Bank of Ireland to focus on niche, custom solutions, looks past reverse convertibles, says new head

By Kenneth Lim

Boston, Oct. 7 - The tumultuous U.S. markets can be tough for new structured product outfits, but they also open new opportunities, said Charlie O'Flaherty, the newly appointed head of structured products for the Americas at Bank of Ireland.

"In times of turmoil it's obviously hard to get people's attention, but one can also be highly opportunistic, in terms of growing one's team and market share," O'Flaherty told Prospect News.

Darsh Mariyappa, the U.S. head of Bank of Ireland Global Markets, said in a statement: "This is a very exciting time for us. With more than 30 years of partnering with U.S. companies on the treasury side, we are now entering the structured products business in the Americas. We intend to focus on those market niches where we feel we are especially skilled, including energy and emissions, commodities, interest rates, equities and multi-asset class derivatives.

"With Charlie O'Flaherty's wide expertise and drive, we look forward to offering new products to both current and future clients."

O'Flaherty, who was formerly managing director and co-head of private investor products for North America at ABN Amro Bank, is an industry veteran whose previous stints included running the structured products group at Incapital LLC with Brian Jones.

With a team of two, including himself, a generalist sales staff of seven or eight and a mandate to start Bank of Ireland's structured products services in the Americas, O'Flaherty is once again at the helm of a young operation.

"I find the idea of being on the ground floor of a new business very exciting," he said. "When Brian Jones and I joined ABN Amro prior to this, it was a clean slate."

O'Flaherty plans to begin with a focus on the United States, where he has a customer base of local contacts as well as Bank of Ireland customers in Dublin.

"I'm cross asset class and really focused on the Americas in general," he said. "We will approach the U.S. market first in order to leverage existing relationships."

Building on existing strengths

He also plans to focus on areas where Bank of Ireland already has developed an expertise.

"From a product point of view, I want to focus on areas that are less heavily covered and where the bank is already strong," such as energy and emissions and niche commodities like steel, O'Flaherty said.

He does not plan to "face retail with capital-at-risk products," and believes there is value in offering specific solutions for customers.

"We are not looking to be a flow shop doing tons of trades everyday," he said. "Instead we expect to provide our customers with custom-tailored solutions."

Beyond reverse convertibles

He is also clear that, while he will offer whatever clients want, he wants to move beyond the ubiquitous reverse convertible.

"The past couple of businesses I've built have been reverse convertible-focused, and we did quite well with it, but as a new business it doesn't make sense to enter that market now," O'Flaherty said.

O'Flaherty was reluctant to predict where the structured product industry is heading, explaining that the markets are still in a state of flux.

"You look at a market like this that's so disjointed right now, it's going to be hard to say what trends will dominate," he said. "But I think there's a lot that can be said about our industry. We've reacted well as a group to the turmoil to help customers meet their new investment needs."

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