DUBLIN, IRELAND and NEW YORK, NY--(Marketwire - March 14, 2011) - This coming Wed., March 16, Enterprise Ireland [EI] joins forces with Bank of America Merrill Lynch [BofAML] to stage a Technology Innovation Forum for more than 20 Irish technology companies serving the financial services sector. At the day-long event in New York City, senior BofAML executives will describe the technology infrastructure that drives the institution's global operations, and lay out their future technology needs. An afternoon workshop will connect the Irish executives with BofAML's US technology partners. Here, while showcasing their respective technologies, they will learn strategies and best practices that can further boost their value and increase sales to US customers.
Key speakers at the event include BofAML executives, Peter Keegan, Ireland country executive, and Jim Kelly, corporate strategy and planning executive. Kelly also serves on Enterprise Ireland's Financial Services Advisory Board in the US. In addition, attendees will hear from BofAML's technology research analyst, Tal Liani who will speak on today's financial services technology drivers. Other participants include BofAML technology partner executives -- representing prominent US high-tech companies. The event will also draw attendees from NY-area business schools.
"BofAML has long applied cutting-edge technology across every facet of our infrastructure, and is constantly looking ahead for new technologies that can further improve efficiencies and provide the highest level of data security," said Kelly, corporate strategy and planning executive at BofAML. "Technology innovation is a key component of the bank's operations in Ireland and events like this give us an early look at emerging technologies."
"We're keen to see the latest innovation from the Irish companies, and we're pleased to connect them with our valued technology partners," said Keegan, Ireland Country executive. Bank of America employs almost 1,650 staff in Ireland and has a Research, Development and Innovation Center based in Dublin.
For more than two decades, Ireland has placed strong emphasis on growing its financial services sector. A highly educated, English-speaking workforce compelled international finance giants to locate operations in the country. This catalyzed the emergence of indigenous software companies. They're delivering solutions for information security, transaction management, staff training and monitoring, and other critical applications to banks, insurance companies, investment firms and other organizations.
According to Hugh Cooney, Chairman of Enterprise Ireland, "This sector of the Irish economy performed particularly well in 2010 in spite of poor market conditions. Overall, exports to the US grew by 12 percent, with financial services accounting for a considerable portion of the growth. This speaks to the quality and innovation of the technology, and the rising demand for advanced solutions from Irish companies by US institutions. We're confident that 2011 will bring further growth. We're delighted to partner with BofAML on this event, and we're proud to showcase Ireland's successful players in this sector."
To learn more about Enterprise Ireland, please visit www.enterprise-ireland.com.
Bank of America is one of the world's largest financial institutions, serving individual consumers, small- and middle-market businesses and large corporations with a full range of banking, investing, asset management and other financial and risk management products and services. The company is among the world's leading wealth management groups and is a global leader in corporate and investment banking and trading across a broad range of asset classes, serving corporations, governments, institutions and individuals around the world. Bank of America Corporation stock (
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