Lenihan: Anglo will not bring down country

FINANCE Minister Brian Lenihan has insisted nationalised Anglo Irish Bank will not be allowed to bring down the country.

He wants to extend the state’s guarantee on bank borrowing to ensure the country’s three main banks, Allied Irish, Bank of Ireland and Anglo, can borrow the €25 billion they need to keep going this month.

The minister asked EU Competition Commissioner Joaquin Almunia to agree the extension in a 90-minute meeting in Brussels during which the country’s financial system and the future of Anglo were put under the microscope.