Buoyant Bank of Ireland

Irish investors' traditionally aggressive appetite for property-linked investments is waning as the demand for short-term flow products and more sophisticated equity structures rises. Bank of Ireland admits that the Irish structured products market is undergoing a sizeable trend shift but says it is chomping at the bit to meet investors' new demands. Matt Cameron reports

The Irish structured products market is considered one of the fastest-growing markets in Europe, with volumes doubling from EUR1.3 billion in 2005 to EUR2.7 billion in 2006, according to a 2007 structured products report published by BNP Paribas in June. Property as an underlying was the story of 2006, but with the maturing of the Special Savings Incentive Accounts (SSIA) scheme releasing more than EUR16 billion into the market, and the over-investment in property as an asset class, investors