The National Treasury Management Agency said today that stockbroker Davy is to return as one of 15 primary dealers in Irish Government bonds.
This comes four years after it was dropped following a record Central Bank fine for breaching market rules.
The NTMA dropped Davy in 2021 following a public outcry over the €4.1m fine after an investigation into a group of 16 of its staff, who the regulator said had sought to profit personally by taking the opposite side of a deal in 2014 with a client.
They failed to tell either the client or its own compliance officials, the Central Bank said.
Bank of Ireland agreed to buy most of Davy Stockbrokers later in 2021.
The NTMA said today that Davy would be recognised as a primary trader again from February 28, allowing it to bid in the issuance of Irish government bonds and act as market makers in such bonds on the major electronic trading platforms.
The 15 Primary Dealers are Barclays Bank Ireland, BNP Paribas, Bank of America Securities Europe, Cantor Fitzgerald Ireland, Citibank Europe, Danske Bank, Davy, Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs Bank Europe, Goodbody Stockbrokers, HSBC France, JP Morgan, Morgan Stanley Europe, Nomura Financial Products Europe and NatWest Markets.
Michael Cummins, Head of Fixed Income at Davy, said that international bond markets play a critical role in the Irish state’s future funding requirement and Davy looks forward to supporting the NTMA in achieving its goals in this regard.
“This recognition by the NTMA follows substantial investment in a highly experienced Fixed Income team, building on Davy’s long-standing support for Irish debt capital markets,” Damian Roddy, Head of Capital Markets, added.
