Director loans to face scrutiny

THE Financial Regulator has moved to try and avoid a repeat of the loans-to-directors scandal which rocked Anglo Irish Bank before Christmas, by drawing up plans to make it illegal for financial institutions not to include such details in their annual reports.

Under its new proposals, banks and financial services companies will have to — in their annual reports — publish details of the maximum amount of loans it provided to directors during the year under review and the year-end balance of borrowing by relevant directors and people linked to them.

The Regulator will have the final say on the details of the requirements, but said yesterday it hopes the proposals will become legally binding and effective by the beginning of next month.