Juno McEnroe, of the Irish Examiner, has seen a report by the Public Accounts Committee which will not be published until next month.
The report on bank stabilisation – which included studying the decisions that were made leading up to the Sept 2008 guarantee, how the State dealt with the crisis, and efforts made to strengthen enforcement laws – found the Department of Finance is not ‘fit for purpose‘.
“Other findings include:
* Irish law is weak on enforcement in the finance sector when it comes to fines and bans, and there is no provision for reckless trading or presumptive sanctions for directors of failed banks
* The night of the bank guarantee there was no written proposal brought by senior bank chiefs in Bank of Ireland and AIB on the night when they argued for a guarantee;
* There was a lack of detail on the true position of the banks just before the guarantee, the financial regulator was “exercising inadequate supervision,” and a proper analysis of loan books was not done;
* Questions remain about why dated subordinated debt was included in the guarantee and no records of this decision were made available to PAC;
* Department of Finance information shows €122m has so far been spent since 2008 on consultancy costs for financial, legal and accountancy services linked to managing the crisis.”
TDs seek fines and bans for directors of failed banks (Juno McEnroe, Irish Examiner)
