The International Financial Services Centre (IFSC), Dublin.

Swiss insurance giant Zurich, formerly known as Eagle Star in Ireland, is to create 240 jobs in Ireland over 2 years and it is reported to be planning to transfer its £35bn UK life insurance operation to Dublin's IFSC (International Financial Services Centre) to take advantage of the better tax regime. A senior Zurich executive cited membership of the euro as a factor in its decision to expand its operations in Ireland.

The London Independent reports today that senior officials at the insurer have met with the UK Financial Services Authority to discuss how such a move would affect its £35bn life assurance business in the UK. The group said it "continues to explore ways to streamline its legal structure and optimise its capital efficiency", but added that "no decisions about how this will be achieved within our life businesses" had yet been taken.

The UK business would effectively become a branch of the central office in Dublin should the plan go ahead. It is understood that there would be little change to its operations in Swindon and Cheltenham, and it would still pay UK tax.

In Dublin, Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Innovation, Batt O'Keeffe said the current recruitment drive, which will be completed by the end of this year, will bring Zurich's total workforce here to 1,100.

Already, 120 of the jobs have been filled through a new business centre in Wexford.
The rest of the jobs are being filled in two of the company's European centres - - in the IFSC, Dublin, and Blackrock, South Dublin.

O'Keeffe this week welcomed the chief executive of Zurich Financial Services Group, Martin Senn, to Ireland.

"World-leader Zurich has chosen Ireland as the European centre for its strategically important operations - a strong endorsement of our highly educated and flexible workforce in the financial services sector.

"The creation of 240 positions which will all be filled by the end of the year demonstrates Zurich's commitment to growth in Ireland and reaffirms the Government's confidence in our ability to recover from recession," said O'Keeffe.

The chief executive of Zurich Insurance plc and chairman of Zurich Life Assurance plc, Markus Hongler, said: "Zurich considered a number of options and Ireland best met our requirements because of its long-standing membership of the European Union and the euro, a well-developed insurance market and a highly educated and skilled workforce.

"These factors continue to underpin our success and drive our business in Ireland and across Europe."

The key European developments for Zurich in Ireland are:

Zurich Insurance plc [General Insurance] is headquartered in the Irish Financial Services Centre in Dublin. It is Zurich's main insurance risk-carrier for most of its EU general insurance business. Zurich Insurance plc operates in Ireland and across the EU with branches in the
UK, France, Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Spain, Portugal and Italy. Zurich Insurance plc plans to expand its operations with the transfer of business from Germany to Dublin, making it the largest general insurance operation in the EU. Zurich Insurance plc will employ 60 workers by the end of this year.

Zurich Global Life has been developing life insurance products for European markets in Blackrock, Dublin, since last year. The European manufacturing and servicing hub is manufacturing products for markets in Ireland, Italy, Germany and the UK. It has filled 35 skilled positions, with 25 workers to be hired this year.