New opportunities
The launch of a new market in warrants on the Irish Stock Exchange that we report on page one, is a welcome development and adds to the diversity of products offered on the Exchange. Investec is the first issuer of the new covered warrants products, and while for the moment these warrants only relate to five of the leading Irish shares - Allied Irish Bank, Bank of Ireland, CRH, Anglo Irish Bank and Ryanair, it is expected that extension of the warrant offering to underlying securities, which do not have an ISE listing, will be actively considered in the future.
Pensions
This new market also conincides with a number of other developments that are leading to new opportunities in the financial services sector in Ireland. On page 3 we publish a report on the recent Irish Association of Pension Funds (IAPF) conference on Europe, at which Brendan Logue of the IDA told delegates that up to 6,000 jobs can be created through a pan-European pensions initiative. Logue said that the European occupational pension industry is currently worth approximately e3 trillion, and if Ireland can achieve its aim of becoming the recognised European centre for the management of these pension schemes, then it can capture some of this business. Calling this opportunity, ‘the Holy Grail of European financial services,’ Logue said that this new business opportunity could be equivalent in size to the mutual funds sector, which represents about 50 per cent of current IFSC activity.
Securitisation
Another sector, which has huge potential for growth, is securitisation. At the First International Securitisation conference held by Finance’s sister publication, Finance Dublin, on Wednesday, October 23, over 200 people working in the industry attended, which alone is indicative of the potential of this sector. The conference aimed to promote Dublin as a centre for securitisation, and to position Ireland as a platform for the next wave of global securitisation. Speakers at the conference included international investment bankers, Dublin investors, Irish issuers, regulators, tax experts and legal experts. All were optimistic on the outlook for the sector with Max Doyle of Dolmen Securities referring to the business as a ‘go-go’ opportunity. There are currently around 30 asset backed securities (ABS) investors in Dublin, and to date there have been 13 issues of ABS from Irish issuers such as Friends First and Anglo Irish. It is expected that this will grow in the future. The sector also looks like it will get another boost in the forthcoming Finance Bill, as Section 110 will be updated. |
