Last Saturday’s Irish Independent reported that the former Anglo Irish Bank compiled a list of ‘politically-exposed persons’ (PEP) borrowers, which included certain rugby players, RTÉ stars, musicians, judges and some senior legal professionals, before it was liquidated last February.

The paper reported that the list was presented to the board of IBRC every quarter after it was nationalised in 2009 and that some of the high-profile borrowers’ details were provided by the IBRC to the State under a dedicated ‘Relationship Framework’ document, regulating dealings between the Finance Minister and the bank, after it was taken into State ownership.

At the time IBRC was liquidated, many of these loans were performing, others were impaired while other debtors couldn’t agree on a repayment strategy.

The newspaper didn’t reveal any names and, in its editorial said: “The identity of the PEPs was and remains confidential.”

But yesterday, the paper reported further on the list, saying six Catholic religious orders were placed on the PEP list, as well as a retired senior judge, an RTÉ star, an insolvency expert, a bestselling novelist, a member of the Seanad, lawyers, journalists, some of the country’s leading pension funds, a prominent businessman (*cough*) and a property syndicate, involving a number of “law library luminaries”

The Sisters of the Infant Jesus were on the PEP list and ‘suffered in the crash’, while the Diocese of Ossory escaped without any losses.

Meanwhile, this morning, the Irish Times reports former chairman of Anglo Irish Bank Alan Dukes saying:

“The relationship framework between Anglo/IBRC and the Minister for Finance provided for notification to the Minister of matters of potential public interest. Very few such cases actually arose. In no case was there any discussion of preferential treatment of any kind… “IBRC created the lists of politically exposed or high-profile persons to ensure there could be no suggestion that any credit decision in relation to somebody well-known or influential had been granted preferentially.”

Hmmm.

No Special Deals For Listed Anglo Borrowers Says Alan Duke Tom Lyons, Irish Times)

Religous Orders On Politically Exposed Anglo List (Irish Independent)

RTE stars, judges and rugby elite who owe Anglo millions (Irish Independent)