Major tensions between IBRC and the Department of Finance went well beyond Siteserv. Relations were so bad that Minister for Finance Michael Noonan said shortly after the Siteserv sale that there was now a serious problem as he was not confident in reporting on IBRC’saffairs to the Dáil.
Among the controversies between the IBRC and the Department were the way it conducted a number of other deals, pay and appointments at the banks, and the way it handled a number of its major borrowers.
The tensions are revealed in documents released to The Irish Times under Freedom of Information legislation, with matters coming to a head at a meeting on July 25th, 2012 attended by Mr Noonan and his senior officials, IBRC chairman Alan Dukes, and Mike Aynsley, its chief executive.
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As well as Siteserv, issues of concern to the Department included the sale of a high profile residential block in New York where one IBRC staff member raised serious questions, the appointment of US firm Backstone to sell IBRC assets without proper procedures being followed, and some aspects of its dealing with the Quinn family, details of which are not revealed.
Controversy
The Government last night moved to quell the Siteserv controversy by asking IBRC’s special liquidators, Kieran Wallace and Eamonn Richardson, to examine the 30 or so sales by IBRC valued over €10 million.
The Government is insisting it did not establish the review into deals struck by the former Anglo Irish Bank because of “any evidence of wrongdoing”.
The report will be completed by the end of the summer.
However the revelations of a major breakdown in relationship between the Department of Finance and the IBRC will put new pressure on the Government to outline the reasons for its concerns and its response.
Fianna Fáil leader Michéal Martin said the review, established by Mr Noonan, is the incorrect response and called for a commission of investigation, as did Sinn Féin’s Gerry Adams.
Mr Dukes is scheduled to give a press conference later today on the Siteserv controversy. Mr Dukes has contradicted the Government’s account of how it dealt with concerns over Mr O’Brien’s acquisition of Siteserv. The freedom of information documents also show him strongly defending IBRC’s position.
The documents show repeated controversies between IBRC and the Department over pay levels and appointments, and a number of major rows where the Department accused the bank of not clearing key appointments or pay increases.
Trust
In one case, where a chief financial officer was appointed when the Department believed full approval had not been given, briefing notes refer to it being a “ typical example of the type of behaviour that undermines trust between the department and the bank.”
The Department also questioned the way IBRC management handled its major borrowers, instancing text messages exchanged between Mr Aynsley and developer Paddy McKillen, one of Anglo’s major borrowers, details of which emerged during a London court case.
Mr Aynsley responded relations between IBRC and its major borrowers “must be close but that they are not inappropriate” , saying the clients were managed to ensure a maximum return. He told the Minister and his officials relationship with major borrowers such as McKillen and Denis O’Brien “ are strong but not inappropriate.”
Last night, TV3 said it had a letter to Mr Noonan on behalf of Mr Aynsleywhere he strongly defended his role in IBRC
One of the final meetings in August 2012 between Department secretary general John Moran and Mr Aynsley agreed a range of steps to improve controls and oversight.