Bankers’ testimony challenged - Banking inquiry conflict

IRELAND’S member of the European Court of Auditors Kevin Cardiff was in charge of the Department of Finance unit that had oversight of banks on that fateful, generation-defining and expensive night — September 29th/30th 2008, “guarantee night” as it has become known.

He was involved at the highest level but had no direct or indirect commercial interests in the proceedings. He was there as a very senior and trusted employee of the State to make suggestions and follow political instructions. He did all of those things during those extremely difficult hours and those proceedings form the basis of a 380-page submission he has made to the banking inquiry where he is due to give evidence this Thursday.

That submission, details of which were published by The Sunday Business Post, strongly challenges the version of events already given to the inquiry by senior bankers Eugene Sheehy, the former AIB chief executive, and Brian Goggin, the former CEO of Bank of Ireland.