| A Day in the Life: The new chief executive of Barclays Bank Ireland |
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| Recently appointed chief executive of Barclays Bank Ireland, Andrew Hastings, meets with the various arms of the bank’s operation. Across the a variety of departments from wealth management to its multinational focused team, Hastings reports strong flow of new clients and new deals with strong growth patterns in a number of areas. He attributes this to ‘significant surge in our general business during the current dislocation in the bank market.’ |
6.45 a.m. My alarm sounds and my day starts. I rue the fact that I haven’t time to go running before I get my day underway. I like to have a light breakfast at home before driving into the office. My drive this morning is enjoyable as the traffic is light whilst I listen to Morning Ireland on RTE Radio 1, with the news of the day continuing to focus on the financial difficulties facing Europe.
8.00 a.m. I arrive at the office at Two Park Place on Hatch Street in good time and review some emails, whilst also scanning Bloomberg and various Barclays markets reports that are available from our in house experts.
8.15 a.m. First on my to-do list today is to participate in a Council meeting of the Federation of International Banks in Ireland. We discuss a range of policy priorities of the international banking community, as they affect our industry in Ireland. It is well recognised that there is an increasing competitive challenge facing Ireland as a location for international financial services.
9:15 a.m. My PA, Chloe, is just back from honeymoon and she greets me with my diary for the day and the week. We spend some time making sure we have everything up to speed.
9.30 a.m. I meet with Ciaran Kane, who heads our risk solutions group, and Rob Roughan, director of Barclays Capital. We discuss FX and Interest Rate hedging strategies in connection with a client proposal, which implies a new risk profile should the company’s international acquisition complete as planned.
10.00 a.m. Pop in to see Pat McCormack, head of Barclays Wealth in Ireland. This area of our business is growing very strongly. We discuss our ongoing recruitment drive and review CVs of potential candidates. It’s a volatile climate currently and this only makes managing wealth more important than ever. Our business in Ireland is growing significantly and our goal of attracting clients on the basis of the quality of our professionals and the relevance of their advice is being well received.
11.00 a.m. Back to my desk to catch up on some calls and emails. There is a regulatory piece of work to be completed, Barclays Bank Ireland PLC is an Irish bank and as such is regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland.
12.00 p.m. Helen Kelly heads our corporate coverage and we have seen a significant surge in our general business during the current dislocation in the bank market. Barclays Bank Ireland PLC is well capitalised and has been steadily building its franchise, completing a material number of deals with new clients in the recent past. Helen and I leave Two Park Place for a short walk to a client lunch appointment to discuss their requirements for 2012. We have extensive experience in the client’s sector and are able to provide a considerable amount of insight on how best to expand their business.
2.30 p.m. Back to the office to participate in a video conference with colleagues in London. The Irish business is at the forefront of the way in which Barclays will be operating in other countries moving forward. We discuss the manner in which Barclays will be presented globally across its corporate investment bank and wealth platforms and are able to contribute some useful insights from our experiences in Ireland.
3.00 p.m. Return to my desk for more emails and phone calls. One message catches my eye, I chair an internal project team of specialists in Barclays focused upon our clients within the semi-state sector. Barclays has a depth of international experience in the key industries represented and is bringing its expertise to bear in the context of NewERA.
3.30 p.m. The next item on my agenda is a conference call with Adrian Doran who heads up Barclays corporate business in Northern Ireland. We have been particularly active in the corporate sector in Northern Ireland in the recent past and I am keen to catch up on some recent good wins. I also call Jonathan Dobbins who leads the wealth business in Northern Ireland and we discuss how best to leverage the bank’s retail presence in the local market.
4.00 p.m. I stop by the desk of Henry Cleary who works on the property side of our business in Ireland. Despite the difficulties in the sector generally, Barclays took policy decisions in 2006 which protected it from the subsequent downturn and the bank now sees some opportunities to write new property business in Ireland.
4.30 p.m. I return to my office and prepare for a meeting later in the week with Barclay’s Bank Ireland chairman, Donal Roche. Donal chairs the local board of directors and we meet regularly to keep abreast of the strategic direction of the bank.
5.00 p.m. I place a call with Michael Feeney, the new CEO of the Institute of Bankers in Ireland. The Institute is the educational body for the banking industry in Ireland with a membership in excess of 33,000 across Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. I will become President in March 2012 and I am keen to plan ahead for my term in office.
5.30 p.m. I have a meeting with James Allan whose team is dedicated to multi-national clients in Ireland. This is a particularly active sector and Barclays has a growing amount of business with larger multi-nationals now established here. We discuss a number of client issues and potential areas for new business to be undertaken with incoming multinationals with whom we maintain good links via the bank’s international network and agencies such as the IDA and the Dublin and Cork Chambers of Commerce.
6.30 p.m. I join up with Helen Kelly again to go to a client reception after work. This client has recently completed a sizeable refinancing and we meet to mark the occasion in Dublin city centre.
10.00 p.m. Back home , where I have a conversation with my wife Colleen concerning an upcoming school ski trip for our eldest son, and our plans for the February mid term when we can all get together, including our two younger kids, who are currently at school in Scotland. |
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