Padraic Kinsella - Capital Markets Group
Bank of Scotland (Ireland) Limited - €4.3 billion Securitisation
During the period August to December 2008, I spent the third rotation of my traineeship working in the Capital Markets Group. Within that time I gained significant exposure to some very high profile and complex structured finance transactions.
One particular transaction that I spent the majority of my time working on was a securitisation for Bank of Scotland (Ireland) Limited (“BoSI”). This was essentially a capital raising exercise for BoSI whereby it converted a substantial part of its Irish residential mortgage portfolio into €4.3 billion worth of available capital. This capital was raised through the issue of two classes of bonds to investors by a company called Wolfhound Funding 2008-1 Limited. In terms of Irish structured finance generally, it was a unique deal due to its size and the fact that all parties and contractual documentation involved were Irish.
As a trainee assigned to the project, a large part of my role included drafting some of the many agreements to be put in place between the newly incorporated issuing company and various financial counterparties. I also assisted a senior associate in preparing the 162 page Prospectus, which was the offer document being submitted to the Irish Stock Exchange to inform potential investors in the bonds. Working alongside two partners and two associates, I liaised directly with BoSI and the London based treasury of its UK parent company HBOS plc throughout all stages of the transaction. In relation to the Prospectus, I also worked closely with Arthur Cox Listing Services Limited in connection with the listing of the bonds on the Irish Stock Exchange. The build up to the closing date in late November involved a great deal of preparation in terms of ensuring that all necessary documentation was complete, agreed and ready for signing by the many parties involved. We also had to ensure that all documentation was satisfactory to the credit rating agencies who had been asked to give the bonds their highest rating.
Overall, it was a very exciting deal to be a part of and was one which I thoroughly enjoyed contributing to and learning from, especially given its unique and significant nature. The extensive knowledge and experience of my senior colleagues was prominent at all stages of the project and it was very gratifying that BoSI was complimentary about the whole team’s performance. While I have now moved on to the Banking Group as a newly qualified solicitor, I am glad to hear that the group has since commenced work on a second BoSI/Wolfhound transaction and I have no doubt that it will be as successful as the first.
