Member Info for buyBuyBYE

https://www.irishtimes.com/business/financial-services/bank-of-ireland-uk-arm-buys-car-leasing-business-for-48m-1.3229501

"Everything now is on message to the point of incoherence" - wonderful turn of phrase!

https://www.irishtimes.com/business/economy/brexit-may-threaten-government-s-sale-of-bank-shares-1.3197506

https://uk.advfn.com/stock-market/london/bank-of-ireland-BIRG/share-news/Bank-of-Ireland-Group-PLC-Notification-of-Major-Ho/75230883

I was trying to describe a covered call, ie a trade where the trader sees the stock neutral or falling in the short term but then increasing in value in a later time frame: http://tradersexclusive.com/ad_trad_go_long_and_short/

If I understand you correctly, Blackrock are going long BIRG with the intention of simultaneously going short BIRG ?This would imply their intent is to drive down the stock in the short term with the belief that long term (long position) it will come good. Surly this is ultimately good news, admittedly with a bumpy ride in the interim? or am I missing your point?

Link to new forum: http://www.lse.co.uk/ShareChat.asp?ShareTicker=BIRG

http://www.independent.ie/business/aib-and-bank-of-ireland-vie-for-danskes-2bn-loan-book-35920100.html There goes the dividend...

I've contacted this sites administrator to request that the update the ticker symbol details. Most probably they will end date this discussion group and start a new group under the new ticker symbol. I'm sure they will post details before making the update... but just in case.

Curiously light trading volumes. Equivalent of 4.6 million pre-consolidation shares traded. Maybe the robo traders have not updated their algorithms with the new ticker symbol...

Interesting read: https://www.irishtimes.com/business/financial-services/inside-project-viking-anatomy-of-deal-to-float-aib-1.3138037

https://www.irishtimes.com/business/financial-services/bank-of-ireland-to-complete-share-restructuring-next-week-1.3138107

You might get more traction writing to the letters section of the Irish Times: http://www.irishtimes.com/opinion/letters/floating-aib-on-dublin-and-london-1.3118427

https://aib.ie/content/dam/aib/investorrelations/docs/protected/AIB-Prospectus-final-12062017.pdf

Interesting to see AIB calling out the risk posed by Fintech in their prospectus: The competitive threats facing AIB in Ireland stem from both traditional banks seeking to increase their market share and/or market reach, as well as from financial technology (‘‘Fintech’’) companies, which provide services such as online transaction and payments, currency trading, mobile banking, crowdfunding and peer-to-peer lending. Examples of Fintech companies operating in the Irish market include CurrencyFair, LinkedFinance, Fundit, Realex, Kickstarter, PayPal and Apple Pay. Fintech companies often have cost bases and regulatory burdens that are lower than those of financial institutions operating under the traditional banking model, and may not have the same legacy issues such as IT systems issues and non-performing loans as such institutions.

My rational for investing in BOI was that it was a proxy bet on the Irish economy that had been heavily hit during the global recession. That rational seems to be challenged as of late with very little correlation between improvements in the Irish economy and the share price. As a long term share holder I believe that ultimately this share will come good, with dividends ultimately settling the debate. Longer term however I see fintech as the greatest existential risk for banking in general and BOI in specific. BOI has always lagged the curve in its adoption of technology and its ability to deliver IT projects at scale. Small, mobile-first banking operations, companies like N26 and Revolut, are going to continually eat way at the profit margins of the established banking players. How this will playout is up for debate, which is why I raise it here. But suffice it to say that it wont be possible to apply a Rip van Winkle investment strategy with this stock: http://www.irishtimes.com/business/financial-services/revolut-targets-irish-business-customers-with-low-cost-current-account-1.3117785 http://www.irishtimes.com/business/technology/mobile-first-banking-takes-off-in-ireland-with-10-000-customers-for-n26-1.2977976

The future is already here — it's just not very evenly distributed.

So earlier this year I decided to consolidate all my bank accounts with BOI (I had Business bank account and personal current accounts etc with AIB and Ulsterbank). The migration process was not too bad but the online banking experience was terrible. In fairness it has improved recently but very much lags the offerings provided by AIB etc Today I tried to get an online quote for home insurance for a rental property I own through BOI. The system was not able to generate a quote and then when I selected the option to request a call back the button to action the request did not work. BOI really need to get their online offering fit for purpose and fast. Customers are less and less tolerant of interacting with anything short of a slick intuitive web experience... our new CEO Mrs McDonagh has a job of work on her hands to make that happen.

Ms McDonagh is currently Head of Retail Banking and Wealth Management, UK and Europe with HSBC. In this role she is responsible for all aspects of retail customer service, channels, products and segments of HSBC's three brands. Ms McDonagh, an Oxford University graduate, has significant experience of technological transformation of both digital and core banking systems. In the UK, she re-platformed HSBC’s digital offering and introduced a constant flow of innovative improvements to the bank’s systems. She has been with HSBC for 20 years, during which time she has held a number of senior leadership roles in the bank across seven different countries. Commenting on her appointment, Bank of Ireland Governor Archie Kane said: "The Board conducted a thorough search and from a strong field selected this exceptional candidate.

"Vive la France" - "Vive la liberté" Hope to see that the French election outcome as pointing to a more stable Europe and that markets recalibrate risk accordingly. Hard to predict how our little stock will respond, but in theory should be buoyed upward...