Department of Finance given draft of Anglo's annual report

A DRAFT copy of Anglo Irish Bank’s annual report, which is expected to contain further disclosures about practices in the bank, has been received by the Department of Finance.

The document is due for publication on February 20th, but the Department of Finance last night refused to offer any insight as to its contents.

Privately, departmental sources suggest that the Government had hoped that the disclosure about Irish Life and Permanent’s (ILP) controversial Anglo Irish Bank deposits could have waited until next week.

The Government had hoped that it could have then arranged for Irish Life’s chief executive Denis Casey’s departure to have been pre-agreed, rather than achieved in the way that it was yesterday.

However, the Department of Finance could not say last night if Anglo executives with knowledge of the ILP deposits will now have to quit because of their role in the affair.

The full information about the loan – and particularly the fact that it was lodged as a customer deposit and not as a bank deposit – was not given in the PricewaterhouseCoopers report sent to the Department of Finance last October, and not then read by the Minister for Finance, Brian Lenihan, in its entirety.

The Government was justified in pressing for resignations yesterday because more information about the transactions was now known, partly because of the Financial Regulator’s inquiry and partly because of the State’s greater knowledge of the workings of Anglo, Government sources sought to argue last night.

Speaking shortly after Mr Casey’s resignation was announced, Mr Lenihan said: “Last night I stated that the board of Irish Life and Permanent must discharge its responsibilities in relation to the serious matters that have arisen.

“I welcome Mr Casey’s decision to resign from his position in the group. This is an essential first step in repairing the reputational damage done to the Irish financial system by this transaction.”

He had demanded a further meeting with the chairman of ILP, Gillian Bowler, after learning that the board of the company had refused Mr Casey’s offer to resign at its board meeting on Thursday, which finished near 3am.

Meanwhile, the Minister for Trade and Commerce John McGuinness has said the Garda Fraud Squad should probe the deal.

“I think that that level of investigation is absolutely necessary. If we’re going to restore confidence in the banking system which is now almost shattered, we’re going to have to start somewhere,” Mr McGuinness said.