Executives with IIB Bank, formerly Irish Intercontinental Bank, will now spend an anxious few days or weeks awaiting the next move of the Tanaiste, Ms Harney.
Since the existence of the unauthorised Ansbacher deposits was first revealed by the McCracken tribunal in 1997 the merchant bank has found itself dragged into an ongoing controversy.
In September 1998, when seeking the appointment of a High Court inspector to Ansbacher (Cayman) Ltd, the Cayman Islands bank at the heart of the Ansbacher deposits, a senior civil servant revealed details of the involvement of IIB Bank in the secretive financial operation.
Mr Paul Appleby said the report by authorised officer Mr Gerard Ryan into Ansbacher (Cayman) Ltd documented loans from IIB which were backed by money in the Ansbacher deposits.
In November 1990, the late Mr Des Traynor met IIB to discuss transferring the Ansbacher deposits from Guinness & Mahon bank. Shortly afterwards Mr Traynor negotiated a £2 million sterling (€3.2 million) loan from IIB for Lyndon Properties, a company associated with the Cork businessman Mr Clayton Love (70). IIB agreed, at Mr Traynor's request, to delete any mention of the cash security for the loan from the associated facility letter.
This then served as a prototype for further such loans. "During the period 1991 to 1997, IIB provided loan and guarantee facilities of up to the equivalent of sterling £24 million to Irish individuals and to companies owned by Irish individuals which were secured on cash deposits provided by the company (Ansbacher)," Mr Appleby told the court.
Two companies, Carlisle Trust and Alstead Securities, accounted for £17.5 million sterling of the total cash backed lending. These are property companies associated with Mr John Byrne.
A complex scheme was put in place involving moving the cash security from Dublin to London and back again so it ended up in Dublin under the name of IIB's London parent.
Executives with IIB gave evidence to the Moriarty Tribunal last year. Mr John Reynolds said that when Mr Traynor approached IIB in 1990 he was a well-known and highly regarded figure in Irish business.
Another IIB executive, Mr Liam Donlon, told the tribunal he agreed to the request from Mr Traynor to delete mention of the cash security from the facility letters but did not know why Mr Traynor wanted this done. He presumed it was for confidentiality reasons. He said the bank wanted to facilitate Mr Traynor as much as possible while securing its own interests.
The deposits were not significant in terms of the bank's overall business, Mr Reynolds told the tribunal. It was suggested the bank was sorry it ever got involved with Mr Traynor. "You can take it we wish we weren't here," Mr Reynolds said.
