A securities lending regime is in place in Ireland. Securities lending:

• provides increased liquidity in Irish securities
• facilitates timely settlement, and
• enhances the trading strategies and opportunities available in Irish securities.

The Irish Revenue has approved the following standard documentation for counterparties wishing to engage in borrowing or lending of Irish securities, comprising the Global Master Securities Lending Agreement (GMSLA) developed by the International Securities Lenders Association (ISLA)and the Irish Addendum (currently being updated but will be available shortly in this section).

The GMSLA is the industry standard and reflects international best practice. The most recent version of the GMSLA can be found on the ISLA website at www.isla.co.uk.

The Irish Addendum is designed to be used in conjunction with the GMSLA so as to produce a combined agreement which is consistent with Irish tax law and practice on securities lending.The Addendum provides for a number of warranties to be made by the parties to the GMSLA and also provides, unless otherwise agreed by the parties, for an indemnity in the event of a breach of any of these warranties. While the Addendum is suitable for use where either party to the GMSLA is within the Irish tax net, where both parties are outside the scope of Irish tax there is generally no reason to use the Addendum. In these cases Irish stamp duty may be relevant.

The taxation treatment of securities lending in Ireland is governed largely by a Revenue Information Notice dated April 1999, entitled "Tax Treatment of Stocklending/Sale and Repurchase (Repo) Transactions", which is attached below in pdf format. It is important to note that there may have been subsequent changes to relevant taxation legislation and/or further Revenue Guidance on securities lending issues, which are not reflected on this website. In particular, please note that sections 122 and 123 of the Finance Act, 2005 amend relevant sections of the Stamp Duty Consolidation Act, 1999 but please seek professional tax advice or refer to the Revenue website at www.revenue.ie if you require further information on stocklending taxation issues.

Dataon the volume of securities lent or borrowed in relation to certain Irish securities is published by Euroclear UK and Ireland.

For further information on securities lending please contact info@ise.ie.