Anglo case: Global financial panic influenced conspiracy

The criminal conspiracy of which former Anglo Irish Bank figures Willie McAteer and John Bowe have been found guilty took place in late September 2008 against a backdrop of international panic in the financial services sector.

The bank was preparing its accounts for the year to the end of September, and felt it had to boost its deposits, which were becoming seriously depleted.

The court heard in detail during the trial about the problems in the international banking system and how this meant depositors were looking for safe harbours.

Anglo Irish Bank was facing difficulties: its share price had fallen sharply and the trial focused on a transaction designed to improve its year-end account for 2008, which the prosecution held amounted to a conspiracy.

Meanwhile, detailed evidence was also given that Irish bankers were getting a clear message from the financial regulator and the Central Bank that they should “put on the green jersey” and help each other get through the storm.

McAteer was at the time Anglo’s director of finance and Bowe was its head of capital markets.

Both men have now been found guilty of being party to a criminal conspiracy for their role in circular transactions whereby Anglo lent a total of €7.2 billion to Irish Life and Permanent, which in turn, via Irish Life Assurance, lent the money back to Anglo.

The net result was to boost Anglo’s balance sheet, making it look more attractive to investors.

Mislead

The State argued that this was a conspiracy intended to mislead the market and investors.

Lawyers for the Anglo accused argued that their clients believed that the deposits were real deposits and were accounted for correctly on Anglo’s balance sheet and so no fraud was carried out.

The bulk of the money flowed in transactions that took place on September 29th and September 30th, 2008, with the latter being the date on which the Irish government announced its guarantee for the deposits of six Irish banks, including Anglo.

Ironically, the announcement of the guarantee instantly made the Irish banks attractive to depositors.

Also on that day, the Central Bank supplied Anglo with €1 billion in emergency funding after the bank said it might not otherwise be able to meet its obligations.

Neither McAteer nor Bowe gave evidence during their trial. However, Bowe’s work with Anglo meant that all his telephone conversations were recorded and snatches of conversations relevant to the charges were disclosed at the trial.

Discussion

In one conversation, on September 29th, 2008, Bowe discussed the largest of the transactions with McAteer and the bank’s then chief executive,

David Drumm

.

The trial also heard of voluntary statements the accused had given the Garda. Matt Cullen, senior manager at Anglo's treasury department, gave evidence of discussing the then proposed transactions with both Drumm and McAteer, and their giving their approval.

When an official in Anglo, Tony O’Hanlon, refused to sign off on the transactions,because of their size, McAteer, the trial heard, did so in his capacity as chief risk officer.

The details of an Anglo audit committee meeting on November 18th, 2008,when the transaction was discussed, also featured in the trial.

The two men were charged in 2013 after the Garda Bureau of Fraud Investigation initiated inquiries into the transactions in March 2009.

The trial, before Judge Martin Nolan, began in January of this year and is the longest running trial in the history of the State.

The two men have been remained on bail until tomorrow.