Michael Clifford: Neither fear nor shame for the Money Men

The offices of Davy Stockbrokers in Dublin. Picture: Niall Carson/PA Wire

Where was the shame? Where was the fear? Where were the women?

On 2 March, the chief executive of Davy stockbrokers’ Brian McKiernan issued a memo to the company’s 700 staff. Some minutes earlier, the Central Bank had revealed that a record €4.1m fine was to be imposed on Davy for secretly taking the other side in a bond deal in which it was acting as broker. It was a scam, involving 16, mainly senior, staff members in Davy’s, in which the seller didn’t realise that the broker was acting for itself. Just like an estate agent telling you he’ll get the best deal for your house, but he secretly buys it himself for less than the market value.