Anglo refuses to say if it can force Fingleton to return €1m bonus

ANGLO Irish Bank has refused to divulge if it has any leverage to force former Irish Nationwide Building Society chief executive Michael Fingleton to give back a €1 million bonus and watch worth €11,500 given to him on his retirement.

Anglo chairman Alan Dukes said Mr Fingleton should return the watch and bonus immediately, but admitted they did not have a legal basis to recover them.

Mr Dukes refused to say if there was “any” leverage they could use to secure the return of the “utterly inappropriate” cash and “gift”.

In 2009, Mr Fingleton said he would pay back the €1m bonus. INBS did hold back €400,000 of the bonus to pay tax, but Mr Fingleton received €600,000. His overall retirement pension pot was €27.6m.

“The issue of the watch is something that has come to our attention only in the last few days and I have to say we were extremely taken aback. It seems to us that it was a gesture totally out of keeping with the position of INBS at the time,” Mr Dukes said.

Asked if there were any other outstanding legacy issues of this nature which have arisen since Anglo’s takeover of INBS Mr Dukes said: “It is with some trepidation that I say no, or at least not so far. To be fair to the board of INBS, they seem to have a good handle on things.”

Mr Dukes did say that once it is established who made the decision to give Mr Fingleton the watch they would make the information public. Mr Fingleton received the gift, which cost €21,150 as INBS paid tax of €9,650 that would otherwise have been levied on Mr Fingleton, just weeks after announcing losses of €243m for the previous year.

The Department of Finance said: “It is a disgrace that the building society spent funds in this manner, especially given the cost to the taxpayer from INBS’s failure.”

The watch was purchased from Paul Sheeran Jewellers, 7-8 Johnson’s Court, Grafton Street, Dublin.

Paul Sheeran refused to comment on the transaction.