“FBD seeks to deduct value of pandemic state supports from payouts,” is the headline over this week’s top story. Peter O’Dwyer and Lorcan Allan report that FBD is seeking to deduct the value of wage support schemes and other government assistance programmes from any payouts made to business owners. The news comes following a High Court ruling earlier in the year which found FBD was liable to make payouts to more than 1,000 business owners for losses related to Covid-19.
Could the use of rapid antigen tests offer businesses a safe way out of the current coronavirus lockdown? Daniel Murray reports that the government is to begin piloting the use of the tests in third-level colleges ahead of a potential wider deployment. Meanwhile, Tanaiste and Minister for Enterprise and Employment Leo Varadkar has said that businesses should consider using the tests as part of their reopening efforts in the coming months.
Turning to page two and it’s reported that employees in the Irish arm of cryptocurrency firm Coinbase, which is due to go public on the Nasdaq next week, could be sitting on $45m worth of share options based on a recent valuation of the company’s shares. It’s not clear exactly how many employees will benefit from the options.
There are a couple of good news stories on the jobs front on page nine. Firstly, Emmet Ryan reports that CurrencyFair plans to treble the number of people it employs over the next three years from 150 to 450 staff. Separately, Ryan also reports that ServiceNow, the US software business which last week announced 300 new jobs for Dublin, could create a further 200 roles in the capital by 2023.
In brief
· Davy has been paid €14.2m by the NTMA for bond trading services since 2014
· Bank of Ireland is changing its ID document policy so asylum seekers can open bank accounts
· Circle of Light, a fibre-based drinks producer, has a pipeline of 20 products in development
· US investment firm The Capital Group has increased its stake in Kingspan from 4.14% to 5.32%
· Irish-founded supply chain company LansilGlobal plans to open a base in Europe
· 43% of Ireland’s electricity consumption came from renewable sources last year