Full coverage: Banking

In the last two years, AIB has more than doubled and Bank of Ireland has more than tripled in value. First-half results now available for both institutions tell the story.

The decision to cut costs by removing cash services from 70 AIB branches was the logical decision for a normal publicly-listed company. But the majority state-owned bank isn't one.

The tracker scandal was not an outlier for AIB. As the sad tale of the Belfry Funds shows, the bank has repeatedly put its own interests above those of its customers.

Francesca McDonagh’s decision to leave Bank of Ireland has once again highlighted the thorny issue of salaries and bonuses in Irish banks. And, despite the complaints of bankers, the government will be ultra-cautious about relaxing the current regime any time soon.

Businessman Paul Mackay battled Charles Haughey over his finances and was a founding member of the Progressive Democrats. More recently, he has sought to highlight the massive erosion in value at the Irish Credit Bureau. He tells his story to Tom Lyons.

Unlike Russia’s biggest banks, which are state-owned and cut off from western debt markets, Alfa Bank has been using Ireland to raise more and more funds from investors. An investigation by The Currency charts the money trail.

State-owned VTB Bank has spent the past seven years moving assets around Europe in the face of sanctions and Brexit. An investigation by The Currency reveals that its commodities business has landed in Ireland – at least on paper.

The fine and findings issued by the Central Bank will raise questions for CRH chair Richie Boucher who led Bank of Ireland for most of this period, as well as others.

Clive Murray, head of equities at Investec, says the bank’s Dublin office has assumed heightened importance since Brexit – and this has led to significant investment here. He also talks about the pandemic, potential acquisitions and its plan to become number one in core areas.

Former Bank of Ireland executive Nick Fahy is building a hybrid business bank, with customer-facing staff backed up by Google’s AI technology.