ECB ‘was right to not burn bond holders’, says European Commission

The decision not to burn senior bondholders has been proven right, the European Commission has said, confirming it agreed with the ECB’s decision at the time of Ireland’s €62bn bailout.

However, it did not receive detailed explanations from the ECB about why those who had invested in Anglo Irish Bank should be repaid by the Irish taxpayer, rather than losing their money as is the usual procedure.

The information is part of the European Court of Auditors report into how the commission managed its role in the austerity programme. It says co-operation between the troika members — the commission, ECB, and IMF — was informal only.