A dedicated private equity (PE) fund administration group recently established by Northern Trust was created in anticipation of an uptick in the business in Dublin. The bank acquired the capabilities through its 2005 acquisition of Baring Asset Management's Financial Services Group. The city does currently house PE funds and similar fund structures, but the Irish Financial Services Regulatory Authority is expected to make a rule change that would simplify the launching of private equity funds in Ireland, said Paul Guilbert, head of private equity fund administration at Northern Trust. He added that the firm hopes its move will signal to regulators that industry participants will support the change.

Meanwhile, the bank is also eying the space in the U.S. Guilbert declined to detail what preparations Northern has made, but said the 2005 acquisition would help the bank enter the less developed PE outsourcing market in the U.S. Interest in outsourcing in the PE space has increased over the last few years due to the increase in competition.