Ailmount’s chairman, Brian McKiernan, led Davy until he resigned in March 2021 amid the fallout from a Central Bank fine and rebuke over a breach of market rules. Then deputy chairman Kyran McLaughlin, who also resigned at that time, is another director of Ailmount.
A spokesman for Davy declined to comment, as did a spokesman for Ailmount Investments. A LinkedIn message to Mr Cooney was not returned. Bank of Ireland bought Davy for about €427 million, although about a quarter – or almost €107 million – of the consideration has been held over until next June, subject to various conditions being met. Close to 60 per cent of the amount is due to people who are no longer employees of Davy, based on figures contained in Bank of Ireland’s latest annual report.
Davy was put up for sale in 2021 after it was fined a record €4.13 million by the Central Bank for breaching market rules. The broker had sold a Davy client’s bonds to a consortium of 16 people who happened to work for Davy, without notifying the compliance team. The scandal saw the broker dropped as a primary dealer in Irish Government bonds, triggering the closure of its bond desk.