Quinn shareholding compounded Anglo crisis, says former CFO

Former chief financial officer (CFO) at Anglo Irish Bank Matt Moran is expected to claim today that the crisis in the institution was compounded by businessman Seán Quinn's stakeholding in the bank.

Mr Moran, who joined the institution in 2002, is due before the Oireachtas banking inquiry today and is expected to tell members no one foresaw the depth or length of the crash.

He will also claim Anglo’s position was complicated by reports of Mr Quinn’s economic interests. Mr Moran will say the market believed Mr Quinn was under financial pressure and this allowed some to exploit the share price of the bank.

He is expected to tell the inquiry immediate pressure was placed on the share price, causing investors to sell, which weakened prices further, creating a negative spiral.

Mr Moran served as chief finance officer during the years leading up to the bank bailout, before taking up the role of finance director in January 2009, the month Anglo was nationalised.

He will say liquidity became the daily focus of the bank from August 2007 and that intensified after the 2008 “St Patrick’s Day massacre” when Anglo’s share price fell dramatically.

Mr Moran will say other market factors, such as below double AA ratings and high exposure, increased the pressure. He will also say liquidity hit first as a risk, and solvency became a serious issue more gradually.

In 2013 it emerged Mr Moran had been granted immunity from prosecution by the Director of Public Prosecutions for all matters relating to Anglo.

He has since given evidence in legal proceedings on behalf of the State, including in the trial of the bank's former chairman Seán FitzPatrick and two former directors, Patrick Whelan and William McAteer, who were accused of giving unlawful financial assistance to 16 people to buy Anglo shares. Mr FitzPatrick was found not guilty on all counts. Mr Whelan and Mr McAteer were sentenced to community service.

Mr Moran is also expected to tell the inquiry he supported the decision to introduce a blanket bank guarantee.