Anglo Irish Bank Share Discussion Threads

[lbo] 08/5/2009 09:34

Taxpayer playing banker to property investors

At the time of the acquisition of the Savoy Hotel group in London by a consortium put together by investment adviser Derek Quinlan, Anglo Irish Bank was attributed with playing a key role. The hotels were bought for €1.1 billion in April 2004.



Quinlan's luxury hotels lose E10.4m

[lbo] 06/5/2009 21:27

In just one year we've all become shareholders in Cowen's nightmare

[lbo] 04/5/2009 17:12

Anglo seize shares in Kelly's Italian Olympic village firm

[lbo] 04/5/2009 16:43

ANGLO IRISH Bank is to ask the Government for a further cash injection of up to €2.5 billion in order to keep its capital base above the minimum levels required under the terms of its banking licence

[lbo] 30/4/2009 16:47

Anglo probe is a criminal one: Appleby

[lbo] 26/4/2009 21:05

Anglo tightens grip on South Wharf

[lbo] 26/4/2009 21:01

Anglo takes new charge against Ballymore company

[lbo] 23/4/2009 13:55

Fresh State capital likely to be required for Anglo

[lbo] 21/4/2009 21:12

And the lesson of Ireland is that you really, really don't want to put yourself in a position where you have to punish your economy in order to save your banks

[lbo] 16/4/2009 23:10

Kelly asks Anglo Irish Bank to restructure €700m debt



Nationwide reveals €460m bad loan charge

[lbo] 09/4/2009 09:27

Check the ISEQ or LSE not google!! LOL

UK court tells council to take action against Quinn Glass

[mountpleasant] 09/4/2009 09:07

Doubting Thomas? see the above link.

[lbo] 08/4/2009 14:50

Mountpleasant you should lay off the drugs!

Developers face 100pc tax hike on land profits

[mountpleasant] 02/4/2009 10:03

Its back trading again... volume went thru y'day

[lbo] 24/3/2009 22:26

Docklands chairman McCaughey to stand down

[lbo] 17/3/2009 13:03

Yet another Irish titan brought to heel

[masurenguy] 09/3/2009 07:19

"Since the big banks and other major corporations and institutions at the heart of the crisis do not have the financial wherewithal to survive it and are deemed by society, or at least by the the elites running the world, to be "too big to fail", there can only be one outcome - massive across the board full or near-full nationalisation of the afflicted entities, possibly involving mega-mergers, such as Bank of America merging with Citibank. This means in effect a "super bailout" that makes what we have seen to date look decidedly modest, and also means that the taxpayer will end up footing the bill for the misadventures of these companies for years to come."

[masurenguy] 05/3/2009 23:27

Independent.ie
Thursday March 05 2009

Watchdog's investigators descend on Nationwide
By Charlie Weston

The Financial Regulator has sent a team of investigators into the head offices of Irish Nationwide to probe its role in facilitating former Anglo Irish chairman Sean FitzPatrick in hiding his director's loans, the Irish Independent has learned. Around half a dozen inspectors appointed by the regulator are on site at Irish Nationwide's head office at Grant Parade, Dublin 6, and are examining documents there. These inspectors have wide powers which allow them to see any documents they want to without having to go to the courts. A spokeswoman for the Financial Regulator would not comment yesterday on the probe, but it is understood the inspectors are part of a team of about 30 authorised officers appointed by the regulator to help it in a number of investigations in different institutions.

The officers include staff from top accountancy firms Deloitte, Pricewaterhouse Coopers and KPMG. They have extensive powers to search premises and take material and it is understood that up to half a dozen of them have been in situ in Irish Nationwide's head office since January. A spokesman for Irish Nationwide denied there were any inspectors from the regulator's office in Irish Nationwide, but a number of reliable sources have confirmed the existence of inspectors, and their probe, to the Irish Independent. The sources said the investigation was looking in to the role of the the Michael Fingleton-run Irish Nationwide Building Society in the warehousing of former Anglo Irish chairman Sean FitzPatrick's director's loans.

[masurenguy] 02/3/2009 18:08

Citywire

Savers in Irish banks face new compensation fears
By Lorna Bourke: 02 March 2009

Investors in Irish Banks and the Post Office, through its joint venture with the Bank of Ireland, are once again worrying about the safety of their money. As the storm clouds gather over Eastern European banks and the markets brace themselves for yet another banking shock, investors are once again worrying about the safety of their money – in particular, money held in Irish Banks where the government has been forced to nationalise some of the banks.

A Citywire reader highlights the situation. 'Back in September of last year Anglo Irish Bank was advertising a two year bond paying 7% gross. I did all the checks and found that its UK subsidiary was covered by the UK Financial Services Compensation Scheme for up to £50,000 – so I cautiously invested £50,000.' 'Some weeks ago I received a letter from the bank stating that because the Irish Government now offered 100% compensation, Anglo Irish Bank is no longer covered by the FSCS. I am not happy with this as I regard this as a material change in the terms of my contract with Anglo Irish Bank. Will the FSCS step in if the Irish Government reneges on compensation for foreign depositors? There are increasing rumours that Ireland, like Iceland, is now bankrupt. The answer from the FSCS is not reassuring. 'Because the cover provided by the Irish Government is higher than that offered by the FSCS we are no longer involved.'

But will the FSCS step in if the Irish Government is unable to meet its obligations to foreign depositors? 'We cannot comment on the financial stability of other governments. We are no longer involved in the compensation process for this bank,' says a spokesman for the FSCS. Our Citywire reader is not alone. Hundreds of thousands of Post Office investors are similarly affected. Bank of Ireland, through its joint venture with the Post Office, has hundreds of thousands of UK account holders, with more than £6 billion in cash Isas, bonds and easy-access accounts.

Anglo Irish Bank and Bank of Ireland were both effectively nationalised in January. Because of mounting concerns about Irish banks, the Irish Government offered 100% protection to investors, without limit in September of last year. This prompted a big inflow of funds to the Post Office and other Irish banks from British savers who saw this as better protection than the £50,000 offered under the FSCS. The Post Office accounts were underwritten by Bank of Ireland, and the Post Office has since written to 500,000 account holders telling them their money is no longer covered by the UK savings protection scheme. The letters, which have been prompted by an edict from the Financial Services Authority, warn that the UK's Financial Services Compensation Scheme would play no part in compensating savers if an Irish bank failed in a similar way to the Icelandic banks Landsbanki and Kaupthing Edge.

So what would happen to small savers if the Irish government froze deposits or limited withdrawals – or even worse, defaulted on repayment of depositors' accounts? Nobody knows. While the FSCS and the Financial Services Authority say that legally they can take no responsibility in cases where banks are not part of the UK scheme, some experts believe that it is possible – though by no means certain – that the European Central Bank would step in and bail out the banks because Ireland is in the Eurozone. However, this would not necessarily include full compensation for depositors. Given that there are 500,000 UK depositors who put money into the Post Office – the vast majority of them not realizing that the money was actually invested with Bank of Ireland – there would be huge pressure on the UK government to step in and assist UK depositors, as it did in the case of Icelandic banks. But there is no guarantee of that either.

Protection for savers with Bank of Ireland and Anglo Irish Bank now depends solely on the strength of the Irish economy, which is being questioned. Since September the Irish economy and its banking system have deteriorated rapidly. Anglo Irish has been nationalised and the other two banks, Bank of Ireland and Allied Irish are being supported with government cash. The Irish economy is forecast to shrink faster than that of any other country in the wider EU region – with the exception of Latvia. Anglo Irish is not allowing investors with fixed rate deposits to withdraw funds except in 'an emergency' and even then investors will have to take 60 days loss of interest. The bank refutes the idea that the collapse of confidence in Irish banks is 'an emergency'.

[minho] 02/3/2009 13:42

If they are proved to be crooks, then they must be stripped of all there monies, house the lot.How else can this be stoped. ? Plus put behind bars for a long time, a very long time.

[masurenguy] 01/3/2009 09:37

Independent.ie
Sunday March 01 2009

Taxpayer won't fund FitzPatrick's €25m pension
By Louise McBride

DISGRACED former Anglo Irish Bank chairman Sean FitzPatrick may be sitting on a vast pension pot of as much as €25m, according to pension experts. The sheer scale of FitzPatrick's pension will casue fury among shareholders who lost everything when the bank was nationalised. At 60 last June, Mr FitzPatrick, who resigned as chairman of Anglo last December amid controversial revelations about hidden loans, has reached the retirement age of many bankers. He got an entitlement to an annual pension of €533,000 when he retired as Anglo boss in January 2005. However, the total value of his pension over his retirement could clock up to between €20m and €25m, according to pension experts who totted up the value of his pension using Anglo's annual accounts. At the very least, Mr FitzPatrick's pension pot would hit between €13.5m and €15.5m, according to a pension actuary.

[masurenguy] 27/2/2009 12:27

RTE News
Friday, 27 February 2009 10:18

Consortium interested in Anglo Irish

A consortium of Irish and foreign investors has held discussions about taking a majority shareholding in Anglo Irish Bank and investing €5bn in the financial institution. The consortium has been in talks with the Government and the National Treasury Management Agency. If a deal could be agreed the consortium has assembled a new management team for Anglo that would be led by David Morgan, a former chief executive of one of Australia's largest banks, Westpac. It comes despite Anglo being the source of multiple banking scandals and much damage to Ireland's financial reputation abroad.

It is believed that the Mallabraca consortium, made up of US, Irish and Middle Eastern investors, has held talks with the Government on the issue. But the investors have written to the State to put their interest in Anglo on hold while investigations by gardaí and the Office of the Director of Corporate Enforcement continue. However, there are indications this could be overcome by some form of indemnity. Under the proposal the investors would inject €5bn of equity into the bank. They would assume majority control and share risks with the State.

Government sources say they would closely examine any serious outside investment in Anglo. It is understood any proposal that would benefit the State and stabilise the bank could be agreed and Executive Chairman Donal O'Connor would be prepared to stand down to make way for a new chief executive.

[masurenguy] 26/2/2009 08:07

Independent.ie
Thursday 26th February 2009

Key 'golden circle' files seized in Anglo swoop
By Shane Phelan, Joe Brennan and Dearbhail McDonald

FRAUD squad detectives have seized key documents linked to the €451m 'golden circle' loans from Anglo Irish Bank, the Irish Independent has learned. The loans were the primary focus of initial searches on Tuesday of Anglo's headquarters by officers acting under the direction of corporate enforcer Paul Appleby.

The revelation came as the Financial Regulator, which has been conducting a separate investigation into matters at the bank, last night confirmed it uncovered matters "of such a serious nature" that they had now been referred to the gardai. The Irish Independent understands the material passed to detectives also relates to the 'golden circle' transactions , and to the movement of €7.45bn in deposits between Anglo Irish from Irish Life & Permanent to bolster Anglo's books. The disclosures gave an indication of the gathering momentum behind separate investigations by the Director of Corporate Enforcement and the Financial Regulator.

Documents seized at the bank's headquarters, on St Stephen's Green in Dublin, in the two days since it was raided by fraud squad detectives were being examined last night at Mr Appleby's office, where tight security has been put in place to safeguard the material. The Government recently sanctioned a €500,000 contract to beef up security at the office on Parnell Square in Dublin in recognition of Mr Appleby's growing role in investigating alleged white-collar crime. Investigators from his office, backed up by 16 gardai from the Garda Bureau of Fraud Investigation, are expected to resume searches at Anglo Irish's headquarters this morning. Informed sources revealed the main focus of the initial searches was documentation about the so-called 'golden circle' loans in the context of possible breaches of Section 60 of the Companies Act. That section of the act bars firms from providing loans to buy their own shares, except where the money lent is "part of the ordinary business of the company".

Anglo Irish loaned €451m to a group of 10 customers so they could buy a 10pc stake in the ailing bank to support its share price. The director is investigating whether that amounted to market manipulation. Under tough new EU rules, insider dealing and market manipulation are punishable by fines of up to €10m and a maximum 10-year prison term if a person is convicted. Legal and accounting sources last night said that for the loans to be put in the clear, the Director of Corporate Enforcement and Financial Regulator would need to conclude that they were made under normal commercial terms. Anglo has always insisted that before making a loan, it firstly looked at a borrower's ability to repay. It also placed a huge emphasis in the normal course of lending on getting hold of other assets belonging to a borrower as security, as well as personal guarantees that the loans would be paid back. However, this does not appear to have been the case with the 'golden circle' loans.

Anglo Irish confirmed last week that 75% of what was borrowed by the 'golden circle' was only backed by the shares themselves, which are now virtually worthless. Just 25% of the total loan was backed by other collateral from the investors, meaning that they can really only be chased for €112.75m. They have already paid back €83m of the total loan, believed to have come from the sale of some Anglo shares before it was nationalised. Mr Appleby is also seeking to establish whether the loans were made in line with normal lending practice. His office will be looking to see if the bank pre-packaged the loans for the 'golden circle' or if the investors actually asked the bank to provide funding for the deal. Sources emphasised that although these loans were the initial focus of the inquiry, Mr Appleby's team will also be getting to grips with other areas, including loans to directors.

Meanwhile, the Opposition went on the attack last night over the Government's failure to sanction 20 additional staff for the Director of Corporate Enforcement when he sought them in 2005. Tanaiste and Enterprise Minister Mary Coughlan admitted that it took two years for the request to be reviewed. At that stage only eight additional staff and one additional garda detective were assigned to the director. Fine Gael Enterprise spokesman Leo Varadkar claimed the revelation showed Fianna Fail had a soft stance on corporate crime. "Fianna Fail ministers have repeatedly refused requests from the Office of the Director of Corporate Enforcement for extra staff and more resources in its fight against white-collar crime," said Mr Varadkar. The Tanaiste said she would be "sympathetic to any reasonable request for additional resources" which Mr Appleby may need to complete the Anglo Irish investigation.

[masurenguy] 25/2/2009 12:32

Independent.ie
Wednesday February 25 2009

Top bankers face grilling after fraud squad raids
By Shane Phelan, Michael Brennan and Dearbhail McDonald

FORMER leading bankers at Anglo Irish are expected to be questioned by gardai after fraud squad officers raided the bank's headquarters yesterday. Senior detectives said last night it now appeared "inevitable" that some leading bankers would face questioning. This is expected to happen once an investigation led by Director of Corporate Enforcement Paul Appleby has gathered enough information about dealings at the bank. Former Anglo chairman Sean FitzPatrick last night told the Irish Independent he had "no comment" on the garda raids.

Mr Appleby's investigation has already been fast-tracked after the acting Financial Regulator Mary O'Dea revealed yesterday she had agreed to share all of the information her office has gathered on Anglo Irish's dealings. Garda fraud squad officers, acting for Mr Appleby, raided three buildings at Anglo Irish's headquarters on St Stephen's Green in Dublin yesterday morning after getting warrants to search for books, documents, computer files and computer hard drives. Informed sources said investigators were looking for evidence of any breaches of the Companies Act in relation to secret loans to directors and the controversial €451m loan to a 'golden circle' to buy shares in the bank. However, they added that Mr Appleby would not exclude any other issues if evidence of illegality is uncovered.

Legal experts said last night that a series of possible prosecutions could result from the investigation, including charges relating to the failure to keep proper books of account and breaches of rules relating to directors' loans. Mr Appleby can also bring charges if an individual or group financially interested in the success or failure of the bank tried to influence the bank's policy. Meanwhile, it is understood it is "highly unlikely" Sean FitzPatrick will now be compelled to appear before the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Economic Regulatory Affairs. This is due to fears that it might prejudice the ongoing investigation into Anglo Irish Bank. The committee had been planning to seek powers to compel Mr FitzPatrick to attend, after he cited legal reasons for his refusal to attend earlier this month.

Anglo Irish Bank was nationalised last month after the share price plummeted amid a wave of controversies, including a loans-for-shares scandal, revelations about secret loans to former chairman Sean FitzPatrick and a multibillion-euro deposit from an apparent rival bank to boost its books. Anglo Irish officials refused to comment last night. The bank had already agreed to engage with Mr Appleby before yesterday's development and had indicated it would cooperate fully with any investigation. A team of 16 gardai joined staff from the director's office in yesterday's searches. The terms of the warrant mean they can have access to Anglo Irish's offices for a month and any material seized can be kept for an unlimited period of time. A team of 25 officers from the Financial Regulator, which is conducting a parallel investigation, were already on site.

Yesterday's dramatic developments followed repeated opposition calls for the garda fraud squad to become involved. Two Fianna Fail TDs, Thomas Byrne and Michael McGrath, had also written directly to Garda Commissioner Fachtna Murphy last week to add their voices to the clamour. However, the Government had insisted that the Director of Corporate Enforcement had to be allowed to carry out his work and in the end it was Mr Appleby's decision to bring in the gardai. The director's action looks set to take some of the political pressure off the Government, who can now reassure a rebellious public that "something is being done". Justice Minister Dermot Ahern TD said the Government was operating "the rule of law. As far as I am concerned that provides that whether you have a balaclava and a sawn-off shotgun or a white collar and designer suit the same rules apply," he said.