Anglo spent thousands on entertainment around time of bank guarantee

It has emerged that Anglo Irish Bank spent hundreds of thousands of euro on client entertainment and staff parties just weeks before the Government introduced the bank guarantee in September 2008.

The revelations are contained in a new book by Irish Times journalist Simon Carswell.

It reports that just three weeks before the bank guarantee was introduced to save Anglo from collapse in the first instance – the bank spent €80,000 on a party for about 600 staff at the Mansion House in Dublin.

While the bank's financial position was becoming more precarious in December 2008, the bank spent €175,000 on a Christmas party for staff, again at the Mansion House.

That month the bank also spent €53,000 on hampers and wine for clients and €24,000 bringing customers and their children to the annual Christmas panto in the Gaiety Theatre in Dublin.