Goodbody Stockbrokers agrees to acquire Danske division

Goodbody Stockbrokers has agreed to acquire Danske Bank’s custody accounts services division in Ireland. This follows the decision in October last year by Danske’s parent company in Denmark to wind down its personal banking activities here.

Danske confirmed to The Irish Times yesterday that following a "successful tender process" it selected Goodbody to replace the custody services offered to its customers. About 3,800 private clients of the bank with assets under management of €85 million are affected by the transfer.

Shortlist of three
It is understood that eight groups tendered for the business, with three shortlisted by Danske: Goodbody, Davy and Cantor Fitzgerald.

Danske plans to write to customers to outline the details of the transfer process. Through Goodbody they will be able to hold and trade securities online.

Danske customers could trade shares, fixed-income securities and unit trust funds online and over the telephone in a number of currencies.

Goodbody has agreed to maintain Danske’s standard fee structure for 12 months after the transfer, with the exception of the annual account maintenance fee. This is being reduced from €40 to €26, including VAT.

Danske plans to send the affected customers a welcome pack on behalf of Goodbody. This will contain the necessary paperwork for customers to complete in order to avail of an uninterrupted service into the future.

Customers can also choose not to transfer their securities to Goodbody by contacting the bank before April 17th.

Deal signed
The deal was signed with Goodbody last Friday and it is understood that the transfer of clients' business will take place in late May. Goodbody is believed to be paying a small consideration to Danske for this business.

The decision to transfer the custody account business is part of Danske’s withdrawal from general personal banking products and services here. The Danish bank will continue to offer services to large corporates and institutional clients in Ireland while also white-labelling its technology platform, where it is already working with a number of credit unions.

Led by Roy Barrett, Goodbody is owned by the Kerry- based financial services group Fexco, having previously been part of AIB. It has offices in Dublin, Cork and Galway and offers online trading services to clients.