Goggin quiet on Freefall report

FORMER Bank of Ireland chief executive Brian Goggin refused to be drawn into the controversy over who said what to the Government on the fateful night of September 29, 2008, when the bank guarantee was introduced to prevent a run on the Irish banks.

Mr Goggin said: “It would be inappropriate for me to make any comment.”

“I am not making any comment and I hope you understand why,” Mr Goggin said when contacted by the Irish Examiner.

The RTÉ documentary Freefall reported Anglo asked to be taken over by Bank of Ireland (BoI) because it was insolvent.

It also claimed that Goggin and his chairman, Richard Burrows, informed Taoiseach Brian Cowen that, on the basis of their meeting with Anglo, they believed the bank was insolvent.

Mr Cowen denied being given that information as he scrambled to introduce the bank guarantee to protect the country’s banks.

Finance Minister Brian Lenihan added to the controversy when he said there was a requirement on any Bank of Ireland employee to report the insolvency issue regarding Anglo if they had reason to believe that was the case.

The RTÉ programme said the Bank of Ireland became aware of Anglo’s insolvency following a meeting on September 29, 2008, with Anglo’s then chairman Sean Fitzpatrick and David Drumm, who was chief executive at the time.

Goggin became chief executive of Bank of Ireland in mid-2004 following the resignation of Michael Soden for personal reasons.

Goggin reported to Soden as the bank’s chief executive of Asset Management Services.

He refused to confirm or deny the nature of the discussions he had on the night of September 29, 2008, when he met Mr Cowen and Mr Lenihan in Government Buildings, along with top executives from AIB, to outline their concerns about Anglo.