(Bloomberg) -- Countries competing to win financial firms from the U.K. after it exits the European Union are spreading “black propaganda” against Ireland to dim its allure, a government official said.
Meetings with banks and industry trade groups allowed the Irish government to hear what other countries are “highlighting as negatives for Ireland” as the country seeks to attract Brexit business, Paul Ryan, who leads the international finance division at the country's finance ministry, said in a speech in Dublin on Thursday.
“We all know about housing and infrastructure, but sometimes there's a lot of black propaganda in the wings,” Ryan said. He didn't identify any particular countries or other issues being highlighted.
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Dublin is competing against European capitals seeking investment from financial firms that want to retain access to the trading bloc if Britain leaves the single market. Ryan's comments come after the Irish government complained to the European Commission that other countries around the continent are offering looser regulations to attract companies moving operations out of the U.K. after Brexit.
While Ireland has lost out on Standard Chartered Plc, which opted for Frankfurt, and American International Group Inc., which is looking to Luxembourg, Barclays Plc has settled on Dublin for its main hub inside the EU after Brexit.
To contact the reporter on this story: Peter Flanagan in Dublin at pflanagan23@bloomberg.net.
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Michael J. Moore at mmoore55@bloomberg.net, Dara Doyle
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