Minister Micheál Martin officially opens new Citco offices in Cork

Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment Micheál Martin TD today (Friday 31^st March 2006) performed the official opening of the new premises for Citco at Tellengana, Blackrock Road, Cork.

Citco is a global financial services company and a world leading provider of hedge fund services. It has a hedge fund administration operation and a banking and custody services centre at the IFSC in Dublin and a data processing operation in Cork. Its decision to expand the facility in Cork and set up a second hedge fund administration centre, with the support of IDA Ireland, was announced in January of this year. A total of 250 new jobs in hedge fund, custody and support activities will be created. Recruitment is already underway and 60 positions have been filled in recent weeks.

Speaking at the official opening, Minister Martin T.D. said “Ireland has become widely acknowledged by the funds industry as a leading location for the administration of hedge funds, not just for Europe but for the industry globally. Citco has 3 very successful operations in Ireland and its decision to make an additional substantial investment here further enhances this reputation. The company’s decision to expand its business in Cork demonstrates real confidence in our ability to support leading financial services companies, reliant on a specialised skills base. I would like to extend my congratulations to the management and staff of Citco on their continued success in Ireland”.

Minister Martin continued, “In addition to celebrating Citco’s new investment, we are also celebrating the opening of this superb new office building. It is a private sector initiative which has been developed by David O’Sullivan and built by Bowen Construction to the highest international standards and is an ideal premises for a leading multinational company like Citco to base its new business.

Citco employs over 600 people in Ireland and first set up operations in 1999 in the International Financial Services Centre (IFSC) in Dublin and at the Cork Airport Business Park. The new hedge fund administration centre in Cork has been established to meet the continued growth in demand for Citco’s fund administration and custody services.

Mr. Larry Luckmann, Director, Global Citco Banking, said “We are very happy with the success of our business in Ireland. The opening of this new office is testament to Citco’s commitment to Ireland as a strategic location for our business. Cork and the South West region are excellent locations for financial services activities. We are delighted with the support and encouragement from the local and business community and we are confident of finding the necessary skills and experience that our new business will require.”

Notes to Editor

Citco currently employs 600 people in three separate operations in Ireland:

Citco Fund Services (Dublin) Ltd (CFSDL) was established in the IFSC in October 1999 and employs over 200 people providing hedge fund administration services;
Citco Bank Nederland NV Dublin Branch was established in the IFSC in 1998 and employs almost 100 people providing banking and custody services to funds clients;
Citco Data Processing Services Ltd (CDPSL) was established at Cork Airport Business Park in 2000. Currently employing over 300 people, it provides back office, data processing and systems development in support of the business conducted by Citco Bank Nederland NV in Amsterdam, Milan and Dublin.

About Citco Fund Services

Citco Fund Services has over 35 years experience in hedge fund administration and has become the pre-eminent fund administrator in the hedge funds industry, servicing more than 2,000 funds representing net assets exceeding $300 billion. Citco offers full administration service from 11 strategic centers across the Americas, Europe and Australasia, employing 1,450 people worldwide. Core services include accounting and net asset value calculations, investor- related services, as well as corporate and legal services. Citco also provides a straight-through, front-to-back solution for hedge funds.

About Citco Bank

Citco Bank is a recognized world leader in custody and fund trading for financial institutions and fund of funds, offering expertise in the execution, settlement and custody of funds. It has developed a range of services to alleviate clients’ administrative burdens, leaving them free to concentrate on their core business. Citco Bank provides an integrated service platform across banking and custody, tailored to the needs of institutional and fund of funds clients. Citco Bank currently has more than US$150bn assets under custody representing more than 25,000 funds. The company employs 450 people worldwide with offices in The Netherlands, Switzerland, Curacao, Ireland, the Bahamas, Cayman Islands, and Italy.

About Citco Data Processing Services Limited (CDPSL)

CDPSL operates as a service provider to Citco Bank, performing operational activities in support of the brokerage and custody products of the Bank. This will typically involve support in finalising hedge Fund transactions, Corporate Action services relating to the assets held in Custody, as well as reconciling the Banks cash positions. In addition CDPSL is responsible for sourcing the relevant data required to place and settle and these transactions. They are also responsible for maintaining the Client Help desk function.

CDPSL also provides IT support in terms of applications and overall IT infrastructure to the Banking group in Europe, as well as developing bespoke applications in support of the brokerage and custody products.

From its start up in Cork, and with the growth in business, the total staff number is now in excess of 300 and this is expected to increase by 25% in 2006.

About The Citco Group

Founded over 60 years ago, the Citco Group companies today represent the largest global service provider to hedge funds, administering $300 billion in net assets and over $150 billion in assets under custody for fund of funds and financial institutions around the world. The Citco Group companies also provide the highest quality corporate and private client fiduciary services to multinational companies, financial institutions and their professional advisors.

For more information about The Citco Group visit www.citco.com

For further information, please contact:

Nathalie Dassas, Senior Consultant, Fin International, tel: +33 1 56 58 07 66

email: n.dassas@fininternational.com

Kieran Conroy, Managing Director, Citco Fund Services (Dublin), tel: + 353 1 636 7300, email: mailto:kconroy@citco.com

Scott Case, Managing Director, Citco Bank Nederland N.V. tel: + 353 1 636 7100

email scase@citco.com

Nicolaas Hofman. General Manager, Citco Data Processing Services Limited. Tel: 353 21 432 4884 nhofman@citco.com

For information regarding careers with Citco in Cork, please contact:

Catherine Garrett, Human Resource Manager, Citco Data Processing Services Limited. Tel: +353 21 432 4700

Alan Burke, Human Resources Manager, Citco Fund Services (Dublin) Limited Tel: +353 1 636 7312.

ENDS