Wednesday, March 31, 2010
FINANCE Minister Brian Lenihan has indicated the State intends going after Irish Nationwide’s former chief executive Michael Fingleton over a €1m bonus paid to him weeks after the banks were guaranteed.
Changes would be made on the building society’s board, Mr Lenihan announced last night after the Government revealed it would take ownership of the embattled financial institution.
The Government will nationalise Irish Nationwide with a capital injection of €2.7bn by the end of the year.
Mr Lenihan said that after changes were made to its board, the issue of Mr Fingleton’s bonus "would be raised" with the building society’s new bosses.
During a lengthy briefing with journalists last night on NAMA and the funds needed to keep Ireland’s ailing banks operational, the minister said there was no need for immediate borrowing to inject new capital into the banks.
Extra time had been given to Allied Irish Bank to source its own capital following a recommendation from the Financial Regulator, he added.
Disposing of AIB’s assets in the US and Poland among places would take time, he said, but this may not be enough to prevent the bank being nationalised in the long term.
The minister rebuffed a suggestion it could be easier to close down Anglo Irish Bank instead of injecting it with potentially up to €22.3bn. Instead, he said it could be possible to "carve something out of it" in the years to come and salvage some of its assets which in turn could lessen support from the taxpayer.
But he admitted a "final figure" on what Anglo would need could not be given at this stage.
The minister, echoing comments he made in the Dáil, said he wished there had been "more options" with Anglo but his advice from the Governor of the Central bank was that there were not.
Mr Lenihan defended the discounts achieved by NAMA in taking over the banks’ loans despite previous estimates being wrong.
"I don’t think anywhere in Europe you’d find as aggressive an asset agency."
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