| Sharp fall in VC funding |
Issue: 08 / 2006 |
| The 21 per cent fall in venture capital investment in Ireland in the first half of 2006 is a ‘slightly worrying trend’, according to Ion Equity director David Fewer. |
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| Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA) project set to fix inefficent payment services in Eurozone |
Issue: 08 / 2006 |
| Whereas previously goods could be physically moved across Europe in one or two days, payment in relation to these goods takes longer. The Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA) hopes to solve this problem and is set to allow businesses and consumers to make a payment between Dublin and Madrid as easily as from Dublin to Mallow, writes Paul Daly. |
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| The Twin Engines of the EU |
Issue: 08 / 2006 |
| The first half of 2006 has seen significant action by two of the EU institutions, in the area of tax. The European Court of Justice (ECJ) has given a number of landmark judgements which generally favour tax competition amongst Member States. In contrast, the EU Commission is working away on a number of projects aimed at the harmonisation of tax rules within the community, and the consequent reduction in tax competition. |
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| Third RMBS for Irish market |
Issue: 08 / 2006 |
| Ireland’s largest life insurance and mortgage company, Irish Life & Permanent plc, (IL&P) has issued its second residential mortgage backed securitisation (RMBS), Fastnet Securities 2 PLC. It is the largest ever residential mortgage backed securitisation programme undertaken by an institution in Ireland. |
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| Versatile products emerge to meet corporate treasurers’ hedging demands |
Issue: 08 / 2006 |
| While conventional treasury management products are well established, the past few years has seen a range of alternative solutions become more common-place. In this article, Ciaran Cash, reviews this progression in the foreign exchange market, examining in particular the role of FX linked deposits. |
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| Volatile economic environment increases need for treasurers to have an active hedging strategy |
Issue: 08 / 2006 |
| With the dollar taking a pounding, interest rates on an upward trajectory, and global oil reaching new highs, the summer of 2006 is a challenging time for corporate treasurers. A treasurer’s best protection in a volatile environment is to have an extensive hedging strategy in place to mitigate currency, interest rate and commodity risks, and in this issue, we examine the options for Irish corporate treasurers. |
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| Wealth management: stockbrokers to benefit from expected increase in asset allocation by HNWIs to equities |
Issue: 08 / 2006 |
| With recent statistics indicating that there are now 30,000 millionaires in Ireland, it is no surprise that the provision of wealth management services is big business. Traditionally offered by the private banking arms of the big banks, or by specialist financial advisers, stockbroking firms now account for a sizable portion of the market. Apart from the share trading services one would expect such firms to offer, stockbrokers have expanded their suite of services to meet demand, and now offer a host of products to high net worth individuals (HNWI). As HNWI's reliance on creating wealth through property diminishes, stockbrokers can look to grow their share of this market, with asset allocation to equities expected to grow from the current rate of 16 per cent, to 22 per cent by 2015, according to a recent report from Bank of Ireland, writes Fiona Reddan. |
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| A Day in the Life: Kieran Kelly head of audit practice at Ernst & Young |
Issue: 05 / 2006 |
| As head of Ernst & Young’s Audit practice, Kieran Kelly is frequently on the road, catching up with clients and colleagues around the world. With the increased focus on corporate governance standards, the audit environment has been very challenging over the past number of years, said Kelly, but he adds that the profession is now moving beyond these changes to focus on growth and development. |
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| ABS listings on ISE are buoyant with strong deal pipeline |
Issue: 05 / 2006 |
| Carol O’Sullivan gives an update on developments in specialist debt listings on the Irish Stock Exchange,referring to the smooth introduction of the Prospectus Directive last July, which has led to an increase in corporate debt listings. |
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| Analysts divided on likelihood of bear market - global rally or Black Monday? |
Issue: 05 / 2006 |
| The jury is out on whether or not global equities are at the start of a bear market. Financial analysts responding to the question in this issue have different forecasts, with one proposing global equities will rally by year-end, (although he maintains that Irish equities are predicted to under-perform their European peers); and another identifying many similarities between today's market conditions, and those of ‘Black Monday’, in October 1987. |
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| Brennan to succeed Crowley at IBI |
Issue: 05 / 2006 |
| Roisin Brennan is to succeed Peter Crowley as CEO of IBI Corporate Finance following Crowley’s resignation. The appointment takes effect from September 2006, and it is as yet unknown what Crowley will do next. Crowley’s successor is Roisin Brennan, who has been a director of the firm since 1995. |
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| Business friendly? |
Issue: 05 / 2006 |
| Tax competition will eventually erode the competitive advantage of low tax states such as Ireland. In the future, tax competitiveness may come to depend not only on headline tax rates, but on being a business-friendly tax jurisdiction. |
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| Dublin is well positioned to manage next wave of leveraged credit vehicles in the ABS market |
Issue: 05 / 2006 |
| The changing landscape of banking in Ireland, and developments that were occurring in the international capital markets encouraged a number of asset-backed securities (ABS) investors and issuers to join in the initiative spearheaded by Financial Services Ireland (FSI) and the Irish Bankers Federation (IBF), to highlight and promote the securitisation industry in Ireland. In 2005, the Irish Securitisation Forum (ISF) was formed, to better represent the Irish securitisation industry. The Forum is chaired by Deirdre Somers, director of listings at the Irish Stock Exchange (ISE), and has two working groups – the service provider group headed by Darina Barrett, a partner with KPMG, and the investor/issuer group, headed by Neil Ryan, the former managing director of Naspa Dublin. In this article Ryan reviews the growth in the sector form an issuer/investor perspective, and writes that by developing Dublin further as a major centre for specialist securitisation investing and trading, by promoting and marketing the skill base, the track record and Dublin’s internationally recognised ABS investment hub or ‘cluster’, Ireland can become the premier location for the next wave of ABS issuing and investor vehicles. |
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| ESF publishes long-awaited RMBS rules |
Issue: 05 / 2006 |
| A unified set of standards for the European Residential Mortgage Backed Securitisation (RMBS) market has been published by the European Securitisation Forum (ESF), the representative body of the industry in Europe. |
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| European covered bonds: the success story continues with longer maturities, new issuers and new segments |
Issue: 05 / 2006 |
| The European covered bond market prospered in 2005, thanks to improved issuer fundamentals and increasing demand for covered bonds, writes Ralf Grossmann. 2006 has gotten off to a record start, with total new issuance volumes in the first four months of the year reaching €75.8 billion. This is the highest volume issued in the first four months of a year since the start of the benchmark covered bond market. In Ireland, although the market lost some momentum in 2005, with overall issuance down by €9 billion, 2006 has gotten off to a good start, with a new issuer, AIB, entering the market. |
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