GE moves arm to capital

INTERNATIONAL financial giant GE Capital is to centralise its worldwide treasury operations in Dublin. The group said yesterday that GE Financial Markets will open an office in the city in the summer.

The new office will employ 14 people and will manage the hedging policy for GE Capital's enormous cash flows, which run into many billions of euro.

The office will trade derivative financial instruments to minimise currency and interest rate risks. But it will not engage in high-risk speculative trading to make a profit on its own account.

The company said it chose Dublin because it was "favourably disposed" towards Ireland. The capital also had the advantage of being in a time zone that gave the new office access to trading hours in the key financial markets of North America, Europe and Asia.

Dublin's membership of the eurozone is also believed to have made it more attractive than London.

GE Capital already employs approximately 2,000 people in 18 businesses here. It has been in Ireland for more than 20 years and has located the European headquarters of GE Consumer Finance, in Dublin.

GE previously carried out treasury activity in several offices around the world but will now streamline its activities. The office will draw staff from Ireland and abroad. GE may hire a number of extra staff when the operation is running.

The new office will not be GE Capital's first involvement in treasury activity in Dublin. The group previously owned Gandon Capital Markets, which was once quoted on the Dublin stock exchange, before selling it to Investec in 1999.