KBC Business Banking in partnership with ACCA hosted a business breakfast last week with guest speakers from Strategic Banking Corporation of Ireland and ACCA Ireland as well as KBC’s chief economist Austin Hughes. Interesting topics included: Life after Brexit & the outlook for growth globally and particularly in the Irish economy.

Austin provided very knowledgeable insights into the general economy and the possible impact of Brxit and Covid-19. I have posted above one of the slides he presented.

It is clear that certain business sectors will suffer immediate business difficulties. Such businesses need to be very pro-active in terms of cutting overheads and arranging, at a minimum, temporary layoffs of employees. Some employees may have to agree to take temporary pay cuts.

Banks, suppliers and landlords need to show understanding towards customers and tenants and not “force” them into liquidation.

Some businesses may be able to make claims on their insurance policies for Business Interruption losses.

It is becoming clear that one of the longer term implications of Covid-19 is that many businesses will assess whether their employees really do need to travel to meetings given the advantages of video conferencing and skype calls.

Another longer term implication is that some employers will see the benefits of productive employees working from home.