Brexit came back onto the agenda at the end of January as the UK officially entered into the transition period. The general election kicked into gear here in Ireland with a lot of spending promises being made, all of which appear to be predicated on an orderly exit deal for the UK…. an assumption which may yet prove to be flawed.

From an investment perspective the year got off to a negative start with the three equity indices that we track (ISEQ, FTSE and DOW) all deteriorating in January and a lot of the blame being attributed to the outbreak of the coronavirus in China. EUR/GBP held around EUR/GBP0.8450, especially as the UK exited the EU but with the “hard line” opening negotiation position being taken by PM Johnson last week, we have seen GBP lose 1p against EUR in a single day and move back to EUR/GBP0.8500. We expect further GBP weakness in the weeks ahead.

This month’s focus in Section 5 is on the area of Environment, Social and Governance (ESG).

The Treasury Hub - Banking and Treasury Report February 2020 can be downloaded here.

For any queries relating to this newsletter, please contact Chris Ball, Partner.