Davy stockbrokers has lost its authority to act as the primary dealer for Irish Government bonds.

The National Treasury Management Agency (NTMA) said it made the decision based on the “very serious” findings relating to the firm made by the Central Bank last week.

“A primary concern for the NTMA is to maintain the reputation of Ireland as a sovereign issuer in the bond market and the orderly functioning of the market for Irish Government debt,” the agency said in a statement.

“In this context, the NTMA believes that the behaviour described in the Central Bank findings falls substantially short of the standards expected from market counterparties, peers and colleagues in the bond market and is potentially damaging to Ireland’s reputation as a sovereign issuer.”

Following the announcement, the firm said it was closing its bond desk with immediate effect.

It said the closure has led to four redundancies.

It comes after the firm was fined €4.1m by the Central Bank for breaches of market rules.

The regulator found that 16 staff members had engaged in a personal transaction with a client in November 2014.

Over the weekend, Davy CEO Brian McKiernan resigned his position along with two other senior executives.

The firm said all three had stepped down voluntarily as a result of the regulator’s findings.

Speaking to On the Record with Gavan Reilly, yesterday, the Social Democrats' co-leader Róisín Shortall said there were still major questions to be answered by both Davy and the Central Bank.

On Newstalk Breakfast this morning, the Sinn Féin finance spokesperson Pearse Doherty said the State should now 'cut its ties' with Davy.

This evening, Davy confirmed that none of the people who were involved in the 2014 transaction are now working at the company.