The majority of BOISS staff expected to be retained after Northern Trust sale

The vast majority of Bank of Ireland Securities Services (BOISS) staff should breathe easy after the announcement of its €60m sale to Northern Trust today. We understand that the intention is to transfer employees across to the US custody bank.

In something of a surprise move, Bank of Ireland has sold its fund administration, custody and investment operations business to Northern Trust, which will provide a much-needed €40m boost to BoI's core tier one capital.

The news of any acquisition is likely to set pulses racing among the firm's employees, but we understand that the intention (for now, at least) is to transfer BOISS's 350 staff across to Northern Trust.

This makes sense. For a start, the transaction will not only bolster Northern Trust's assets under administration by around €70bn, but - as Steven Fradkin, president of corporate and institutional services at the bank said - will add the bank's capabilities "particularly in key areas of fund administration and the support of ETFs."

The move also comes during a period of growth for Ireland's funds industry. Assets under administration now stand at an all time high of €1.88 trillion, according to new figures from the Central Bank and the Irish Funds Industry Association, on the back of a recovery in hedge funds' fortunes.

The industry also now employs more than 11,000 people in Ireland.

What's more, most fund administrators are hiring and finding sufficient supplies of talent has become an issue once again.

"We're hiring and so are the majority of our competitors across fund administration, transfer agency as well as client facing roles," says one recruitment manager at a large fund administration firm in Ireland. "It's still far from the job-hopping days of 2007, but recruitment has definitely become more challenging."

The BOISS sale is expected to be finalised in the second quarter of 2011.