US financial services group Bisys is to expand its operations in Ireland with the creation of 250 jobs over five years in Waterford. Bisys is a key international player in the administration of hedge funds, one of the fastest growing areas in the global financial services industry.
The company already employs some 400 people in Dublin.
This morning's announcement is welcome news for Waterford which suffered a major jobs set back earlier in the year, when Waterford Crystal said it was to close its Dungarvan operation with the loss of almost 500 jobs.
New York head-quartered Bisys has decided to expand its Irish operations which were established to administer hedge funds, complex financial products which use high risk investment strategies to make large profits.
Globally more than a trillion dollars is invested in hedge funds and Ireland is a location of choice for administering European hedge fund business.
Bisys, supported by the IDA, is promising 250 jobs in Waterford over five years at the IDA's technology park at Butlerstown. The vast majority of the jobs will require a third level qualification.
'A cluster of companies in the international financial services area is beginning to take shape in the South East and Bisys is a very welcome addition to this group,' commented the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Micheal Martin.
'With financial services companies in Wexford, Kilkenny and Waterford the South East region is quickly emerging as one of the preferred locations for the financial services industry outside of Dublin. Hedge fund administration is one of the fastest growing areas of financial services internationally,' he added.
'The decision to expand our Irish operation beyond Dublin was strongly influenced by our experiences to date in Ireland,' said Ronan Daly, President of Bisys Hedge Fund Services.
'Ireland has been identified as the premier growth centre in the fund industry in Europe with 30% of worldwide hedge funds administrated in Ireland. The experienced skill base and enabling infrastructure strengthens Ireland's position as the leading choice in this activity,' he added.
The Bisys Group is headquartered in New York and has a global workforce of 5,200. It had annual revenues of $1.037 billion in 2004, up 11% on the previous year.
