EquiLend picks Ireland as post-Brexit base

EquiLend picks Ireland as post-Brexit base

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Equilend has selected Ireland as the base for its business in the European Union (EU) once the UK leaves the bloc following Brexit.

“EquiLend has chosen Ireland, subject to regulatory approval, to be the location for its new EU office, to ensure continued access to the single market,” Laurence Marshall, chief operating officer and head of EquiLend Europe, told Global Investor.

“EquiLend is currently seeking regulatory approval to operate a multi-lateral trading facility (MTF) in Ireland, which will ensure that clients see no disruption in EquiLend’s services as a result of Brexit, regardless of whether they are transacting from UK or EU-based entities.”

The firm operates a multi-asset class trading platform, post-trade suite, and last year formed a clearing services division aiming to bring central clearing services to the securities finance market.

Marshall said that EquiLend will continue to operate its Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) regulated services in London, which include its MTF.

Almost a year after the UK triggered the formal process of leaving the EU, numerous uncertainties on the future of financial services remain. For now, EquiLend joins a number of firms that have already started putting contingency plans in place for the worst case scenario.  

Sell-side firms are exploring the possibility of turning UK-based divisions into a branch of an EU-based bank, or vice-versa, applying for licences to operate in the UK, in order to maintain a European structure which allows them to continue serving clients in both places.

The future of the buy side will depend on third-party delegation rules whereby, as it stands, market participants could set up a local management company or appoint a third party, if they have not already done so, to continue their business pretty much as usual.

Dublin was the location of choice for a number of firms including Barclays, Bank of America Merril Lynch and Goldman Sachs, and JP Morgan announced it would be shifting jobs to Dublin, Frankfurt and Luxembourg amid Brexit uncertainties.

Meanwhile, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MUFG) chose Amsterdam as its base for its securities services division.

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