This may be the straw that breaks Anglo’s straining camel

QUITE apart from the shock resignations of chairman Sean FitzPatrick and chief executive David Drumm, Anglo Irish Bank had been under severe pressure since the start of the year.

Since then, it has seen more than €10 billion wiped from the value of its shares, which were seven cents lower at 25c in Dublin by mid-afternoon yesterday, having earlier fallen as low as 19c.

Anglo’s share decline has been a major feature of the group since the start of the year, simply because fund managers believe its exposure to the property sector will see it face massive bad debts in the years ahead, calling into question the ability of the bank to survive as a separate entity.