Financial services company State Street has today opened its new office building in Kilkenny.

State Street first came to Ireland in 1996 and has now grown to become one of the largest international financial services employers in the country.

With a presence in Kilkenny for over 20 years, State Street was the first company in the International Financial Services Centre (IFSC), to establish a regional base outside of Dublin.

Its new offices in Kilkenny are at the city's IDA Ireland Business and Technology Park.

The new building is also home to State Street's recently established global cybersecurity centre of excellence, the only dedicated cybersecurity hub outside of the US, supporting the needs of its employees in over 200 geographic markets worldwide.

Terri Dempsey, country head of Ireland, said State Street's new office will amplify the work the company has been doing in Kilkenny for over 20 years.

"Kilkenny's thriving talent pool and dynamic innovation landscape make it an ideal base for our established cybersecurity fusion centre and enables us to actively promote female participation in the tech industry," Ms Dempsey said.

"Government policies and the continued support from the IDA have laid a solid foundation for State Street to grow together with the people of Kilkenny and for the prosperity of the region," she added.

"Our new office and global cybersecurity centre reflects State Street’s commitment to Ireland and our confidence in the South-East region's exceptional talent pool," said Ron O'Hanley, chairman and chief executive officer of State Street.

"We are grateful to the Irish Government for its support in our continuing journey to enhance our operational capabilities by leveraging Ireland’s exceptional workforce and its strength as a fund domicile and ecosystem," the CEO added.

Opening the new office in Kilkenny, the Minister for Finance Michael McGrath said State Street's Kilkenny operations are a vital element in the development of the international financial services sector in the South-East region and the cybersecurity centre is a testament to links they have developed with the third level institutions.

"State Street is one of the largest employers in financial services and I want to wish all the team in Kilkenny the very best and continued success as they build out their exciting new cybersecurity global business in the new offices," he added.