FF urges Noonan to clarify his department’s role in hotel loans row

Fianna Fáil has waded into the email exchange controversy between the secretary general of the Department of Finance, John Moran, and representatives of billionaire investors David and Frederick Barclay.

The party’s finance spokesman, Michael McGrath, wants Finance Minister Michael Noonan to make a statement on the email correspondence between Mr Moran and Richard Faber, who works for the Barclay brothers, in relation to property developer Paddy McKillen’s loans held by IBRC.

Mr McKillen is involved in a bruising legal battle with the Barclay brothers over the Claridges, Connaught, and Berkeley hotels in London.

It emerged over the weekend that Mr Faber contacted the Department of Finance in 2011 looking for assistance in acquiring Mr McKillen’s loans following an unsuccessful attempt to reach a deal with IBRC.

Mr McGrath said: “The minister for finance has repeatedly said that the bailed-out banks are responsible for making commercial decisions on an independent basis and are not subject to any influence from government. Indeed, the division of responsibilities between the Government and the banks is clearly laid out in a series of relationship frameworks.

“It is therefore difficult to understand why Mr Moran, as head of the department’s banking unit in 2011, engaged himself in correspondence with a third party about the confidential banking affairs of a customer of a state-owned bank. This begs the question whether there is a special channel in the Department of Finance for certain individuals to have their grievances with the state-owned banks dealt with?

“I believe Minister Michael Noonan needs to make a statement on the information that has now come into the public domain. He should also clarify the nature of the assistance that Mr Moran was offering to the Barclay brothers in relation to their efforts to acquire Mr McKillen’s loans from IBRC.”

A spokesperson for the department declined to add to a statement issued over the weekend. “The Department of Finance does not accept that any improper or inappropriate communications or contact took place between officials of this department and Mr Faber. The department would encourage any investor interested in purchasing assets in any of the covered institutions to bring forward proposals. The objective is to maximise the return to the Irish taxpayer.”