New era, new opportunities
While securitisation is not a new concept, and indeed Finance has been covering the subject for some time, the special ‘Dublin as a Securitisation and Structured Finance’ report we publish within this issue, is the first time that we have brought all aspects of the Irish securitisation market together.
The Minister for Finance, Charlie McCreevy, has on several occasions, mentioned the importance of the sector to the development of Dublin as an international financial services centre, and in the Finance Bill 2003, which outlined measures for modernising the securitisation framework, he reiterated the Government’s support for the sector saying, ‘Our capital city has become a significant player in international securitisation transactions and it is important that we continue to compete successfully for this business’. Aspects covered in the report include Dublin’s significant ABS investor community, the impact the Basel Capital Accord and IAS will have on the sector, Ireland as an SPV jurisdiction, issuance, repackaging and the development of new areas such as collateral management and arbitrage funds.
15 years of the IFSC
Also enclosed with this issue of Finance, is a special supplement produced by Finance in conjunction with its sister publication, Finance Dublin. The supplement, entitled ‘15 Years of Ireland’s International Financial Services Sector’ features interviews with key players involved in the development of the sector, including the ‘brains’ behind the IFSC, Dermot Desmond, and the Taoiseach, Bertie Ahern. Initially the IFSC was expected to create over 7,000 jobs within five years. While it took longer than the five years envisaged to reach that 7,000 figure, according to the latest issue of the Finance Dublin Yearbook 2003, over 13,000 people now work in the sector - a remarkable achievement by any standard. While the old ring-fencing regime is now being phased out, the sector continues to thrive, and in 2002, IFSC companies contributed over
E700 million in corporation tax to the Exchequer, an indicator of how important the centre is now to Ireland’s economy.
Asset management
On page 1 we report on a positive new development for KBC Asset Management (KBCAM), whereby over E2 billion in assets are being transferred within the KBC Group from Brussels to Dublin. This move is an endorsement not only of KBCAM, but also of Dublin as a centre for investment management. The transfer of funds will also see several Belgian fund managers make the move to Dublin, further developing the pool of fund management expertise that is being built up in the centre.
While it has proved difficult to lure fund management companies away from the traditional centres like London, New York and Edinburgh, the Asset Management Task Force which was set up by the Taoiseach’s IFSC Clearing House Group, is working on promoting the sector. They are hoping to leverage on the success of the numerous global fund administrators and custodians that have already set up operations in Dublin. |
