Irish Regulatory Framework For Real Asset Depositaries

In November 2018, the Central Bank of Ireland ("Central Bank") signalled its intention to provide for a real asset depositary regime as permitted by Regulation 22(3)(b) of the European Union (Alternative Investment Fund Managers) Regulations 2013, as amended (the "AIFM Regulations"). It sought feedback from industry on the proposed regulatory framework and earlier this year issued its long awaited guidance1 on the regime. Since then a number of entities have been authorised as Depositaries of Assets other than Financial Instruments or DAoFIs as real asset depositaries are referred to in the Central Bank's guidance with other applications being considered. In this update, we highlight the key considerations for entities contemplating making an application for authorisation as a DAoFI.