Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)

Section 10 is essentially a technical amendment to update the Netting of Financial Contracts Act 1995 to provide for the extension of the protection afforded by that Act by expanding the range of financial contracts that may be encompassed. The Netting of Financial Contracts Act 1995 provides protection for netting or set-off arrangements between parties to contracts involving certain financial instruments in the event of an insolvency. As financial markets continue to develop so too does the available range of products. As the financial contracts that may be encompassed are restricted to those specified in the Act, and the existing ministerial regulations, the definition of financial contracts needs to be updated periodically. This is a review of practice since the last Act to cover this area. We believe we should broaden its scope to ensure that our law covers the way in which these products are provided.

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