Asset managers accounting for bulk of Irish Brexit moves

By Padraic Halpin

DUBLIN (Reuters) - Asset management and investment firms make up about half of the more than 100 finance companies that have applied to set up or extend operations in Ireland as a result of Brexit, the state agency competing to win foreign business said on Friday.

The head of Ireland's central bank said on Thursday that it is processing over 100 Brexit-related applications to authorize firms across sectors including investment management, banking, trading venues, payments and insurance.

Assuming they are approved, that will mean most of the firms who considered Ireland as a location to serve their EU customers after Brexit will have chosen it, often at the expense of rival financial centers, Kieran Donoghue, head of International Financial Services at IDA Ireland, said.

"The vast majority of engagements we've had have translated into authorization applications. I think this is very positive and very encouraging. On balance, Ireland has done quite well thus far in terms of the opportunities that have arisen," Donoghue told Reuters in a telephone interview.

"A lot of it is the investment, asset management space. I'd say it could be possibly up to half. There will be a significant increase in activity in investment management, probably, to be fair, building on Ireland's reputation as a domicile for investment funds."

Aberdeen Standard Investments (NYSE: SLA), Ashmore and Baillie Gifford are among the asset managers who have announced plans to set up a hub in Dublin, alongside major players like Barclays and Bank of America (NYSE: BAC), who have said they will set up EU headquarters in the Irish capital.

Donoghue said most applications have been going through the central bank process for some time and only a handful or so had engaged more recently in response to political events, when Brexit negotiations hit a difficult patch last month.

Around a dozen of the firms that engaged with the IDA have already been authorised and another group in the "single digits" is set to apply by next month, meaning there will be a surge in published authorizations for the remainder by year-end.

"Many groups were working in practice towards an end of 2018 deadline, not March 29 (when Britain is set to leave the EU). There are a lot of quite advanced applications and our clients have said that they are expecting them to come through by year-end," Donoghue said.

"The remainder of October and November will be quite significant."

(Editing by Jan Harvey)

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