Derek Kehoe, CEO & Head of Country for BNP Paribas in Ireland:
BNP Paribas has been active in Ireland since 1973, continually growing and evolving. Our main business in Ireland, Corporate and Institutional Banking, offers our clients, via our full-service Branch, everything from Transaction Banking through Deal origination, Capital Markets execution, Custody, Depositary and Asset servicing.

BNP Paribas Ireland has many other business lines in the Territory also, most notably our general Insurance company Greenval, which continues to grow and expand across Europe, but also a significant presence in the Commercial Real Estate sector via BNP Paribas Real Estate. Through the dedication of some 550 staff, based in Dublin and Galway, we continue to work with our clients to help them grow and flourish.

2023 was a particularly busy year with all business lines contributing to the growth of our platform. I have asked the Leaders of our two largest businesses, Global Banking and Securities Services, to give their perspective on recent developments and future plans:

Head of Global Banking - Billy Quinlan:
Global Banking Ireland is responsible for managing and developing the relationship with our Irish corporate clientele. We serve large Irish corporates, semi state entities and the Irish subsidiaries of BNP Paribas’ global client base. We enjoy longstanding and diverse relationships with these clients.

As the leading European Global Bank, we help our clients in all aspects of their banking needs across cash management, trade finance, derivatives, debt and equity capital markets, strategic advisory. We do this in close collaboration with our product and solution experts based both in Ireland and globally.

In the last twelve months we were privileged to hallmark BNP Paribas’ 50 years in Ireland with some notable achievements.
• BNP Paribas ranked #1 in deal volume with Dealogic as the most active Investment Bank in Ireland.
• We launched the BNP Paribas Global Banking Graduate Programme in Ireland welcoming three talented colleagues to our growing business.
• Advisor to Kerry Group on the disposal of its Sweet Ingredients portfolio to IRCA / Advent.
• Advisor to Fran?aise des Jeux on its first overseas acquisition namely the Irish Lottery Operator ‘Premier Lotteries International’
• Supporting CRH plc as joint bookrunner on a €2.0bn triple tranche Eurobond

BNP Paribas is the #1 provider of transaction banking solutions in EMEA. To that end Ireland is a key platform delivering such solutions to our global clients. This includes the EMEA Supply Chain Finance Hub providing Working Capital finance solutions across inventory, receivables and payables. 2023 also saw the launch of “Eliant” a new innovative financial solution assisting global corporates in the optimisation and financing of their strategic inventories. This new solution is offered via our strategic relationship with Apollo Global Management. 2023 saw the launch of our latest innovation “Eliant” an inventory finance solution offered jointly with Apollo Global.

Furthermore, reflecting Ireland’s position as a key entry point for global inward investment into Europe we continue to invest and enhance capabilities, both technology and people, across cash management, payments and liquidity allowing us to meet the evolving, complex and demanding treasury expectations of our sophisticated global clients operating in key sectors across technology, pharmaceuticals, aviation leasing, retail and media.

Head of Securities Services for Ireland & CEO, BNP Paribas Fund Administration Services (Ireland) Limited - Joy Kiely:
Today Ireland is the third largest investment fund centre in the world and is regarded as a key strategic regulated international funds domicile by the world’s leading managers and funds service providers. Securities Services, a business line of BNP Paribas’ Corporate and Institutional Banking (CIB) division, has been supporting our clients and the funds industry in Ireland for over 20 years. By leveraging our integrated bank model BNP Paribas offers our clients the full range of Corporate and Institutional Banking products from Deal origination through to Capital Markets execution and asset servicing. This includes the full suite of fund administration, custody and depositary bank services across all investment strategies and asset classes.

We have more than 270 experienced professionals locally, supported by specialists in our International Operations Centres around the world, providing the full suite of services for traditional and alternative funds, servicing both Irish and non-domiciled funds.

Everything we do and at the core of our strategy is to support the needs of our clients globally by combining the strength of a large international presence with local market expertise. Our commitment to innovation and investment in our people ensures we are at the forefront of our client’s needs and industry trends. We are also committed to contributing to a more sustainable financial landscape.

Kehoe: 2024 will no doubt throw up a number of challenges for our clients. The macro environment is likely to deteriorate, though to what extent, remains unclear. Interest rates, on both sides of the Atlantic, will likely come down, it’s just a question of when and at what pace. Geo-politically the world is becoming ever more volatile. In addition, 50% of humanity will vote in elections in 2024. It’s fair to say the outcome of some, could determine the direction of the Globe for a generation. In all of these uncertainties, I and all of the team at BNP Paribas Ireland, look forward to working closely with our clients, to hedge their risks, fund their growth ambitions and protect their assets in an uncertain world.