco as the largest independent FX operator in the city, a statement from Fexco said. Fexco has been on the acquisition trail in the UK retail foreign exchange sector for a number of years, and this is its latest acquisition.

"To 2025 and beyond" is the theme of The Financial Centres Summit, Dublin, 2018, Dublin Castle, October 2-3rd 2018. It will focus on the opportunities and the central business concerns of all IFS businesses with a balance of contributions from thought leaders across all major sectors including asset and wealth management, investment funds, financing, capital markets, banking, trading, market infrastructures, aircraft leasing, and insurance. Click here for latest speaker announcements

July 18th 2018: The largest trade repository in the world DTCC, said in a statement today that it will extend its presence in Europe by adding a new location in Ireland ahead of the UK's withdrawal from the EU. The decision to choose Dublin is a win for Ireland, in the light of post Brexit competition amongst EU-27 jurisdictions to attract financial infrastructure businesses in the wake of Brexit, with Amsterdam a strong competitor to gain much of the UK Brexit-related drift to date in other areas of the financial infrastructure ecosystem, such as exchanges.

July 18th 2018: The finance ministers of Ireland and its new partners in an alliance that includes Nordic and Baltic states and the Netherlands have called for resources to be focused 'on those outstanding parts of the CMU Action Plan with the largest impact, which enjoy broad support among Member States and can be completed quickly.' A statement posted on the Irish Department of Finance website today outlines their view on CMU. CMU will be major theme at the upcoming Financial Centres Summit, Dublin 2018 which takes place in Dublin Castle on 2nd & 3rd October.

July 12th 2018: EY announced the creation of 520 jobs, adding to its total existing headcount of more than 2,500 on the island of Ireland today. The new roles on offer will be filled by 215 experienced candidates, with average salaries of €65,000 per annum, depending on experience, with the other 305 roles to be with its 2018 graduate intake, in September, an increase of 57 roles on last year's intake. EY was one of the fastest growing of the country's accountancy firms according to the latest Finance Dublin Accountancy Survey, published last March, with a fee increase in its latest FY (to June 2017) of 14.7 per cent to €278.7 million, making it 4th largest on the island.

25 years of global ETFs: The $5.2 trillion global ETF industry is the subject of our Cover Special Report in this issue where we look at the combination of factors that have driven their growth, assess their prospects for continued delivery in the 2020s and look at the latest global developments and Ireland's leading role in the European ETF market.

We comment on the Central Bank's new Innovation Hub that will focus on 'engagement, sharing and listening' and provide a direct contact point for new and incumbent firms on their fintech innovations.

Also: The EU's Digital Tax proposals and the spectre of multiple-taxation are analysed as is the conflict between the EU and the OECD on the future of international tax the Irish Tax Monitor, and the implications of the Coffey Report's recommendations for Ireland's FS industry; Dillon Eustace's Muireann Reedy analyses financial sanctions regimes and their extra-territorial reach; BPFI's Amy Walsh on the evolving landscape of banking recovery planning; Editorial: Mid Year Review for Ireland's financial services centre.

June 28th 2018: Deirdre Somers, CEO of the Irish Stock Exchange has announced her resignation from the exchange she has led for the past ten years. Her resignation comes just days after having been re-elected for a new 3 year term as chair of the European Federation of Stock Exchanges at its annual congress in Vienna. The new head of the exchange in Dublin will be Euronext Dublin's operations and chief regulatory officer, Daryl Byrne.

Goshawk Aviation is to acquire SKY Leasing's Irish subsidiary in a move that will swell Goshawk's fleet by 51 aircraft, bring its total fleet to 183 aircraft with a value of $9.1 billion. The move also adds 17 new customers to Goshawk's client list. The deal is to be financed mainly through unsecured debt financing with the financing profile of the transaction expected to be overall credit enhancing to Goshawk as it will diversify its asset base and increase unencumbered assets.

Lory Kehoe, Deloitte's former EMEA Blockchain Lead and the recently appointed managing director at Consensys, which recently opened in Dublin with plans to employ over 60 people and Deloitte's John Hallahan, writing in the March 2018 issue of Finance Dublin analyse blockchain applications by financial services companies - for example KYC/AML compliance.

May 15th 2018: Thomson Reuters has applied to the Central Bank of Ireland to move its FX Multilateral Trading Facility (MTF) to Dublin to maintain access to the EU's single market after Brexit. Thomson Reuters MTF is one of the largest trading platforms in the global forex market with derivatives trading volumes of more than $300 billion a day. Spot global foreign exchange is a $5 trillion a day market.

The winners in the Twelfth Annual Finance Dublin Deals of the Year Awards reflect the upsurge of corporate activity in the economy with a number of milestone deals underlining the strength of the economy recovery. The winning deals are in announced in a Special Report in Finance Dublin. The Report highlights the exceptional year of development on many fronts in corporate finance and capital markets in Ireland during the past year. This is reflected in the deals and awards themselves, which reveal remarkable evolution in various markets across the board. Over 150 Deals were nominated by market participants for this year's Awards, which are awarded on an individual basis across 5 broad categories: Mergers & Acquisitions; Debt Capital Markets; Equity Capital Markets; Loans & Financing, and Financial Services.

A common position on CMU was cited by Minister for Finance, Paschal Donohoe, as an example of the common interests that would be shared by other member states in the 'association' which he said includes the Nordics, Baltics and Dutch. The Minister was delivering a keynote address at the Irish Funds Annual Conference in the Convention Centre Dublin today. The Minister also said the much anticipated ILP legislation is currently being reviewed in his department and draft legislation can be expected during the course of the summer

As the Irish Collective Asset Management Vehicle (ICAV) enters its fourth year, Meliosa O'Caoimh, Managing Director, Northern Trust, Ireland, reflects on the factors behind its success and what will be required to ensure that its growth momentum is maintained into the future. In this wide ranging review, in the 2018 edition of the Finance Dublin Yearbook, she also assesses the key pillars of the Irish investment funds industry, and its service record for both domiciled and non domiciled funds, including the $100 billion Irish ICAV industry that has emerged in the 3 years since the passing of the ICAVs Act in March 2015.

Dublin as a financial centre is still heavily favoured to be a major beneficiary from Brexit, according to the latest survey by CFA Institute, the global association of investment professionals. Almost 1,000 CFA members responded to the survey, with 24 per cent of respondents from the UK, 24 per cent from the EU (ex-UK), and the remainder from the rest of the world.

The focus of the Special Report Investment Funds 2018 - Global strategies in asset management is on the global issues that are dominating strategic decisions in the asset management industry in the year to come. The Report highlights the fundamental issues that will be at the heart of strategy for the international investment funds industry in 2018. Published: December 2018.

The Financial Centres Summit, Dublin 2017 presented by Finance Dublin and FSI in Dublin Castle heard from over 80 speakers on the current vital issues for Ireland's IFS industry on Tuesday October 17th. See the latest on the event and what's happening as a result on Twitter here at: #FCSDublin2017 Proceedings started with the keynote address by Lord Jonathan Hill, former EU Commissioner for financial services. Click here for updates in the months to come on FCSDublin2018 in Dublin Castle on October 2nd and 3rd 2018.

In the December issue: basis.point is the Irish funds industry's initiative to make a real and visible difference by supporting educational programmes for disadvantaged children across Ireland.