Minister waiting for regulator's report

IDENTIFYING BANK customers would require the involvement of the High Court, Minister for Finance Brian Lenihan told the Dáil yesterday.

He said that the transactions involving the Quinn Group and Anglo Irish Bank were complex in character and must await the Financial Regulator’s final report.

“Concerning the identification of parties who are customers of financial institutions, it would require the exercise by the Director of Corporate Enforcement of his decision to consider invoking a High Court inspection to bring matters of that character to light.”

The Minister was replying to Fine Gael’s Richard Bruton, who challenged him to say why he believed that the House was not entitled to know that Anglo Irish Bank was under investigation for both the unwinding of the Quinn Group’s shareholding, and Irish Life and Permanent’s deception concerning its deposit base, when he was proposing legislation for the nationalising of the bank.

One of the proposals that Fine Gael sought to adopt was that any write-offs of loans by the bank would be made public.

“Knowing the 10 names would have resolved some concerns,” Mr Bruton said. He said the defence used was that the investigation could have been prejudiced.

Mr Lenihan said he could not warrant the accuracy of all of the information in the public domain, as he had not yet received the Financial Regulator’s full report. The inquiries were incomplete prior to the bank’s nationalisation.

Mr Lenihan said that he had identified his concerns, but he could not have put information that had not been finalised on the record of the House.

Labour’s Joan Burton said that even for Anglo Irish Bank, loans totalling €300 million, at €30 million per head, was a significant exposure. She asked how it was possible that the loans were not listed for examination, given the fact that the collateral used for them was shares.

Mr Lenihan said all those of high net worth were considered in the PricewaterhouseCoopers exercise, but the matter in question was not disclosed in the report.

“Why not?” asked Ms Burton. “It is what the report was about.” Mr Lenihan said that they must await the regulator’s report.