The Big Bailout of the Eurozone (Another crisis coming? - Seriously)

[muppet]

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/frontpage/2008/1219/1229523105585.html

Another icon of the Celtic Tiger with feet of clay - Sean Fitzpatrick. Irish Nationwide being the holding bank - there's a surprise.

Shameless f**kers the lot of them. Wonder how the "normal" Anglo workers feel this morning and wonder who their auditors are?

Were giving these b**tards a state guarantee and billlions in bail outs - Any good reason why we just don't nationalise them all?

Down 9c to 23c. Will it survive the day?

[the Deel Rover]

[

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/frontpage/2008/1219/1229523105585.html

Another icon of the Celtic Tiger with feet of clay - Sean Fitzpatrick. Irish Nationwide being the holding bank - there's a surprise.

Shameless f**kers the lot of them. Wonder how the "normal" Anglo workers feel this morning and wonder who their auditors are?

Were giving these b**tards a state guarantee and billlions in bail outs - Any good reason why we just don't nationalise them all?

where the fcuk was the financial regulator when all this was going on ?? Then again wasn't he well up in the banking industry before he got that job ?

[Bensars]

im confused. (nothing new ) Was this a personal loan he gave himself or was it moving the banks money to make the accounts look better ?

[the Deel Rover]

seems to be the latter bensars

[the Deel Rover]

Independent

Friday December 19 2008

In each Anglo Irish Bank annual report there is a note on the accounts showing the total loans given to directors. This total is measured at a single point in time -- in Anglo's case September 30. For eight years prior to 2008, Sean Fitzpatrick transfered some of his loans from Ango Irish Bank to Irish Nationwide. He would then transfer the loans back to Anglo at a later date.

Therefore, for eight years, the figure for the total directors' loans given in the Anglo accounts was inaccurate. Indeed, 2008 was the first year Mr Fitzpatrick revealed his accurate figure, which amounted to €87m. Twice the sum of the other 12 directors' loan figures.

While this transfer of loans did not breach the law, it could be seen as inappropriate from a transparency point of view.

- Maeve Dineen

[the Deel Rover]

 
Saturday December 20 2008

Anglo Irish Bank's auditors only became aware on Thursday evening of former chairman Sean Fitzpatrick's practice of temporarily concealing loans from the bank.

Ernst & Young is understood to have been unaware that Mr Fitzpatrick transferred loans over an eight-year period to Irish Nationwide Building Society before Anglo's year-end so they would not be recorded in the Anglo's annual accounts.

This revelation came as accountancy expert Niamh Brennan said the kind of transfer carried out by Mr Fitzpatrick was quite common and should have been spotted by the bank's auditors.

Professor Brennan, who is academic director for the Centre of Corporate Governance at UCD, also queried why such large transactions were not scrutinised under the stringent laws designed to combat money laundering.

"It was such a simple operation that it is almost unbelievable that it could have been successful," said Prof Brennan. "You sometimes get this kind of window dressing in companies, coming up to the time when the books are to be done by the auditors. Transactions in that period should be scrutinised by the auditors."

Prof Brennan said she found it hard to believe that the transactions were not known to, or assisted by, other staff in Anglo-Irish. "At least one other person must have known," she said.

Thorough

E&Y said yesterday that it does not comment on clients' business. However, it is believed the firm is comfortable that its audit structure is complete and thorough and that this is not an issue that normally comes up and could be easily concealed.

While the practice did not breach banking or legal regulations, Mr Fitzpatrick has conceded "on reflection, that it was inappropriate and unacceptable".

The Financial Regulator became aware of Mr Fitzpatrick's loan transfers during a review of Irish Nationwide's books in January but the Department of Finance and Finance Minister Brian Lenihan were not informed until recent days.

The watchdog had told Anglo to ensure these loans were accounted for in the annual report for Anglo's full-year to the end of last September, which is due for release soon.

The issue also came to a head during the week as Anglo's talks with the Government regarding its recapitalisation plans intensified, and Finance Minister Brian Lenihan asked the regulator to check out loans to directors of the group.

It subsequently emerged the watchdog had been looking into the issue since January.

Prof Brennan said that the Financial Regulator's decision to keep the matter confidential was a cause for concern.

"I should imagine that the Taoiseach and Finance Minister must be feeling very let down that this was not made known to them earlier," she said.

- Joe Brennan and Brendan Keenan

[muppet]

As of today the market cap of these companies is:

AIB  2,025,520,452
BOI 1,154,822,801
Anglo 793,390,071
IL&P 390,263,115

Their total value is €4,263,996,429.

2 years ago today those figures were:

AIB 19,079,930,413
BOI 15,661,323,506
Anglo 10,352,078,333
IL&P 5,310,839,688

The total value then was €50,404,171,940

The writing is on the wall, floor and ceiling.

As of close of business on Friday the figures were:

AIB 1,453,090,759
BOI    677,830,775
Anglo 265,983,261
IL&P 401,057,627

Total €2,797,962,422

That is the total value of the banks. Their debt is over €300 Billion and possibly up to €400 Billion depending on who is spinning the figure. Leveraging now somewhere between 107 and 143. 

[the Deel Rover]

muppett what do you think of the role of the financial regulator in all of this? He knew all about fitzpatricks dealings back in January yet did not inform any one about this till this week?

[Hardy]

P45

[muppet]

muppett what do you think of the role of the financial regulator in all of this? He knew all about fitzpatricks dealings back in January yet did not inform any one about this till this week?

I dont work in the financial sector so my opinion comes with a huge health warning.

If the transaction was serious enough for the Chairman and CX to resign because of a lack of transparency it would appear, given that the regulator knew about it and didn't inform the minister, he should probably go as well for the same lack of transparency.

However, now is not a good time to chop all the the heads of the financial sector. So I'd say he offered/will offer his resignation and it probably wasn't/wont be accepted by Lenihan.

[the Deel Rover]

P45

Yeah my thoughts exactly hardy

[Fear ón Srath Bán]

muppett what do you think of the role of the financial regulator in all of this?

AKA Mickey Mouse.

[comethekingdom]

€1.5bn for Anglo Irish Bank and €2.0bn each for AIB and BOI - Good value for us taxpayers??

[armaghniac]

AIB and BOI have bad business, but also a lot of good business. The government, or strictly the National pension fund now has first call on the profits of these banks. Not sure about Anglo.

[Declan]

More raping of the ordinary taxpayer - Latest government announcement is a joke. Let's give the bastards that got the banks into this mess more money. How long will people take this before taking to the streets?