BANK OF IRELAND has completed its €427 million deal to purchase J&E Davy Stockbroker.

The deal was first announced in July last year and sees the lender acquire Davy’s main profit-generating business including its wealth management, capital markets and asset management divisions.

In a statement today Bank of Ireland Group said the acquisition significantly enhances the group’s commercial and strategic objectives.

It said Davy had assets of approximately €20 billion in December 2021, which when combined with Bank of Ireland’s existing Wealth & Insurance assets under management of approximately €22.5 billion, “provides significant scale and breadth of proposition”.

“In addition, the acquisition of Davy enhances the combined services available to the group’s corporate clients, across both companies, and provides further opportunities for growth,” it said. “Along with the KBC Bank Ireland portfolios transaction, which recently received Competition and Consumer Protection Commission approval, completion of this acquisition demonstrates further strategic progress by the group.”

Francesca McDonagh, Group Chief Executive of Bank of Ireland, commented:

“We are delighted to complete this important strategic acquisition and officially welcome the Davy team and clients to the Bank of Ireland Group. As the unrivalled Irish leader in wealth management and capital markets, we are ambitious for the future of Davy within the Group.

“The completion of the deal today represents a fantastic addition to our franchise and business model,” she said.

“Clients from both organisations will benefit over time from enhanced product and service offerings from our businesses, two organisations with long histories of supporting clients across the personal, business and corporate landscape in Ireland.”

Davy was put up for sale last year after the Central Bank of Ireland levied a fine of €4.1 million against the company.

A multi-year probe by the regulatory found four breaches of market rules by Davy between 2014 and 2016 in relation to a transaction involving Anglo Irish Bank bonds.

The scandal led to fierce criticism of the firm, which led to the National Treasury Management Agency removing Davy’s authorisation to act as a primary dealer of Irish government bonds.

- With reporting by Ian Curran.