COVID-19’s biggest effect on the Irish financial world

There is no doubt that the covid-19 pandemic has changed the financial landscape as we know it.

The pandemic has increased online shopping by great amounts, has changed the way individuals invest in the stock market, and has lead to many central banks around the world printing large sums of money in order to pay unemployment benefits and provide essential aid to businesses both small and large. Investors have began to hedge against growing inflation of currencies around the world by investing in Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, sending them to sky-high prices.

But perhaps covid-19’s biggest – and surely its most noticeable –  effect has been a massive increase in contactless payments. Use of cash was already on the decline, but business closures and other covid restrictions, as well as new development in the fintech sector, have seen card and mobile payments soar to record highs.

Contactless payments such as Apple Pay and Google Pay, as well as the new chip and tap-to-pay features included on most debit cards, are fast, easy and sanitary. And let’s face it, it’s much more …

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Opening times and service during the Covid19 crisis.

We are dedicated to serving our clients in the face of any interruption or adversity. For this reason we have made arrangments for our team to work remotely other than for some of the management who are taking care of essential elements of the business and in line with the Central Bank of Ireland guidelines on the matter.

We are still able to work with you online, our team have phones diverted to their mobiles or are using software phones in remote locations. There are going to be delays though, that is to be expected as bank teams are very busy and also trying to work remotely. We will monitor the situation and update you should anything change, if there is no update you can assume we are back to full regular business ‘as usual’ upon the announcement that people can return to work.

 

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Covid19 update

Due to the coronavirus pandemic our company is doing what we can to keep staff safe while still serving our customers through what can be a very stressful experience.

This has meant that some staff are observing self-isolation, others are working remotely and within our office building we are all segregated into different rooms, one person per office Normally the offices are shared.

Along with this there are issues with banks, longer holding times on call lines, reduced staff in the lending teams and banks are also trying to deal with existing customers who require assistance at this time with mortgage payment help.

So while we are still open, doing our best to close loans that are near drawdown and assist people who need us, there are significant delays within the system that are beyond our control.

In short, everything will be the same as it usually is but with delays and depending on developments that may arise regarding any government decisions these delays may become more or less protracted. Our intention is to go along with whatever the prevailing …

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Housing Update and the Coronavirus

At the beginning of the year, Glenveagh Property, an Irish home building company, had shares increase by over 2%. The shares rose due to an increase in house sales and company revenue in 2019. The company achieved these increases because they had significant sales of homes for first-time buyers, where there still remains a high demand. Glenveagh Property reports the company generated revenues of €284 million, which presents an 240% increase from 2019 to 2020. In addition, the company had a 200% increase in homes built from 2019 to 2020, stating the company built 844 new homes. Finally, the company reports that they have reduced its risk in its 2020 construction targets. 

While Glenveagh Property’s positive report for the year of 2019 and hopeful outlook for 2020 are optimistic signs, the housing market may continue to grow with an improvement of the Coronavirus. On Tuesday, 11 February 2020, Zhong Nanshan, the head of China’s National Health Commission team investigating the Coronavirus, stated in an interview that the infectious virus may be over in April of 2020. Nanshan said the disease …

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The Coronavirus Brought Me To Dublin

As an American student from Boston, Massachusetts studying at Providence College in Rhode Island, I was offered an opportunity to continue my business studies in Shanghai, China. At the time I had to make a decision, the U.S. news reports were filled with articles about escalating trade tensions between the United States and China. Tariffs were followed by retaliation tariffs, back and forth, between both countries and I was nervous the tensions would affect China’s view towards Americans studying in their country. Despite the public tensions, I accepted the opportunity to learn and intern in a large financial hub with a rather booming economy.

As the February 2020 departure was soon approaching, I started to hear fewer and fewer stories about the Trade War, and more and more stories about a rampant epidemic, the Coronavirus. A virus that started in Wuhan had rapidly spread throughout China and even to six individuals in the United States. My concern about how Chinese people would view me altered to a concern of if I could even attend school in China. As the number …

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