The 2019 edition of the Finance Dublin Yearbook, is the 26th annually updated record of the history of the companies and institutions that make up the Republic of Ireland's international financial services history. In this sense, it is a 'living history' of the evolution of a significant global financial centre, Europe's fifth largest, in terms of trade. The new 2019 edition in its updates and new company additions, reflects 'a rate of expansion that is unprecedented in the 30 year plus history of the international financial services industry'.

FCSDublin, 2019 in Dublin Castle on October 15th and 16th next will feature amongst its keynote speakers the Chairman of the SEC in the USA, the United States' most senior regulatory official for the stock markets and for other exchanges and markets, the most important US regulator outside of the Chairman of the Fed.

Thirty four deals are recognised across six categories in the Deals of the Year, 2019, out of over 210 nominations. The deals are across the spectrum of Ireland's capital markets and its international financing and structuring industry; Finance Dublin's annual conference, FCS Dublin, in October will include as keynote speakers, the Chairman of the Securities & Exchange Commission, USA, Jay Clayton, and Kenneth Clarke, QC, former Chancellor of the Exchequer; Irish finance's response to the Green surge: BPFI sets out an agenda; The Government's 'Ireland for Finance' strategy: the pillars; The Irish Tax Monitor: Corporation tax considerations, the US Tax and Jobs Act and its impact on Ireland, and Brexit tax planning, and much more.

June 13th 2019: The long awaited, but greatly welcomed, Investment Limited Partnership legislation has been given the green light by the Cabinet, with the promised publication of the Investment Limited Partnership (Amendment) Bill 2019. The legislation was recently signalled as being due this week by the Minister of State for Financial Services, Michael D'Arcy, and true to his promise, the Department of Finance yesterday confirmed that the Government gave the green light to publish the Investment Limited Partnership (Amendment) Bill 2019. The aim is "to improve the regulatory landscape for private funds", a statement says.

The potential for Ireland to become a leading centre for international insolvency, dispute resolution and financial related legal services within Europe - a significant theme in the forthcoming Financial Centres Summit - has been underscored by the Chief Justice of Ireland, Frank Clarke

26th April 2019: The Strategy was jointly launched today by Minister for Finance & Public Expenditure and Reform, Paschal Donohoe TD, and Minister of State for Financial Services and Insurance, Michael D'Arcy TD. The vision of the strategy is 'for Ireland to be a top-tier global location of choice for specialist international financial services'. The full Report can be accessed here

The results of the Finance Dublin 2019 Top Twenty Accountancy Survey are strong evidence that the post Brexit Irish IFS model is working. Furthermore, the findings of the survey, taken in conjunction with the commentary in this issue by the Managing Partners of Ireland's leading firms provide strong grounds for concluding that Brexit will be a net positive for the Irish economy as a whole, and not just the most outstanding elements of it, such as the international financial services industry. Clearly, the 13%+ growth rate recorded in the past two years is evidence of the continuing buoyancy of the island economy - the survey figures confirm this. They also give encouraging evidence of the broad based nature of it - including the agribusiness sector, and Northern Ireland too; the fee data from 8 of the largest firms in the survey relates to business they conduct on an all-island basis.

10th May 2019: The annual basis.point Spring Charity Lunch was attended by 450 funds industry members, joined this year by two young entrepreneurs from The Patrician Academy School, Cork who explained the impact that their participation in the Foroige NFTE programme, supported by b.p. was having. They also heard that Richard Day's Boston Marathon run raised €56,700 for the Irish funds industry CSR initiative.

15th May 2019: TD Securities, a unit of one of Canada's five clearing banks, Toronto Dominion, has opened an office in Dublin with staffing expected to grow to 80 by the end of 2019. This will include staff in front office, support and control and technology roles. The firm was authorised as a broker-dealer under MIFID by the CBI in March. TD Securities is one of a cluster of Canadian banks to have operated in Ireland for many years, but Brexit has restimulated their activities in the centre. IDA Ireland had identified the project as a strategic IFS investment, and it was welcomed by IDA CEO Martin Shanahan today.

In 2018, IDA Ireland won a record 60 individual investments across banking, payments, insurance, investment management, market infrastructure, aircraft leasing and financial technology. Writing in the January issue, IDA Ireland's IFS chief Kieran Donoghue also says "at present, firms are establishing the foundations of a new or significantly expanded presence in Ireland, while simultaneously meeting CBI substance requirements, reconfiguring their overall EU business and monitoring the tortuous process of the UK exit. When this phase is complete, they will then begin to consider future plans and ways in which to leverage and develop their new Irish entities".