Latest news with #Fink
Irish Examiner
13 hours ago
- Business
- Irish Examiner
The US Banks that fueled Ireland's finance rebound face tariff angst
When the US launched sweeping tariffs against trade partners in April, BlackRock Inc. Chief Executive Officer Larry Fink found himself in Ireland, one of the countries with most to lose if US multinationals were forced to curtail their operations overseas. Fink, whose company was in the running for a major contract with the Irish government at the time, toed a careful line, claiming to 'understand the logic' of Donald Trump's move while not agreeing with it, and insisting there 'does not need to be a true trade war.' Almost three months on, the Wall Street giants that created thousands of Dublin jobs since Brexit are in a similarly awkward position. They're trying to balance the challenges created by their own government with the opportunities in a country that depends on US multinationals for more than 10% of its jobs and a big chunk of tax receipts. For now, the banks are hopeful their multinational clients will adapt to the trade uncertainty. 'It's not obvious to me that that falls off a cliff' under the threat of tariffs, says Marc Hussey, the Irish-born JPMorgan Chase & Co. executive who returned home to run the bank's 1,500-strong Dublin business in 2022. Larry Fink Assuming multinationals 'shrink overnight' would be an 'extreme view,' Hussey added, and he is 'not sensing that from any of our clients.' He continues to see growth in the range of businesses he oversees including a global funds administration center, a workplace solutions business that runs employment share programs across the world and the EMEA hub for Chase payments technology. Ireland remains popular in JPMorgan's head office too — CEO Jamie Dimon will travel to Dublin next month to speak at an event, his fourth such trip in six years. Almost a decade on from the UK's Brexit vote that cut off London's banks from a several markets inside the European Union, Ireland has become a big draw for foreign lenders. They now employ close to 15,000 people, according to a report from the Federation of International Banks in Ireland last month, with firms including JPMorgan, Citigroup Inc. and Bank of America Corp. leading the way to set up major EU businesses in the country. That choice puts them at the eye of the tariffs storm in a market that has long been heavily exposed to US multinationals, prompting recent warnings about the outlook for the economy and the risk to financial stability. As part of the EU, Ireland's fate is tied to negotiations with Trump ahead of a July 9 deadline, after which nearly all of the bloc's imports to the US will be hit with a 50% levy. Across the River Liffey from JPMorgan's offices, Citi's 2,900 staff are working across an innovation hub, the group's EU bank headquarters and an international corporate banking businesses. Citi CEO Jane Fraser was in town a few weeks ago to mark the bank's 60th anniversary in the nation, and hailed Ireland as 'a hub for innovation, a magnet for multinationals and a vital part of the world's economic landscape.' The bank's new Dublin office, to be opened next year with space for an extra 400 staff, is 'a symbol of our long-term investment in Ireland and in Europe,' she added in a LinkedIn post. Hussey is hoping the move increases the chances of a long-promised footbridge that would link JPMorgan on Dublin's southside to the northside of the Liffey, where Citi's new office will join the Central Bank of Ireland's headquarters. Davinia Conlan, Citi's Ireland head and chair of industry group FIBI, argues that there is 'a lot to be positive about from an Ireland domestic economy perspective' and she is hopeful that Citi will ultimately fill its 3,300 capacity in the new site, though she's not putting any time line on that. 'We're still expecting the economy to, to grow albeit at a slower pace than we would've seen previously,' she said. Wish List Ireland also offers companies the benefit of 'ease of access' to government, Conlan said. The Department of Finance will soon launch an industry consultation on its next international financial services strategy, a successor to the Ireland for Finance strategy launched in 2020 which covers banks, insurers, funds and other firms that combined employ around 60,000. Regulatory simplification will be high on the industry's wish list, Conlan and her peers say, with firms set to call on Ireland to remove some 'gold-plating' of EU rules and to push the bloc to be more competitive around regulation. The international banks' federation, FIBI, is preparing a proposal on simplification which will offer examples of areas where regulation can be 'more efficient,' Conlan said, declining to offer goldplating examples before that. Investments in infrastructure and housing, including a long promised airport metro, will also be on the list. Fernando Vicario, who heads Bank of America's Dublin-based EU head office, is hopeful that imminent reform of the EU's securitization market will offer a further boost for his 1,300-strong team, which has been retaining its earnings to support future growth. 'Ireland can be a place where these securitization deals can be packaged out of Ireland into the rest of Europe,' he said, adding that the country already commands a big presence in this market. Vicario does not expect the Irish government to pivot to protectionist sentiment, which has cropped up in some countries in response to Trump's trade approach. 'I learned in Boston that America is Irish,' says Vicario. 'In business, people stick to their positions and do business. And we do business with Irish headquartered companies and with Irish branches and subsidiaries of US companies, all day long. I have quite frankly no problem whatsoever with our passport referring to our US origin.' Ireland has shown it has no problems with US companies either: following Fink's careful diplomacy, BlackRock was last month named a preferred bidder to help manage the country's multibillion-euro pension program. Bloomberg
Mint
14 hours ago
- Business
- Mint
US Banks That Fueled Ireland's Finance Rebound Face Tariff Angst
(Bloomberg) -- When the US launched sweeping tariffs against trade partners in April, BlackRock Inc. Chief Executive Officer Larry Fink found himself in Ireland, one of the countries with most to lose if US multinationals were forced to curtail their operations overseas. Fink, whose company was in the running for a major contract with the Irish government at the time, toed a careful line, claiming to 'understand the logic' of Donald Trump's move while not agreeing with it, and insisting there 'does not need to be a true trade war.' Almost three months on, the Wall Street giants that created thousands of Dublin jobs since Brexit are in a similarly awkward position. They're trying to balance the challenges created by their own government with the opportunities in a country that depends on US multinationals for more than 10% of its jobs and a big chunk of tax receipts. For now, the banks are hopeful their multinational clients will adapt to the trade uncertainty. 'It's not obvious to me that that falls off a cliff' under the threat of tariffs, says Marc Hussey, the Irish-born JPMorgan Chase & Co. executive who returned home to run the bank's 1,500-strong Dublin business in 2022. Assuming multinationals 'shrink overnight' would be an 'extreme view,' Hussey added, and he is 'not sensing that from any of our clients.' He continues to see growth in the range of businesses he oversees including a global funds administration center, a workplace solutions business that runs employment share programs across the world and the EMEA hub for Chase payments technology. Ireland remains popular in JPMorgan's head office too — CEO Jamie Dimon will travel to Dublin next month to speak at an event, his fourth such trip in six years. Almost a decade on from the UK's Brexit vote that cut off London's banks from a several markets inside the European Union, Ireland has become a big draw for foreign lenders. They now employ close to 15,000 people, according to a report from the Federation of International Banks in Ireland last month, with firms including JPMorgan, Citigroup Inc. and Bank of America Corp. leading the way to set up major EU businesses in the country. That choice puts them at the eye of the tariffs storm in a market that has long been heavily exposed to US multinationals, prompting recent warnings about the outlook for the economy and the risk to financial stability. As part of the EU, Ireland's fate is tied to negotiations with Trump ahead of a July 9 deadline, after which nearly all of the bloc's imports to the US will be hit with a 50% levy. Across the River Liffey from JPMorgan's offices, Citi's 2,900 staff are working across an innovation hub, the group's EU bank headquarters and an international corporate banking businesses. Citi CEO Jane Fraser was in town a few weeks ago to mark the bank's 60th anniversary in the nation, and hailed Ireland as 'a hub for innovation, a magnet for multinationals and a vital part of the world's economic landscape.' The bank's new Dublin office, to be opened next year with space for an extra 400 staff, is 'a symbol of our long-term investment in Ireland and in Europe,' she added in a LinkedIn post. Hussey is hoping the move increases the chances of a long-promised footbridge that would link JPMorgan on Dublin's southside to the northside of the Liffey, where Citi's new office will join the Central Bank of Ireland's headquarters. Davinia Conlan, Citi's Ireland head and chair of industry group FIBI, argues that there is 'a lot to be positive about from an Ireland domestic economy perspective' and she is hopeful that Citi will ultimately fill its 3,300 capacity in the new site, though she's not putting any time line on that. 'We're still expecting the economy to, to grow albeit at a slower pace than we would've seen previously,' she said. Ireland also offers companies the benefit of 'ease of access' to government, Conlan said. The Department of Finance will soon launch an industry consultation on its next international financial services strategy, a successor to the Ireland for Finance strategy launched in 2020 which covers banks, insurers, funds and other firms that combined employ around 60,000. Regulatory simplification will be high on the industry's wish list, Conlan and her peers say, with firms set to call on Ireland to remove some 'gold-plating' of EU rules and to push the bloc to be more competitive around regulation. The international banks' federation, FIBI, is preparing a proposal on simplification which will offer examples of areas where regulation can be 'more efficient,' Conlan said, declining to offer goldplating examples before that. Investments in infrastructure and housing, including a long promised airport metro, will also be on the list. Fernando Vicario, who heads Bank of America's Dublin-based EU head office, is hopeful that imminent reform of the EU's securitization market will offer a further boost for his 1,300-strong team, which has been retaining its earnings to support future growth. 'Ireland can be a place where these securitization deals can be packaged out of Ireland into the rest of Europe,' he said, adding that the country already commands a big presence in this market. Vicario does not expect the Irish government to pivot to protectionist sentiment, which has cropped up in some countries in response to Trump's trade approach. 'I learned in Boston that America is Irish,' says Vicario. 'In business, people stick to their positions and do business. And we do business with Irish headquartered companies and with Irish branches and subsidiaries of US companies, all day long. I have quite frankly no problem whatsoever with our passport referring to our US origin.' Ireland has shown it has no problems with US companies either: following Fink's careful diplomacy, BlackRock was last month named a preferred bidder to help manage the country's multibillion-euro pension program. --With assistance from Leonard Kehnscherper. More stories like this are available on
Yahoo
12-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
BlackRock's Larry Fink has a blunt response to exit rumors
BlackRock's Larry Fink has a blunt response to exit rumors originally appeared on TheStreet. BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE: BLK) CEO Larry Fink has shut down rumors of his exit from the firm, saying: I'm not planning to leave BlackRock anytime soon, so you don't have to have those questions later on. Fink, who co-founded BlackRock in 1988, put an end to such speculations while speaking to an audience at the firm's annual investor day in New York City on June 12. The firm is the world's largest asset manager that managed $11.5 trillion in assets under management (AUM) as of 2024. It is also among the first Wall Street giants to include crypto-linked funds among its offerings. Under Fink's leadership, the asset manager launched a spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) called the iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) in January 2024. As per SoSoValue, IBIT held $72.55 billion in net assets as of 11 June, making it the largest such fund in the world. The fund accounts for 3.35% of total Bitcoin share. Fink also oversaw the launch of a spot Ethereum ETF called the iShares Ethereum Trust (ETHA) in July 2024 which held $4.54 billion in net assets. This fund accounts for 1.34% of total Ethereum share. The firm also stated its goal of becoming the world's largest crypto asset manager by 2030 so as to manage more than $50 billion in AUM. It also plans to expand crypto-linked funds to Europe and Canada. In the past, BlackRock selected Coinbase (Nasdaq: COIN), the largest U.S. crypto exchange, to provide crypto trading and custody services to institutional clients of Aladdin, the asset manager's end-to-end investment management platform. It also manages the Circle Reserve Fund, backing the stablecoin issuer's reserves. In addition, BlackRock also manages $2.89 billion in BlackRock USD Institutional Digital Liquidity Fund (BUIDL), a tokenized money market fund. Overall, the firm said its goal is to reach more than $35 billion in revenue and $280 billion in market capitalization by 2030. BlackRock's Larry Fink has a blunt response to exit rumors first appeared on TheStreet on Jun 12, 2025 This story was originally reported by TheStreet on Jun 12, 2025, where it first appeared.
New Straits Times
12-06-2025
- Business
- New Straits Times
BlackRock aims to grow revenue to US$35bil and more by 2030
NEW YORK: BlackRock said on Thursday it was aiming to grow its revenue to US$35 billion and more by 2030, as the asset management giant expands its foothold in private markets. The New York-based firm, which reported revenue of US$20 billion for 2024, will hold an investor day on Thursday that is expected to provide insight into the firm's strategic priorities and its growing focus on private markets. The world's largest asset manager, overseeing US$11.58 trillion as of the end of the first quarter, last year expanded its presence in private markets through a series of acquisitions that BlackRock's boss Larry Fink said were transformational for the New York-based firm. BlackRock spent about US$25 billion in 2024 on infrastructure investment fund Global Infrastructure Partners and private credit business HPS Investment Partners. It also struck a US$3.2 billion deal to acquire UK data provider Preqin. That acquisition officially closed in March this year. BlackRock is also aiming to double its market cap to US$280 billion and targeting US$400 billion of cumulative fundraising in private markets by 2030, it said in an investor presentation on Thursday. "I think investors are going to want more granular details and more colour on BlackRock's strategy to increase exposure to alternative assets," said Cathy Seifert, an analyst at CFRA Research who covers BlackRock. Private assets generate significantly higher fees than exchange-traded funds (ETFs), a core part of BlackRock's business through its iShares franchise. BlackRock is aiming for its private markets and technology businesses to make up 30 per cent or more of the firm's total revenue by 2030, up from 15 per cent in 2024. In his 2025 annual chairman's letter to shareholders, BlackRock's chairman and CEO Fink said protectionism had returned with force as a result of a wealth divide that could be countered by offering more investors access to high-return private markets such as infrastructure and private credit. Ben Budish, an analyst at Barclays, said he expected updates from the company on potentially creating indexes based on private markets after the acquisition of private markets data provider Preqin. "Looking at what BlackRock did with iShares and ETFs, is there a way to do that with private markets? … I'm sure there's more details to come on that," he said. Private credit, where non-bank institutions lend to companies, has experienced significant growth in recent years due to stricter regulations that have increased the cost for traditional banks to fund higher-risk loans. But broader market volatility caused by US President Donald Trump's aggressive stance on tariffs has led to slower dealmaking in private markets in general, raising some concerns there may be a mismatch between money available for private lending and not enough places to invest it. Investors may also look for any signs regarding succession at the firm. Fink, 72, has led BlackRock since co-founding it in 1988. A recent wave of senior executive departures has reignited speculation about his eventual successor, even as Fink has signalled no immediate plan to step down. "The firm would do itself a favour by highlighting the depth and breadth of their management bench, particularly since the company's business model is expanding and potentially becoming more complex," said Seifert.
Yahoo
12-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Private market push in focus as BlackRock hosts investor day
By Davide Barbuscia NEW YORK (Reuters) -BlackRock will hold an investor day on Thursday that is expected to provide insight into the asset management firm's strategic priorities and its growing focus on private markets. The world's largest asset manager, overseeing $11.58 trillion as of the end of the first quarter, last year expanded its presence in private markets through a series of acquisitions that BlackRock's boss Larry Fink said were transformational for the New York-based firm. BlackRock spent about $25 billion in 2024 on infrastructure investment fund Global Infrastructure Partners and private credit business HPS Investment Partners. It also struck a $3.2 billion deal to acquire UK data provider Preqin. That acquisition officially closed in March this year. "I think investors are going to want more granular details and more color on BlackRock's strategy to increase exposure to alternative assets," said Cathy Seifert, an analyst at CFRA Research who covers BlackRock. BlackRock declined to comment on the focus of its investor day. Private assets generate significantly higher fees than exchange-traded funds (ETFs), a core part of BlackRock's business through its iShares franchise. In his 2025 annual chairman's letter to shareholders, BlackRock's Chairman and CEO Fink said protectionism had returned with force as a result of a wealth divide that could be countered by offering more investors access to high-return private markets such as infrastructure and private credit. Ben Budish, an analyst at Barclays, said he expected updates from the company on potentially creating indexes based on private markets after the acquisition of private markets data provider Preqin. "Looking at what BlackRock did with iShares and ETFs, is there a way to do that with private markets? … I'm sure there's more details to come on that," he said. Private credit, where non-bank institutions lend to companies, has experienced significant growth in recent years due to stricter regulations that have increased the cost for traditional banks to fund higher-risk loans. But broader market volatility caused by U.S. President Donald Trump's aggressive stance on tariffs has led to slower dealmaking in private markets in general, raising some concerns there may be a mismatch between money available for private lending and not enough places to invest it. Investors may also look for any signs regarding succession at the firm. Fink, 72, has led BlackRock since co-founding it in 1988. A recent wave of senior executive departures has reignited speculation about his eventual successor, even as Fink has signaled no immediate plan to step down. "The firm would do itself a favor by highlighting the depth and breadth of their management bench, particularly since the company's business model is expanding and potentially becoming more complex," said Seifert.
