Wilmington Trust Cleared as Trustee in the U.S. and Ireland for Newly Launched Global Aircraft Trading System Platform

GATS facilitates electronic trading of aircraft through the use of Owner Trusts

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Jun 16, 2020, 09:02 ET

WILMINGTON, Del. and DUBLIN, June 16, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Wilmington Trust, a leader in corporate and institutional trust services, announces it has been cleared as a trustee in the U.S. and Ireland for the Aviation Working Group's (AWG) newly launched electronic Global Aircraft Trading System (GATS) platform.

The GATS online platform was designed to modernize aircraft equipment trading and financing, eliminating the need for hard copy trust documents and facilitating lease transfer. It allows trustees to help participants in the aviation industry electronically migrate existing aircraft owning trusts to digitally engage in transactions, such as buying and selling aircraft and engines on lease, with other participants. This creates greater efficiency and expediency by reducing the burden on lessees, lessors and financiers.

"We are proud to be a cleared trustee for the new GATS platform, which will be a great help to move the industry away from paper documents and fully into the digital age," said Chris Sponenberg, Vice President, Wilmington Trust. "One of the key benefits of this platform is that it will help all participants better understand trust structures and to do so at their own convenience."

Wilmington Trust has a long track record in the aircraft financing space, with 45 years of experience in the U.S. and 12 years in Ireland. As the first provider of aircraft Irish Owner Trust services, where it holds approximately 900 aircraft, the firm has a wide range of experience and is a trusted name in the jurisdiction.

"Implementing GATS will help us continue our commitment to the Irish aircraft leasing and financing space, guiding our clients to greater success with our unmatched expertise," said Cliona O'Faolain, Head of Ireland, Wilmington Trust.

GATS is a fully electronic system, using e-signatures, e-delivery of documents, and use of a secure e-ledger to record transactions. GATS cleared trustees are able to access a variety of capabilities, including creating trusts electronically, assigning security interests with respect to aircraft lease trusts, and assigning the benefit of the trusts electronically, therefore reducing the burden on the airline.

To learn more about Wilmington Trust's aircraft trust services, visit the firm's Equipment and Transportation Finance webpage.

ABOUT WILMINGTON TRUST
Wilmington Trust, N.A. provides Corporate and Institutional Services including institutional trust, agency, asset management, retirement plan, agency, asset management, and administrative services for clients worldwide who use capital markets financing structures. Wilmington Trust provides direct trust, custody, and fiduciary services for retirement plans, companies, foundations, organizations and financial institutions.

Wilmington Trust also provides Wealth Advisory services with a wide array of personal trust, financial planning, fiduciary, asset management, and family office solutions designed to help high-net-worth individuals and families grow, preserve, and transfer wealth.

Wilmington Trust maintains offices throughout the United States and internationally in London, Paris, Dublin, and Frankfurt. For more information, visit www.WilmingtonTrust.com.

MEDIA CONTACTS:
Maya Dillon, Head of Communications, Wilmington Trust (212) 415-0557
Paul Merchan, Peppercomm (212)931-6172

Wilmington Trust is a registered service mark. M&T Bank Corporation's European subsidiaries (Wilmington Trust (UK) Limited, Wilmington Trust (London) Limited, Wilmington Trust SP Services (London) Limited, Wilmington Trust SP Services (Dublin) Limited, Wilmington Trust SP Services (Frankfurt) GmbH and Wilmington Trust SAS) provide international corporate and institutional services. M&T Bank Corporation's US subsidiaries (Wilmington Trust Company (operating in Delaware only) Wilmington Trust, N.A., M&T Bank and certain other US affiliates) provide various fiduciary and non-fiduciary services, including trustee, custodial, agency, investment management, and other services. Loans, credit cards, retail and business deposits, and other business and personal banking services and products are offered by M&T Bank, member FDIC. Not all services are available in all jurisdictions.

SOURCE Wilmington Trust