“Quinn is trying to scare us into thinking these bondholders are going to come in…”

From the Irish Times… David Drumm, the former chief executive of Anglo Irish Bank, believed Seán Quinn was trying to “scare” the bank into lending him more money as the financial crisis deepened in June 2008. Tape recordings of conversations between bankers inside Anglo reveal the bank believed Mr Quinn was threatening it to keep funding his position in Anglo, which was held using contracts for difference (CFDs), or risk his international bondholders seizing control of his empire. This would …

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Aventas: “These scandalous attacks orchestrated by a small group of criminals and their equally criminal sponsors…”

As the BBC reports, Lagan Cement Group has suffered damage of more than 1m euros (£820,000) in three separate attacks. The attacks followed the announcement that Lagan was buying, subject to approval, Rooftiles in County Fermanagh from the Aventas Group. The arson attacks at Lisburn, County Antrim, Comber, County Down, and Carrigtwohill, County Cork, are reported to have occurred since the Feb 4 announcement of the sale of Rooftiles, which is based in Derrylin, to the Lagan Group. The Aventas …

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After the #AngloTapes revelations, “you cannot put people in jail for stupidity…”

This a great conversation from last night’s Prime Time Special (apologies for cutting out Paul Williams of the Irish Indo who’s scoop is driving most of this renewed and energetic discussion)… Worth highlighting is Colm McCarthy’s point that whilst any Irish citizen can download a 2000 page report of the collapse of Lehmann Brothers, there is virtually no bank by bank explanation as to how every single bank in the country had to be bailed out by either the Irish …

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Shane Ross on calls for an Inquiry: “This is already a political battlefield…”

Following up on John’s post, Shane Ross said on RTE this morning that any inquiry into the Anglo Banking mess must be take place outside the political arena. He noted that Labour is already attacking Sinn Fein over their support of the bank guarantee scheme back in 2008. As John has already pointed out this is very delicate politically for Fianna Fail (tune in for Leaders Questions this afternoon for the first installment)… Ross says the courts should be the …

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#Anglotapes: If they saw the enormity of it up front, they might decide they have a choice.

Following the release of tapes of Anglo staff discussing how they present their case for support, in the lead up to the bank guarantee, there are more revelations in todays Irish Independent (which has been breaking the story). You can listen to the tapes via the Indo’s website (at the links above), but here are a couple of key quotes, as transcribed by the Journal.ie: Bowe on what the actual monetary requirement could be: That number is seven [billion] but …

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Zombie Republic of Ireland (2010-2013)

Tonight, on #promnight, the winding-up has been announced of the Zombie Republic of Ireland, formed in 2010 when the former sovereign state became a ward of the Bundestag’s finance committee. The end-of-life processes of the former Republic were accompanied by rushed late night decision-making and ill-considered legislation. The death notice, issued from ECB President Jean-Claude Trichet, has never been made public. The zombie successor state was artificially kept in an animated state as a toxic repository where 1% of the EUs population has been assigned 42% of the European banking debt. Tonight, this European banking debt is poised to be consolidated as sovereign debt in late-night …

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“The loans were provided as part of the unwinding of an indirect 28 per cent stake in the bank amassed by Mr Quinn…”

Three former executives of Anglo Irish Bank, former chairman Seán FitzPatrick, former finance director Willie McAteer and former managing director of the bank in Ireland Pat Whelan, charged with “giving unlawful financial assistance to buy shares” have been sent forward for trial at the Irish Circuit Criminal Court.  As the Irish Times report notes The charges relate to loans provided by Anglo to a group of investors – ten customers known as the “Maple 10” – and to the five children of …

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“Sean Quinn didn’t invest in Anglo Irish Bank, he bet on it”

As the cost of the adminstration of Quinn Insurance mounts, and to the sound of u-turns from ill-advised supporters of the bankrupt Sean Quinn, BBC NI business editor, Jim Fitzpatrick, sets out the facts in the case of the former billionaire.  Here are a few key points Sean Quinn didn’t invest in Anglo Irish Bank, he bet on it If all he’d done was buy shares, his losses would have been limited. But Sean Quinn chose a dangerous financial instrument …

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Sinn Fein turning on a sixpence over the Quinn family affair?

The good lord knows that Sinn Fein did not invent that old Irish political stock in trade of saying one thing to one set of people and saying quite another to another set… but the party’s split voice on the Quinn family debacle (the Independent has some of the personal detail) is striking… So the MP for Fermanagh and South Tyrone gave the Irish government both barrels for its treatment of the Fermanagh businessman: He has been treated disgracefully by …

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Sean Quinn: “We felt it was the right thing to do and we still feel it was the right thing to have done…”

The jailing of his son and nephew was supposed to be “a practical way” of procuring compliance with the court orders to reverse the contempt of court in putting assets beyond the reach of the former Anglo-Irish Bank, now the state-owned Irish Bank Resolution Corporation (IBRC). Instead, the bankrupt Sean “I am not dishonest” Quinn snr has embarked on an unapologetic PR campaign.  Whilst his still ‘on the run’ nephew, Peter Darragh Quinn, has been reportedly photographed with his father at a GAA match in …

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Three former Anglo Irish Bank executives charged with “giving unlawful financial assistance to buy shares” – Updated

With Gardai still seeking Peter Darragh Quinn following the jailing of Sean Quinn jnr after the recent contempt of court ruling, two former Anglo Irish Bank senior executives have appeared in Dublin Criminal Court.  From the Irish Times report The bank’s former finance director Willie McAteer and executive Pat Whelan are the first people to be charged in the three-and-a-half-year-old Anglo Irish Bank investigation. Mr McAteer (61), with an address at Auburn Villas, Rathgar, Dublin was charged with 16 counts of giving unlawful …

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Sean Quinn son and nephew jailing “a practical way” of procuring compliance

Well, we’ll see.  Having been given three weeks to reverse their contempt of court in putting assets beyond the reach of the former Anglo-Irish Bank, now the state-owned Irish Bank Resolution Corporation (IBRC), the bankrupt Sean “I am not dishonest” Quinn snr, his son Sean, and his nephew Peter Darragh Quinn have failed to convince the court of their compliance with the court orders.  As a result Sean Quinn jnr and Peter Darragh Quinn have been jailed for three months. Miss Justice Elizabeth Dunne ruled later, …

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Household Charge, Promissory Note, Ard Fheis: the day before April Fools’ Day

While everyone is conveniently busy not paying the Household Charge by the 31st March, the clocks are ticking towards the same deadline for payment of a €3.06 billion promissory note for Anglo-Irish Bank. Fortunately, as reported by the Journal.ie, Finance Minister Michael Noonan told the Dáil last week that: The discussions with the European authorities on the general issue continue but we are now negotiating with the EU authorities, and principally with the ECB, on the basis that the €3.06 billion …

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Is a Yes vote in #euref absurd?

Taoiseach Enda Kenny has already signed the European fiscal compact treaty along with 24 other European Union leaders at a ceremony in Brussels, although it still has to go to a referendum in the republic (at an as yet unknown date). The text of the treaty is provided here and is relatively short. A couple of extracts from Article 3 (below) give the real substance of this. ARTICLE 3 1. The Contracting Parties shall apply the rules set out in this paragraph …

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#af12 “No. No interest, feck ’em.”

It appears that the truth is very slow to dawn on some people. The gates had to be closed as early as 2.25 pm and there were huge queues outside the RDS on the day, but The Examiner gets pretty close to the actual optics of the Fianna Fáil Ard Fheis: The queues on Saturday were not for the ard fheis but for the nearby Working Abroad Expo. It goes on to do some vox pops on what those attending …

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IBRC: “Today’s Commercial Court judgment gives clear, unambiguous recognition to the legal obligations of Mr Quinn…”

Following last week’s order to repay loans of almost €417 million that Sean Quinn had personally guaranteed, today the Dublin Commercial Court added additional loans worth over €1.6 billion to the bill. The ruling was made at the Commerical Court in Dublin. The total involves 1.52bn euros, $589m and 13 billion Japanese yen. Mr Quinn did not attend the proceedings. The official receiver in charge of Mr Quinn’s bankruptcy in Northern Ireland indicated he would be making no application to challenge the order. …

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Sean Quinn’s statement of affairs to NI Court ‘appeared to be unsatisfactory’

That’s according to reported comments by lawyers for the Official Receiver in Northern Ireland who, following Sean Quinn’s application for UK bankruptcy, is currently in control of Quinn’s worldwide assets. The comments were made during a Dublin Commercial Court hearing on an application by the Irish Bank Resolution Corporation (IBRC) for the repayment of €2billion in loans which had been personally guaranteed by Sean Quinn.  From the RTÉ report The Irish Bank Resolution Corporation told the Commercial Court the action for judgment should go …

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Irish Bank Resolution Corporation [formerly Anglo Irish Bank] to challenge Sean Quinn’s UK bankruptcy application

Interesting development in the continuing complicated legal battle between Sean Quinn, and family, and the artists formerly known as Anglo Irish Bank [now the Irish Bank Resolution Corporation (IBRC)]. On Friday Sean Quinn was declared bankrupt at the High Court in Belfast despite, as the BBC report puts it, “the majority of the 64-year-old’s holdings and debt being from the Irish Republic.” The application to be declared bankrupt in the UK came just days before a Dublin Court was due to hear an application …

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I share the Irish public’s dismay at the cost and unfairness of this policy

In this morning’s Irish Times, the Taoiseach, Enda Kenny, offered everyone the wisdom of his thoughts on the payment of a €700m unsecured unguaranteed Anglo-Irish Bank bond. The whole piece is worth a read. He states that: Part of the existing agreement with our external partners is not to allow any Irish bank, including Anglo Irish Bank, default on its debts to bondholders for fear of paralysing wider European financial markets. I share the Irish public’s dismay at the cost …

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Lab + SF = FF + FG + 18.4%: #aras11 warm down

Presidential elections don’t tend to tear the space-time fabric of Irish politics. But as mood shifts, Mary Robinson and Mary McAleese both managed to encapsulate subtle moves away from the manichean nonsense of patrician Catholic ‘civil war’ politics south of the border. The soon to be returned 9th President, Michael D,  will happily cite them as examples of why any judgement on him should be deferred to hindsight. At least he won’t be burdened by the dire forecasts that the 8th President carried into office with her. While …

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