LONDON-BASED research and publishing company Lafferty Group is to create 40 jobs in Co Mayo over the next three years.

Lafferty Group was set up more than 30 years ago by Michael Lafferty, a native of Roscommon.

The group will base its educational and publishing support for the global banking industry in Westport.

The move, backed by IDA Ireland, will see the research and content division of the International Academy of Retail Banking (IARB) based in the Mayo town.

IARB, a new element in the Lafferty Group, provides professional education programmes and exams for the retail banking sector, and is also an international professional body for retail bankers.

“Specialist retail banking education is not provided anywhere in the world, despite the fact that retail banking is the main source of bank profits,” said group chairman Michael Lafferty.

The academy already has clients in more than 20 countries around the world.

Its faculty consists of current and former retail bankers, card and payments executives, and academics from across the globe. The academy offers a mixture of open courses and tuition within banks.