€200bn moved across Irish Sea since Brexit: Balance sheets of global banks in Dublin swell to record €500bn

The Irish balance sheets of a range of global banks that run international operations from Dublin has ballooned to more than half a billion euros.

As a result, Dublin is gradually becoming a major banking hub within the EU, adding as much as €200bn to banks’ balance sheets since the UK voted to leave the European Union in 2016.

In fact, it puts Ireland in second place, only behind Frankfurt, based on the total value of assets that were moved out of Britain to EU-based branches of European and global banks.

According to a new study by The Federation of International Banks of Ireland (FIBI) and the Banking and Payments Federation Ireland, the total amount on Irish balance sheets held by international banks was €517bn, or £432bn, at the end of December 2021.

‘Influx of assets’

Fiona Gallagher, chairwoman of the FIBI and chief executive of Wells Fargo Bank International, stressed that, since Brexit, Dublin has become one of the EU’s most important hubs for capital markets and global banking.

Since Brexit, Ireland has become one of the key EU hubs for international banking and capital markets activity.ADVERTISEMENT

“Many UK and global banking groups built-up or established new Irish entities to service EU clients post-Brexit,” Gallagher explained.

“This has seen an influx of new staff, assets, risk management capabilities and investment services activities in Ireland.”

In fact, “International banking operations in Ireland are now acting as a key bridge to servicing the EU market, directly and through its vast EU branch networks,” she said.