A judge has ruled that it would be “incredibly unjust” to send two Anglo banking executives to jail as they were led into “error and illegality” by a state agency, the country’s financial watchdog.

The sentence hearing of the two former Anglo Irish Bank directors convicted of providing illegal loans to 10 individuals is due to open at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court today before Judge Martin Nolan.

The jury in the fraud trial of three Anglo Irish Bank directors over a multimillion loans-for-shares scheme have begun a third full day of deliberation.

The jury in a fraud trial of three Anglo Irish Bank directors over a multimillion loans-for-shares scheme will this morning begin a second full day of deliberations.