Latest Atlas VI cat bond was first under new Irish prospectus review regime

The recently completed Atlas VI Capital Ltd. 2011 catastrophe bond from SCOR, which secured them a $337m layer of reinsurance cover for certain of their U.S. hurricanes, U.S. earthquakes and European windstorm risks, was a first under the Irish SPV regime. All of SCOR’s Atlas cat bond have been domiciled in Dublin, Ireland but this is the first where the responsibility for reviewing the transaction prospectus had moved to the Central Bank of Ireland.

Walkers Global were the law firm who assisted with this transaction, providing expertise on Irish legal issues, tax matters and acting as listing agent for the transaction. In their press release on this deal they note the recent change in prospectus review regime.

Previously, prospectus’ were reviewed by the Irish Stock Exchange, a task delegated to them in 2005. Since the 12th December 2011 prospectus review is now conducted by the Central Bank of Ireland. This Atlas VI deal was the first cat bond or insurance-linked security transaction to undergo the new prospectus review process and Walkers notes that it was a seamless transition to the new regime and that the Central Bank provided an “efficient review and approval process through active engagement with the issuer and its agents”.