Sparkasse Bank Malta Plc has applied to the Central Bank of Ireland for approval to establish an office in Dublin that will provide depository services to independent fund administrators, The Irish Times reported May 21, citing sources.

Sparkasse Bank Malta, which has about €3.8 billion of assets under custody in Malta, is planning to replicate its depository business in Ireland, according to the report. Depositories hold funds' assets, arrange transaction settlements and audit the funds to safeguard against fraud, accounting errors or conflicts of interest.

The Malta-based lender, a subsidiary of Austria's Sparkasse Schwaz AG, is targeting the smaller end of the depository services market in Ireland, where funds holding €2.4 trillion of assets are headquartered. The bank is also looking to hire up to six people, although this may increase to 60 individuals in time, according to the sources.