Canada’s TD Securities reboots its Irish business due to Brexit

Canadian financial services group Toronto-Dominion Bank aims to have 80 employees by the end of the year in its new European Union hub in Dublin, which will become a centre for putting together bond deals and trading debt securities.

TD Securities, which had established a presence in Ireland more than two decades ago, had been slowly winding down its operation in the State for about a decade before UK voters decided in June 2016 to quit the EU.

The investment bank's chief executive Bob Dorrance told The Irish Times that the decision to reboot the Irish business was taken soon after the Brexit referendum in order to be able to continue to service its growing list of clients in the EU.

“We took a view that we couldn’t afford to wait around to see how Brexit turned out,” he said.

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Authorisation

The company's Irish unit, TD Global Finance Unlimited, received authorisation from the Central Bank of Ireland in the middle of March to expand its existing licence under the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID). It formally opened its new Dublin office at One Molesworth Street on Tuesday.

The establishment of a debt origination and bonds trading desk in Dublin makes TD Securities one of the few overseas banks to move front office activities from the UK to Ireland under Brexit. However, John Moore, head of fixed income at TD Securities, said the company has no plans to become a primary dealer of Irish Government bonds.

The Irish business, led by Kevin Ahern, currently has 25 employees, having been scaled back to two individuals before the Brexit referendum. At its peak, it had 32 staff.

Presence

The company’s plan is to build a presence with 80 people in Dublin by the end of the year, including executives moving from its UK operations. These will cover front office, support, control and technology roles.

"TD Securities' decision to expand their operations in Ireland is a further sign of the global international financial services centre that we have built here, resulting in the creation of thousands of highly skilled jobs," said Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe.

“TD Securities has been a part of the Irish financial landscape for over 20 years. It is very encouraging to see the continued expansion of the company in this way and I look forward to witnessing its growth into the future.”