You may recall the disturbingly cosy text messages between IBRC (formerly Anglo) chief executive Mike Aynsley and property developer Paddy McKillen.
Minister for Finance Michael Noonan has now said he wrote to the bank’s chairman Alan Dukes seeking assurances in relation to the messages.
And In reply to a parliamentary question, Mr Noonan said that “in the opinion of the bank” the text messages were “an appropriate and necessary communication to confirm to the client the outcome of the board’s deliberation with regard to the future of his loans”.
He said he was told by the bank that text messaging is “a normal means of communicating with people quickly and efficiently in certain circumstances, in particular with clients who travel regularly and who do not have immediate access to email”.
And, you know, he’s cool with that.
Noonan hasn’t always had such faith in bankers..
In 2009:
Fine Gael Limerick East TD Michael Noonan said the banks had misled the public, the Dail and their shareholders over an 18-month period by saying there was “no problem here, no toxic loans”. “If lying was an Olympic sport, we could put out a team of bankers and they would win gold for Ireland,” he told the Dail last night.
Bankers Lied To Public Over Extent Of Toxic Property Loans (Irish Independent, September 23, 2009)
And in 2010:
But on RTE’s ‘This Week’ programme, Mr Kenny increased the pressure on the Government to hold an inquiry into the causes of the banking crisis.He said he was prepared to nominate former party leader Michael Noonan to lead an all-party committee investigation.He said it was necessary to find out what went wrong in the banking sector. “This affects every single person. The Government are afraid to have an inquiry. Every minister says of course we’ll have an inquiry, but not yet,” he said.”A small few inside a golden circle — closely associated with the majority party in Government, Fianna Fail — have walked away with bulging pockets out of this, to the detriment of every other taxpayer in the country. That’s not the sense of values I have, and that’s why we need an inquiry now into why this happened,” he said.
Hopes Of Early Vote Unlikely Concedes Kenny (Irish Independent, January 11, 2010)
(Sasko Lazarov/Photocall Ireland)