Former Davy stockbrokers chief executive Brian McKiernan has stepped down from the Provost’s Council, the Irish Times reported earlier today.
Members of the Provost’s Council include prominent alumni and businesspeople and act as an intimate network to various sectors for Provost Patrick Prendergast.
Trinity confirmed to The University Times that he was no longer on the council, but did not provide a comment for this article.
The Provost’s Council was set up in 2016 and acts as a group of advisors to the College. The council played a vital role in the planning of Trinity’s first fully fledged philanthropic campaign, Inspiring Generations.
The Davy Group – Ireland’s largest stockbroker – was fined €4.1 million earlier this month by the Central Bank of Ireland following revelations that 16 of its staff, including individuals in managerial roles, had set up a consortium to purchase Anglo Irish Bank bonds which were subsequently sold to a client of Davy, without the client’s knowledge of who the sellers were.
In its judgement, the Central Bank said: “Davy prioritised facilitating an opportunity for the consortium to make a personal financial gain over ensuring that it was complying with its regulatory obligations.”
McKiernan resigned from Davy days after the €4.1 million fine was imposed, along with non-executive director Kyran McLaughlin and Head of Bonds Barry Nangle. The stockbroker also closed its bond desk, and has said that all 16 of its staff involved in the controversy no longer work in the firm.
The Davy Group served as the primary dealer in government bonds on behalf of the National Treasury Management Agency and boasted clients such as Kerry Group, Smurfit Kappa and Ryanair.
Speaking to Newstalk earlier this month, Sinn Féin’s finance spokesperson Pearse Doherty said: “There are countries all throughout the world who sell their bonds on the international markets, and don’t go to Davy’s.”
“I think we’re left in a situation where the State can’t continue to provide reputational cover to an organisation which basically tried to ride this out … which issued a number of internal memos to its staff without acknowledging what had happened, and which only saw resignations of three individuals after public pressure.”
Davy has since asked its staff to come forward if they know of other situations in the past where clients may have had reason to complain about its advice.
