Michael Lafferty
Encyclopedia
Early life
Michael Lafferty (born in Kilvaloon, BallaghaderreenBallaghaderreen
Ballaghaderreen is a town in County Roscommon. It is located on the N5 National primary road. The town has become a bottleneck on the N5 route in recent years and the opening of the Charlestown bypass down the road has exacerbated the problem...
, County Roscommon
County Roscommon
County Roscommon is a county in Ireland. It is located in the West Region and is also part of the province of Connacht. It is named after the town of Roscommon. Roscommon County Council is the local authority for the county...
, Ireland
Republic of Ireland
Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...
on 17 July 1950) was a Financial Times
Financial Times
The Financial Times is an international business newspaper. It is a morning daily newspaper published in London and printed in 24 cities around the world. Its primary rival is the Wall Street Journal, published in New York City....
journalist and is now the Chairman of Lafferty Group and co-chairman of Official Monetary and Financial Institutions Forum (OMFIF)
Official Monetary and Financial Institutions Forum
The Official Monetary and Financial Institutions Forum is formed around a core of public sector asset and reserve holders at the heart of world finance. OMFIF offers a confidential, convenient and discreet forum to a unique membership of central banks, sovereign funds, financial policy-makers and...
.
Education
Lafferty was educated at St. Nathy's College in Ballaghadereen, County Roscommon before qualifying as a chartered accountantChartered Accountant
Chartered Accountants were the first accountants to form a professional body, initially established in Britain in 1854. The Edinburgh Society of Accountants , the Glasgow Institute of Accountants and Actuaries and the Aberdeen Society of Accountants were each granted a royal charter almost from...
in 1972 and later becoming a Fellow of Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales.
Career
A former banking correspondent, accounting correspondent and LEX columnist with the Financial TimesFinancial Times
The Financial Times is an international business newspaper. It is a morning daily newspaper published in London and printed in 24 cities around the world. Its primary rival is the Wall Street Journal, published in New York City....
, Lafferty received the Wincott Foundation’s Young Financial Journalist of the Year award in 1977.
In 1981, he founded Lafferty Group, which has come to occupy a preeminent position in the global financial services industry and received The Queen’s Award for Export Achievement (now known as the Queen's Awards for Enterprise
Queen's Awards for Enterprise
The Queen's Awards for Enterprise is an awards programme for British businesses and other organizations who excel at international trade, innovation or sustainable development. They are the highest official UK awards for British businesses...
) Queen's Awards for Enterprise
Queen's Awards for Enterprise
The Queen's Awards for Enterprise is an awards programme for British businesses and other organizations who excel at international trade, innovation or sustainable development. They are the highest official UK awards for British businesses...
in 1988. Lafferty is recognised internationally as an expert in the areas of retail banking, cards, payments and accounting and financial reporting and is often featured in the press worldwide.
He is also heavily involved with the Official Monetary and Financial Institutions Forum (OMFIF)
Official Monetary and Financial Institutions Forum
The Official Monetary and Financial Institutions Forum is formed around a core of public sector asset and reserve holders at the heart of world finance. OMFIF offers a confidential, convenient and discreet forum to a unique membership of central banks, sovereign funds, financial policy-makers and...
, a global organisation and joint venture with his former Financial Times colleague, David Marsh
David Marsh (financial specialist)
David Marsh CBE is a British financial specialist, business consultant and writer on political, economic and monetary issues. He is chairman of Germany-headquartered management consultancy SCCO International and co-chairman of the Official Monetary and Financial Institutions Forum that links...
which goes to the root of the challenges confronting the world economy by providing a convenient yet discreet means for high-level financial market dialogue aimed at controlling risks and enhancing prosperity. OMFIF’s activities are crystallised around two essential areas: improving the effectiveness of individual public sector institutions through better asset and liability management; and increasing the cohesiveness of the new supervisory and regulatory architecture for international banks and capital markets after the shocks of 2007-09.