State Street's fees increase by 37%

State Street, one of the largest employers in the Irish financial services sector, increased its servicing fees by 37 per cent to $937 million (€661 million) in the third quarter of this year, it reported yesterday.

The increase at the fund administration group grew largely due to its acquisition of Investors Financial Services in July which increased State Street's Irish workforce from 1,500 to 2,000 people.

The group, which is headed in Ireland by Willie Slattery, employs 2,000 of the estimated 9,000 people working in the Irish fund administration industry and administers assets of $550 billion in Ireland. It services about a third of the funds administered in Ireland.

In its third-quarter results, State Street raised its global earnings-growth forecast to more than 15 per cent, beating predictions and easing concerns that results would be hit by the credit crunch. Revenue grew by 48 per cent, or $725 million, to $2.24 billion. The Boston-based group had total assets under custody of $15.1 trillion at the end of September, up from $11.3 trillion the previous year.

State Street Ireland and its subsidiaries in Ireland have staff in Dublin, Naas, Kilkenny and Drogheda. The Irish division has said it is confident that assets under administration and custody in Ireland would be over $600 billion by the end of the year.