2021 Global Practice Guide On Securitisation

1. Structurally Embedded Laws of General Application

1.1 Insolvency Laws

Ireland is a leading domicile within Europe for securitisation activity and the leading European jurisdiction by value for securitisation special purpose entities (SPEs). While the legislative regime incorporates a number of supportive taxation measures, no equivalent measures exist in the area of insolvency law. Issuers and originators in Ireland are subject to the general insolvency law and utilise well-established structures to insulate the underlying assets from the balance sheet (and insolvency estate) of the originator. See 1.3 Transfer of Financial Assets.

While we have seen an increase in synthetic securitisations, an Irish securitisation of receivables is typically structured as a "true sale" via an assignment from the originator directly, or through an intermediary vehicle, to the issuer. True sale transactions are subject to two principal risks in an originator insolvency: