Bank of Ireland confirms Gavin Kelly as next Davy chief

Bank of Ireland confirmed on Friday the appointment of senior group executive Gavin Kelly as the next chief executive of its Davy stockbroking and wealth management unit.

The bank also said that it is establishing a new division, Wealth and Insurance, over Davy and the group’s New Ireland life and pensions business. Mr Kelly will lead the new division.

The Irish Times reported last month that Mr Kelly, currently chief executive of the bank’s corporate and commercial banking team, had been selected to lead Davy and that he was going through a standard regulatory vetting procedure at the time.

Bernard Byrne, who stepped up in 2021 to take charge of the business and oversee its sale to Bank of Ireland in the wake of a Central Bank fine, said in November that he planned to leave the firm this year. He joined Davy as head of its capital markets division in May 2019, having previously served as chief executive of AIB.

“On behalf of Davy, I would like to welcome Gavin and I really look forward to working closely with him when he joins as CEO later this year,” said Davy chairman, Vincent Crowley.

“Gavin brings significant experience which will support Davy as we seek to deepen the value we offer corporate and private clients of the firm and ensure Davy remains a great place to work for our people. Finally, I thank Bernard Byrne for his valuable contribution to Davy and particularly navigating Davy change in ownership in recent years. I wish him all the best in the future.”

The appointment of a senior Bank of Ireland figure underscores how it wants to have much greater control over the business than the period between 1988 and 2006 when it previously held a majority stake in Davy, but the firm enjoyed a high degree of autonomy.

Bank of Ireland chief executive Myles O’Grady highlighted to shareholders at the company’s annual general meeting last month that its wealth and insurance assets, including Davy and New Ireland, increased by 18 per cent to €46 billion last year and that he sees “scope for further growth in the years ahead supported by Ireland’s favourable demographics”.

Davy key wealth unit’s assets under management stood at about €16 billion by the time it was put up for sale. It had increased to close to €22 billion by the end of last year, including about €2 billion transferred from Bank of Ireland in early 2023 as about 2,000 high net-worth clients moved across.

Davy higher-profile capital markets unit has been under pressure in recent times amid a number of large corporate exits from the Irish market and slump in deals activity. The firm has about 900 employees.