Out of Office: Bankinter’s arrival, copper’s soaring value, Citibank’s surging profits
The Business Post gets you up to date with the big stories of the day
Welcome to the Business Post’s Out of Office, your round-up of the day’s business, tech, markets, legal and politics news.
The revelation this morning that Spain’s Bankinter is to enter the Irish market has generated plenty of interest and discussion among the business community. The company is to seek a full banking licence here after its success in mortgages through Avant Money, which it owns.
Neil Corbett, chief executive of Avant Money, said the announcement showed “a clear commitment” to Ireland that would allow the firm “to better meet the needs of customers by further leveraging Bankinter's innovative products and customer experience”.
Our business editor Lorcan Allen has analysed what this could mean for the Irish banking sector, and believes one Irish bank in particular should be worried.
Still with banking, it emerged that profits at Citibank’s European hub, headquartered in Dublin, surged off the back of increased interest rates and continued robust lending activity. Recently filed accounts for Citibank Europe show the lender recorded a near 70 per cent surge in pre-tax profits to more than $2.1 billion - up from $1 billion the year before.
Elsewhere, Colm Lauder has run the rule over the UK commercial property market and examined whether it has bottomed out, and what that could mean for investors. And it looks like investors in copper could be set for interesting times, given how that particular commodity is performing.
As for residential property, a former rectory in Ramelton in Co Donegal has gone on sale for €895,000, while anyone seeking a large home near the sea will be interested in a period home in Bray in Co Wicklow for €1.1 million.
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