Anglo Irish Bank - what a mess !

[RMCF]

Just listening to the news reports over the last couple of days regarding Anglo Irish Bank, some things really come to mind:

1) Can Sean Fitzpatrick be charged and jailed for what he did? Being one of the main causes for a bank to collapse warrants jail time, does it not? And how is the Gov going to "try their best to get him to pay back the loans" - surely now he is just an ordinary member of the public like us? How is he going to get the €80million+ he owes?

2) What exactly does the Financial Regulator do in this country? They seem to see no wrongs that have happened over many years?

3) How can professional auditors not see lumps of money around €80million moving in and out of the books?

 

[diarmuidc]

Just listening to the news reports over the last couple of days regarding Anglo Irish Bank, some things really come to mind:

1) Can Sean Fitzpatrick be charged and jailed for what he did? Being one of the main causes for a bank to collapse warrants jail time, does it not? And how is the Gov going to "try their best to get him to pay back the loans" - surely now he is just an ordinary member of the public like us? How is he going to get the €80million+ he owes?

2) What exactly does the Financial Regulator do in this country? They seem to see no wrongs that have happened over many years?

3) How can professional auditors not see lumps of money around €80million moving in and out of the books?

1. It's not so straightforward. Let's let the law take its course. If he committed a crime he should pay for it. It's not his 80m loan that is the problem in Anglo, it's just a symptom of a bigger issue, the extravagant lending etc... They are going to try and get it back by (I'd imagine) seizing his assets as much as they can.

2. Not a lot from the looks of things.

3. Good question. Again it comes down to a question of was it just incompetence or malicious. Either way some heads should roll.

As hard as it is to believe it is actually possible to destroy billions in wealth through incompetence and mismanagement. cf GM/Ford. Not saying that that is what happened in Anglo but just to keep in mind that it is possible.