US financial institution Bank of America has announced plans to begin operations in Belfast, Northern Ireland, in a move that will generate up to 1,000 new jobs. Companies that have committed significant resources to the wider investment include payment platform PayPal, banking services provider Citi Bank and financial services firm S&P. The creation of new employment opportunities in Belfast underscores the region’s growing role in global financial services. The Belfast Telegraph has reported that the jobs will be entirely new, not transfers from Bank of America’s Dublin operations or from the UK. Our financial services sector is at the heart of a modern, dynamic industrial strategy.