The Psychology of an Irish Meltdown

By TANA FRENCH

 

 

DUBLIN — FOR the past month, Ireland has been outraged by tapes of Anglo Irish Bank officials, back in 2008, discussing lying to the government about how big a loan they needed, and how they knew there was no chance that the loan would ever be repaid. That loan was the first domino in a sequence that ended with the whole Irish economy flat on its face.

It’s not the bankers’ actions that have outraged people — pretty much everyone had a fair idea that this was what had gone down. It’s the overpowering sense of amorality revealed on the recordings, which were released by the Irish Independent newspaper. The bankers have a great laugh about the situation. It genuinely never seems to mean anything to them that the taxpayer is going to be forced to pay their bills, to the tune of tens of billions. More than that: it never seems to occur to them that their actions might harm people.

I write psychological crime, so I spend a fair amount of time thinking about morality and amorality and what underlies them. And it seems to me that this amorality could be a symptom of something deeper: a total disconnect between action and consequence.

Ireland’s population is just over half that of New York City’s. Our ruling class — including many of the politicians, bankers and property developers who wrecked the economy — is a tiny community, interwoven by friendship, marriages, education, sports and financial transactions to a degree that would be unimaginable in a bigger country. That interweaving has created a safety net that won’t let any of the ruling elite fall. If you’re a banker and your golf buddy’s kid wants to be a banker, then it doesn’t matter if the kid is an idiot, or if he kills cats for kicks: you’ll take him on, and you’ll keep him on.

For many of these people, action and consequence don’t apply; their lives are mapped out from birth, and nothing they do will alter that map. It seems to me that that would be intensely disempowering, even terrifying. Instead of being a series of interlinked actions, life is made up of a scattering of events that have no discernible relationship to one another and that you don’t influence in any real way. In that climate, it would be difficult to develop the sense that your actions make any difference, that you have any responsibility for the consequences. Without cause and effect, there’s no foundation for morality.

I’m not saying this is an excuse. It isn’t. But, like everyone in Ireland, I want answers — for the taxes piled on taxes, for the enormous cuts to essential services, for the dole queues and the flood of emigration, for the desperation in the voices of people who are trapped in ghost estates and don’t have the money to buy their kids shoes. And I wonder if this could be one small facet of one of the answers.

Another question, maybe a more interesting one, is how people who weren’t part of that powerful elite got sucked into the property pyramid scheme that fueled the boom. Some commentators have implied that the answer is basically the same: people got deep into credit-card debt, or took out mortgages for 10 times their income, because they were temporarily sucked into the psychosis of the powerful and it didn’t occur to them that there might be consequences.

But I wonder if, for these people, the truth might actually be the opposite.

Throughout the economic boom, the politicians and bankers and property developers, along with the news media, were telling all of us that cause and effect were perfectly, inextricably linked: “If you buy a vastly overpriced and shoddily built house in the middle of nowhere, the economy will keep growing, and in a few years your house’s value will have doubled, and you can sell it to some other sucker and buy something you actually want and live happily ever after and UTOPIA!!!” It was as simple and certain as sticking a coin into a vending machine: insert Action X, and the life machine will inevitably whir and beep and spit out Future Y.

THE Irish are notoriously cynical, but the Utopia myth hit at exactly the moment when we were most open to unquestioning belief. The majority of Irish people were so desperately poor, for most of the country’s history, that when suddenly we weren’t broke any longer, the cynicism was washed away by the flood of prosperity. We needed to believe that the Celtic Tiger hadn’t simply wandered in, because that would mean it could wander out again. We needed to believe that we had somehow made it happen, and that therefore there were things we could do, like buying overpriced houses, to make it keep happening. We needed, basically, to believe in that chain of action and consequence.

And so the Irish tendency to raise an eyebrow at anything that’s presented as certain paradise dissolved just at the moment when it was needed most.

A lot of my generation believed that chain was unbreakable. When it shattered, so did they — not just financially (although that too), but also psychologically. Their whole sense of a world governed by coherent cause and effect, of their ability to have any agency in their own lives, came under attack.

Those people, the ones who trusted too deeply in action and consequence, were the ones who got utterly, shamelessly destroyed by the people who had no such belief. I’m pretty sure the effects of that betrayal, for Ireland, will take decades to fully unfurl.

Tana French is the author, most recently, of the novel “Broken Harbor.”

via The Psychology of an Irish Meltdown – NYTimes.com.

Politics and Money – Irish Style

Reilly faces new day in court over nursing home deal gone sour

HEALTH Minister James Reilly faces another court date next week over an investment that went sour and saw him named on a debt defaulters’ list. read full article

independent.ie

2

Colleagues fear Perry finished in Dail after €2.5m judgment

JUNIOR Minister John Perry’s allies in Fine Gael believe that he is doomed politically, due to the judgment of almost €2.5m against him. read full article

independent.ie

94

Lowry furious after Revenue sends 15 officials to raid home

THE Revenue sent 15 officials accompanied by a garda and a locksmith to carry out a raid at former Fine Gael minister Michael Lowry‘s home. read full article

independent.ie

• Independent.ie

1

Treasury Holdings’ co-founders in line to get €5million in NAMA deal

PROPERTY developers Johnny Ronan and Richard Barrett are in line to get almost €5m each in cash under a complex deal with the tax payer-owend National Asset Management Agency and liquid read full article

independent.ie

11

Revenue inquiry on Irish clients of HSBC with Swiss accounts

Tax authority has collected €30 million from individuals linked to offshore activity read full article

irishtimes.com

68

Undeclared rental income targeted in Revenue crackdown

Landlords responsible for €42 million in upaid tax last year, records show read full article

irishtimes.com

76

McNulty liable for €90m to Nama

Businessman advances what judge describes as mostly ‘technical’ defences to Nama claim for judgment read full article

irishtimes.com

33

Cut number of TDs to 100 and save €15m a year – Independent.ie

* ‘Quality in preference to quantity’ and ‘evidence of value for money’ must be the two ‘vitals’ for a reformed new government. read full article

independent.ie

55

Tough Budget looms as Central Bank says: stick to austerity path

MORE hairshirt budgets are in prospect after the Central Bank urged the Government not to let up on austerity and Finance Minister Michael Noonan admitted next year’s cuts and taxes wil read full article

independent.ie

79

McGeever back in prison as judge refuses to reduce bail

BUSINESSMAN Kevin McGeever has been told to go to the High Court if he wants his €12,500 bail terms reduced. read full article

independent.ie

Muslim wanted for terrorism in US sues Irish prison for preventing religious practices

Ali Charaf Damache (47), an Algerian with Irish citizenship, has begun to sue several Irish institutions claiming that he was not permitted to practice his Muslim religion while being held in a Cork prison in 2011.

The Irish Independent reports that Damache, who is wanted in the US on terror-related charges, has since been moved from Cork Prison to Cloverhill Prison in Dublin. He will remain there pending the outcome of the extradition request from the US.

Damache has since brought proceedings against the governor of Cork Prison, the Irish Prison Services, the Minister for Justice and the Attorney General. He claims he was subjected to abuse and insults from both staff and inmates at Cork Prison and was prevented from practicing his religion.

In his claims, Damache says his constitutional rights and rights under the European Convention to practice his religion freely were violated while he was held in Cork Prison. He is also seeking damages.

Damache says he was not provided with halal meat, nor water to wash with before praying, nor an Iman for Friday prayers. He also said he had to use chamber pots in the cells and the hygiene in the prison’s toilet area was poor.

The action has been opposed by the State which denies his rights were breached. The action before Justice Elizabeth Dunne continues on Thursday.

Damache is famously connected to the ‘Jihad Jane’ case. The two reportedly conspired to kill Lars Vilks, the Swedish cartoonist whose 2007 portrayal of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, angered Muslims around the world.

Last year, Damache unexpectedly pled guilty to placing a menacing phone call to the Michigan-based attorney Majed Moughni. He was sentenced to four years in jail with the final year suspended. Due to time already served, Damache was released from custody.

However, upon being released, Damache was re-arrested in relation to extradition charges from the US in which he is accused of providing material support to terrorists. He is still being held in Cloverhill Prison in Dublin.

via Muslim wanted for terrorism in US sues Irish prison for preventing religious practices | Irish News | IrishCentral.

Anglo Irish Bank- Drumm’s safe haven in the US could be under threat

FORMER Anglo Irish Bank CEO David Drumm‘s safe haven in the United States could be under threat.

This comes amid a call on Finance Minister Michael Noonan to seek the assistance of powerful US stock market watchdog, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), to probe the bank’s activities in the period leading up to the 2008 crash. Anglo Irish Bank sought to raise $10bn in fresh funding off the back of a medium-term bond offering in July 2008.

While the bond itself was not made available for purchase by US citizens, it was offered to qualified institutional investors through an investment prospectus filed with the Washington DC-based SEC on July 17, 2008.

In the course of the prospectus, Anglo Irish Bank provided potential investors in the bond with financial information drawn from both its 2007 annual report and unaudited figures for the period leading up to March 31, 2008.

In a note accompanying the numbers, the bank stated specifically that the information contained in its prospectus was “in accordance with the facts” and did “not omit anything likely to affect the import of such information”.

That declaration and the figures provided by the bank are now open to question in light of damning revelations about the bank’s activities contained in the notorious Anglo tapes published by the Irish Independent and Sunday Independent in recent weeks.

Fianna Fail finance spokesman Michael McGrath last night called on Mr Noonan to ask the SEC to investigate the bank’s activities.

“Looking at it in the light of all the information that has come into the public domain, questions do need to be asked about the quality of the information Anglo provided in the investment prospectus it produced in the summer of 2008 as it tried to shore up its position. It is immaterial whether or not the bank actually managed to raise the funding,” Mr McGrath told the Sunday Independent.

And as we now know from last week’s revelations in the Irish Independent, by November 2007, two of the bank’s most senior officers were already talking about finding an international analyst to try to put a positive spin on Anglo’s rapidly declining finances.

Mr McGrath added: “Given that Anglo Irish Bank filed the prospectus for its $10bn bond in the United States in July 2008, I would ask the Finance Minister Michael Noonan to make contact with the SEC to explore the possibility of an investigation now being initiated in the US. If Mr Drumm cannot be compelled to return here, perhaps he can be called to account in his new home. Such an investigation could be facilitated by our own Office of the Director of Corporate Enforcement (ODCE) given the powers it has under the companies acts to work in co-operation with overseas regulatory authorities. The SEC also enjoys this power.”

via Drumm’s safe haven in the US could be under threat – Independent.ie.

Anglo Irish Bank- Latest updates

 

Former Anglo Irish Bank boss to stand trial in October 2014
Irish Examiner
Sean FitzPatrick, the former Anglo Irish Bank chairman, will stand trial in October of next year. He faces 12 charges of failing to tell the bank’s auditors the true value loans worth €139m given to him, or people connected to him, by Irish Nationwide …
See all stories on this topic »

Former Anglo Irish Bank boss to stand trial in October 2014
Irish Examiner
Sean FitzPatrick, the former Anglo Irish Bank chairman, will stand trial in October of next year. He faces 12 charges of failing to tell the bank’s auditors the true value loans worth €139m given to him, or people connected to him, by Irish Nationwide …
See all stories on this topic »

Central Bank and regulator ‘egging us on’ – Anglo
Irish Independent
But in the latest Anglo Tapes, head of treasury John Bowe can be heard convincing himself that the Central Bank and Financial Regulator were “effectively egging us on – for Irish banks to help each other”. Mr Bowe planned to craft a document to …
See all stories on this topic »

 

We are a complete punchbag at this stage, says Drumm
Irish Independent
During the revealing conversations, it is clear that Mr Drumm knows at this stage that the fate ofAnglo and Ireland are now bound together inextricably. But he is obviously more concerned about the survival of his own bank. In this latest tape, Mr …
See all stories on this topic »

 

 

Anglo Irish Bank- Drumm didn’t want any ‘b*ll*xology’ from Central Bank ‘clowns’

Anglo: Central bank boss Honohan says people ‘energised’ by tapes

Irish Independent
Ganley shown minutes from Anglo Irish meeting on ‘overcharging’. Businessman Declan Ganley was shown minutes from a meeting at Anglo Irish Bank that raise serious questions about how interest was applied to loans.
See all stories on this topic »

Tapes show Anglo executives discussed run on deposits

Irish Times
Discussing how they might encourage the Central Bank to provide “fallback” funds Mr Drumm is heard to say it may be time for Anglo Irish to have a “conversation with our friends on Dame Street [the Central Bank],” due to the volume cash withdrawals.
See all stories on this topic »

David Drumm: ‘I’ll no longer be made a scapegoat for banking crisis’ Irish Independent It is now about October 2008. Ireland has taken the disastrous decision to blanket guarantee Anglo Irish Bank as well as its other failed financial institutions. Con Horan, the man in charge of supervising Anglo for the Financial Regulator, is on the … See all stories on this topic »

‘I’m beat, I am totally beat at this stage’ – ‘Oh, join the gang, ha, ha, ha!’ Irish Independent The State has sleepwalked into guaranteeing the liabilities of Anglo Irish Bank. Ireland is on its way toward economic collapse and the humiliation of enduring a European Union/International Monetary Fund bailout that would lead to drastic cuts in … See all stories on this topic »

Drumm didn’t want any ‘b*ll*xology’ from Central Bank ‘clowns’

Anglo executives discussed breach of liquidity rules in 2008

read full article

irishtimes.com

David Drumm attacked the ‘drip, drip, drip’ release of the tapes
RTE.ie
Former Anglo Irish Bank chief executive David Drumm has said he will no longer allow himself to be a scapegoat for the banking crisis. Mr Drumm issued his statement to RTÉ news, as the transcripts of more recordings he had with another former Anglo …
See all stories on this topic »

‘The market is drunk!’
Irish Independent
S&P, the bank credit rating agency, has just issued a new note warning investors to be wary ofAnglo Irish Bank. David Drumm, the bank’s chief executive, calls up John Bowe, head of treasury, to discuss what it all means for Anglo. The conversation …
See all stories on this topic »

Anglo: New tapes reveal meekness of State’s watchdogs
Irish Independent
I just was not asked about tapes, says Dukes. THE former chairman of Anglo Irish Bank did not reveal the existence of the Anglo Tapes to major inquiries into the collapse of the banking system because he was “not asked about” them.
See all stories on this topic »

Ganley shown minutes from Anglo Irish meeting on ‘overcharging’
Irish Independent
Businessman Declan Ganley was shown minutes from a meeting at Anglo Irish Bank that raise serious questions about how interest was applied to loans. Also in this section. Super-rich duped in €30m US land scheme · Beer could be the answer to all our …
See all stories on this topic »

Anglo Irish Bank

Dukes says he was briefed on Anglo tapes by lawyers RTE.ie Former Irish Banking Resolution Corporation chairman Alan Dukes has said he was briefed by lawyers on some of the contents of taped conversations between Anglo Irish Bank executives. Mr Dukes said it was not the job of public interest directors to … See all stories on this topic »   Coalition unease at outrage over Anglo Tapes witch-hunt Irish Independent- Meanwhile, in the wake of the Anglo Tapes, the Government is expected to … in which Anglo Irish Bank executives held not just the government but the Irish … State begins witch-hunt to catch the Anglo Tape sources Irish Independent Mr Noonan set the tone earlier when he said that the special liquidator of the former Anglo Irish Bank was seeking to find out who leaked the tapes, and took a swipe at what he termed “mucking around in garda business”. He was asked about the fallout … See all stories on this topic » Leaked tapes could delay Anglo trials for years Irish Examiner The trials of former Anglo chairman Sean FitzPatrick and other senior executives could be delayed for years due to the controversy surrounding the leak of explosive tapes from the toxic bank, theIrish Examiner has learned. By John Walsh and Shaun … See all stories on this topic » In Ireland, Dire Echoes of a Bailout Gone Wrong New York Times The leak of audiotapes of phone conversations between top officials of Anglo Irish Bank, which was by far the worst of a very bad lot, has stunned Ireland and damaged its relations with Germany. It now appears that the bank lied to Irish officials … See all stories on this topic »

I aim to be objective but if you don’t like what I’m saying, just switch off Irish Examiner LISTENERS to The Last Word were able to hear this week what the former Anglo Irish Bank boss David Drumm thinks of me. We broadcast an extract from one of the now infamous internal recordings in which he made pointed reference to a newspaper … See all stories on this topic » Bank’s former chief in UK living in dream lakeside home Irish Independent THE former boss of Anglo Irish Bank‘s British operations, currently being pursued by the bank for repayment of a chunk of his almost €6m retirement pay-off, is living in a palatial property in Co Clare. See all stories on this topic »

Anglo Irish Bank

Drumm names eight he believes should explain bank guarantee role

Irish Independent
In his latest interview, former Anglo Irish Bank chief executive Mr Drumm again refused to say whether he would return to Ireland to answer questions on the collapse of the lender. The US-based ex-banker said he believes the explosive Anglo tapes were …
See all stories on this topic »

Independent party to investigate source of Anglo tapes leak
Irish Times
The investigation will try to establish if the tapes, published by the Irish Independent last week, came from Irish Bank Resolution Corporation, which was established to wind down Anglo’s operations, or KPMG, Anglo’s special liquidators. The recordings …
See all stories on this topic »

Trial of Anglo executives ‘has been jeopardised’ Irish Independent Trial of Anglo executives ‘has been jeopardised’. Comments. Email; Print; Font Size. Sonya McLean – 04 July 2013. THE upcoming trial of former Anglo Irish Bank executives may have been jeopardised, Dublin Circuit Criminal Court has heard. Also in this … See all stories on this topic »

Certus and Pepper get green light to handle €24bn of NAMA loans Irish Independent THE National Asset Management Agency (NAMA) has selected Certus and a consortium of Pepper and Serco to manage up to €24bn of loans that could be transferred to the agency from the liquidated former Anglo Irish Bank. See all stories on this topic »

Outrage on rise in Ireland over ‘arrogant’ failed bank execs Canadian HR Reporter In the tapes published by the Irish Independent newspaper, the collapsed Anglo Irish Bank’s then-head of capital markets John Bowe was asked how it had come up with a figure of seven billion euros ($9.17 billion) for a rescue, responding that he had … See all stories on this topic »

200 hand letter to gardaí demanding Anglo charges

http://starlounge.ie.msn.com/
garethmoore. TWO HUNDRED PEOPLE handed formal letters to gardaí at Pearse St garda station this evening calling for charges to brought against three Anglo Irish Bank staff. The letter, as seen by TheJournal.ie, calls for an investigation under section …
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Noonan warns against ‘contaminating’ Anglo evidence Irish Times Minister for Finance Michael Noonan has warned against “mucking about” with recordings leaked from Anglo Irish Bank so as to ensure the evidence needed for criminal trials related to the failed lender is not contaminated. “The guards are the people who … See all stories on this topic »

Gilmore refuses to answer questions on Anglo tapes knowledge Irish Independent TANAISTE Eamon Gilmore has declined to answer calls to say who knew what and when about taped conversations between chiefs at the bust Anglo Irish Bank. Related Articles. Dukes ‘sang dumb’ about Anglo tapes, Dail hears. Also in this section … See all stories on this topic »

Anglo Irish Bank-Latest- Anglo Tapes have Castlebar connection

Noonan warns banks to keep recordings as Anglo tapes probe gets under way Irish Examiner Mr Noonan told the Dáil that the IBRC‘s special liquidators were “taking the leaking of this material very seriously”, adding: “The liquidator’s role is to get the maximum sale of assets for the state fromAnglo. They have written to all parties whom … See all stories on this topic »  Anglo Tapes have Castlebar connection Mayo News UNLIKE David Drumm, the former Chief Executive of the now infamous Anglo Irish Bank, Castlebar native Matt Moran was not exactly a household name as the drama of the toxic bank’s meltdown unfolded in recent years. However, the latest recordings in the … See all stories on this topic »  Tapes unleashed fury that only a thorough probe can really satisfy Irish Independent The nation, and much of the international community supporting the nation, is shocked by the Irish Independent’s revelations of the culture of swagger and dishonesty top bankers in Anglo Irish Bankdisplayed before, during, and after the blanket … See all stories on this topic » Irish tapes show need for EU bank union EUobserver.com A series of taped conversations between executives at the now defunct Anglo–Irish bank gleefully discussing how they put the Irish government (not to mention the rest of Europe) on the hook for their losses cast a shadow over their last week in the … See all stories on this topic »

Banks warned over bailout tapes Irish Independent The minister said a parliamentary inquiry into the banking collapse may examine electronic data saved from all the banks involved in the bailout – and not just those unearthed from the toxic lenderAnglo Irish Bank. “It is practice always to record … See all stories on this topic »

We’ll help gardai with probe, says Bank governor Irish Independent THE Central Bank is examining whether Anglo Irish Bank “deliberately misrepresented” its position when it sought taxpayer support in 2008, according to the Governor Patrick Honohan. Also in this section. Banks tipped to sell €5bn property loans at huge … See all stories on this topic »Anglo Tapes: Anatomy of the Bank that broke Ireland Irish Independent Anglo Tapes: Anatomy of the Bank that broke Ireland. Comments. Email; Print; Font Size. The Anglo Tapes have delivered a riveting insight into the bowels of Anglo Irish Bank during the financial crisis that toppled the State. Tom Lyons, Deputy Business … See all stories on this topic »

Anglo Irish Bank – Updates

Coming Soon to a Cinema Near you Bankula

Starring

David Drumm

The Undisputed  Master of Horror Banking

Honohan – Anglo Tapes could lead to criminal prosecutions Irish Independent The development comes as the Irish Independent has learned the Director of Public Prosecutions is close to determining whether disgraced Anglo Irish Bank chief executive David Drumm will face criminal charges here, it is understood. In his first … See all stories on this topic »

US firm of disgraced former Anglo boss shut by authorities

THE US firm set up by disgraced former Anglo Irish Bank boss David Drumm has been dissolved after he failed to file any company records over the last two years. read full article

independent.ie

Ireland President Michael D Higgins slams those involved with the Anglo Irish … IrishCentral Ireland’s President Michael D Higgins has slammed the content of the infamous Anglo Irish Banktapes and claimed those responsible do not speak for the Irish people. The President was cheered when he made the remarks at a community garden party at his … See all stories on this topic »

Noonan: Sanctions against anyone who fails to cooperate with banking inquiry Irish Independent Minister Noonan made his comments in Limerick today where he agreed that the former Anglo Irish Bank chief executive David Drumm should co-operate, if he is part of any inquiry. The under fire former chief of Anglo has apologised for using … See all stories on this topic »

Family defend Lenihan after Drumm attack on Anglo Tapes Irish Independent The tapes reveal that former Anglo Irish Bank chief executive David Drumm wanted to “punch” the former finance minister in frustration during the banking crisis. Ms O’Rourke said the comments displayed an attitude that Mr Lenihan did not succumb to. See all stories on this topic »

Anglo tapes: Department of Finance records may provide answers to disturbing … Irish Times … be possible to forward legally privileged documents. Amid the drip-feed of information from Anglo, the wait continues for the full story of what really went on when the people of Ireland took on the debts of a crippled banking system. Tue, Jul 2 … See all stories on this topic »

Matt Cooper attacked by Drumm for Haughey comparison Irish Independent At the time, Cooper wrote: “It doesn’t help when David Drumm, the Anglo Irish Bank boss who was paid €5.9m last year, says that the Irish people are realistic and would tighten their belts when they had to. “Remember the hypocrisy of Charlie Haughey … See all stories on this topic »

Fionnan Sheahan: Apologies are all well and good – but Drumm must face the … Irish Independent How did Anglo Irish Bank manage to get into a position where it would require a state bank guarantee, an injection, nationalisation and liquidation – contributing to the country as a whole needing a bailout, which is inflicting pain on every citizen in … See all stories on this topic »

Time for Drumm to return and face questions after ‘sorry’ Herald.ie Five things to do. It comes after former Anglo Irish Bank chief executive Mr Drumm apologised for the language and tone of the Anglo tapes – but not for the lender’s role in the economic crisis. His expressions of remorse and regret have been brushed … See all stories on this topic »

‘Lenihan acted in Ireland’s interests unlike Taoiseach’ Herald.ie The former Fianna Fail TD was also fiercely critical of Taoiseach Enda Kenny for saying there was an “axis of collusion” between her party and Anglo Irish Bank. In the latest revelations from the Anglo Tapes, former Anglo CEO Mr Drumm said he wanted to … See all stories on this topic »

We’ll help gardai with probe, says Bank governor

THE Central Bank is examining whether Anglo Irish Bank “deliberately misrepresented” its position when it sought taxpayer support in 2008, according to the Governor Patrick Ho read full article

independent.ie

Ministers fear inquiry will prejudice future trials

CABINET ministers are worried about an Oireachtas banking inquiry, or witnesses before it, jeopardising any cases against former Anglo Irish Bank officials.read full article

independent.ie

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Anglo Irish Bank- Update From Home and Away

 

Anglo tapes: Department of Finance records may provide answers to disturbing questions

Background: The secret paper trail may come to light as political pressure builds read full article

irishtimes.com

Irish politicians ultimately to blame for Irish property crash and burn
IrishCentral
The BBC among others gave prominent coverage to Drumm’s apology for the nasty language on the now infamous tapes and also focused on his call for a new inquiry into what happened when Ireland gave complete guarantees to Irish banks at the height of …

Irish banking tapes strengthen Merkel’s hand
MarketWatch
The leaked recordings, made shortly after the Irish authorities agreed on a blanket guarantee for sixIrish banks in September 2008 amounting to 250% of Irish gross domestic product, were published last week by the Irish independent newspaper. Reuters.

See all stories on this topic »

Allied Irish Banks seen as reckless as Anglo calls reveal
Financial Times
“They [Bank of Ireland] think that Allied have played fast and loose with lending money to every cowboy in town – apart from ourselves also lending money to every cowboy in town,” John Bowe, Anglo Irish’s former head of capital markets, told David …

See all stories on this topic »

See all stories on this topic »

Anglo Irish Bank’s ex-CEO David Drumm Apologises for ‘Inappropriate … IBTimes.co.uk Defunct Anglo Irish Bank’s former chief David Drumm apologised for ‘inappropriate language’ and tone used in secret phone call recordings between executives, which some have suggested, wilfully misled the government over the financial health of the … See all stories on this topic » Micheál Martin: ‘There is no mystery about what happened on the night of the bank guarantee’ The Fianna Fáil leader has defended the actions of his predecessors in an interview this morning. read full article thejournal.ie

Anglo recordings may lead to a less polite banking inquiry Irish Times Some money for the Irish banks is only a sideshow to the bigger debate about austerity and the role of the ECB. Paradoxically, it would seem from reports over the weekend that the Germans are turning the Anglo tapes to their advantage, putting them … See all stories on this topic »

Day one: Clip 1 – The Central Bank Meeting Irish Independent Comments. Email; Print; Font Size. Conversation between John Bowe, Head of Capital Markets,Anglo Irish Bank, and Peter Fitzgerald, Director of Retail Banking, Anglo Irish Bank. Download our Free iPhone App Now. Download our Free Android App Now. See all stories on this topic »

Report: Former Anglo Irish head regrets tone in bank rescue calls Europe Online Magazine Transcripts of the call were released last week by the Irish Independent, prompting outrage. German Chancellor Angela Merkel called the conversations “unbearable,” especially one in which a banker begins humming Germany’s World War II-era anthem … See all stories on this topic »

Lisa McInerney: We tolerate cute hoors, we end up with Anglo tape types

Our capacity for putting up with ‘charismatic’ cowboys is no longer a bad national joke – it’s our national downfall. read full article

thejournal.ie

Drumm breaks silence in US to say ‘sorry’

FORMER Anglo chief executive David Drumm has denied there was any attempt by the bank to mislead the Central Bank and the regulator about the state of its financial woes. read full article

independent.ie

Fianna Fáil told: “Come clean on Anglo Tapes” – Local

Sinn Féin finance spokesperson, Pearse Doherty TD, commenting on the latest revelations from the Irish Independent about the Anglo Irish Banks’ executives taped telephone conversations, says Fianna… read full article

donegaldemocrat.ie

‘AIB and Anglo lending to every cowboy in town’

Allied Irish Bank was viewed by its main competitor as lending money to “every cowboy in town”, senior bankers reveal in the Anglo Tapes. read full article

independent.ie

Drumm says bank guarantee not sought

Former Anglo chief executive claims Irish public being ‘misled’ by leaked tapes read full article

irishtimes.com

Anglo Irish Bank- Latest updates from far and Wide

Merrill Lynch Wanted Anglo Irish Bank Shut, Reveals New Recording

IBTimes.co.uk
American-investment bank Merrill Lynch, external advisor to the Brian Cowen-led Irish government in 2008 and former corporate broker to now defunct Anglo Irish Bank (AIB), had recommended that the bank be shut down. The latest set of tapped phone …
See all stories on this topic »

Irish banker apologises for taped comments
Reuters
Anglo Irish ex-CEO made light of bank bailout. * In first public comments, Drumm says regrets tone and language. * Tapes prompted outrage in Ireland, criticism in EU. DUBLIN, June 30 (Reuters) – AnIrish banker taped saying he would demand cash from …
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The Quinn connection
Irish Independent
In the chaos, its executives believe that the reason their bank is failing is the country’s richest man,Sean Quinn, who has taken a gigantic bet on Anglo. In this section of the Anglo Tapes, John Bowe, the bank’s head of treasury, and Matt Moran, the …
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Cowen decision proof of FF’s cosy relationship with Anglo, says FG TD Irish Independent The decision taken by then Taoiseach Brian Cowen to ignore the advice of his external advisers is further proof of the cosy relationship that existed between “Fianna Fáil, their developer friends andAnglo Irish Bank,” Fine Gael TD Dara Murphy claimed … See all stories on this topic »

Anglo Tapes: Anatomy of the bank that broke Ireland Irish Independent (blog) The Anglo Tapes have delivered a riveting insight into the bowels of Anglo Irish Bank during the financial crisis that toppled the State. For the first time the public can feel what it was like to be some of the key men behind the fall of a bank which … See all stories on this topic »

New Tape Recordings Reveal Brazen Chicanery At Irish Bank That Soaked Its … Forbes Shocking tape recordings released this week display the heads of Anglo Irish Bank, the private bank favored by the wealthiest speculators and property developers behind the Irish boom, literally laughing about the subterfuges they played straight … See all stories on this topic »

Inside Anglo: Secret recordings expose strategy that sank Ireland Irish Independent Latest Videos. Listen: Clip 11(a) – Punch. Conversation between David Drumm, Chief Executive,Anglo Irish Bank and John Bowe, Director of Treasury, Anglo Irish Bank on December 15th, 2008. Clip 13: Moran on Quinn. Conversation between John Bowe, … See all stories on this topic »

‘Impossible to stomach’: Merkel slams Irish bankers who fudged bailout figures RT (blog) The internally-recorded phone calls, published earlier this week, reveal how two Anglo Irish bankexecutives misled the Central Bank of Ireland that Anglo bank required 7 billion euro to prevent its collapse. Anglo’s losses reached 30 billion euro … See all stories on this topic »

Further revelations from bank tapes Belfast Telegraph The former taoiseach’s government refused to shut down the Anglo–Irish Bank despite warnings from their external financial advisers, Merrill Lynch, that the institution was a “basket case”, the latest batch of recordings published in the Irish … See all stories on this topic »