Fingleton: ‘I ran society in the best possible manner’

DISGRACED banker Michael Fingleton has branded as “slander” claims that he operated the now defunct Irish Nationwide Building Society as his personal bank.

The retired chief executive of Irish Nationwide also defiantly dismissed allegations that he provided free loans to close associates as “outrageous”.

Mr Fingleton — who is widely blamed for the collapse of Irish Nationwide — made a rare public appearance when he was summoned to appear before a hearing of the Employment Appeals Tribunal (EAT) in Dublin yesterday. A former manager of the society’s Monaghan branch, Brendan Beggan, is taking an unfair dismissal case against the society, which is now formally known as the Irish Bank Resolution Corporation following its merger with Anglo Irish Bank.