ANGLO IRISH Bank could be refloated into the private sector in the future, the bank’s chairman designate Alan Dukes has said.
Mr Dukes said closing the bank down immediately would hit taxpayers to a much larger extent than keeping the bank in operation and potentially producing a viable business bank.
“Closing down the bank at this point would crystalise losses that can otherwise be spread over a period of years,” he said. Such a move would result in losses of more than €20 billion. “Keeping the bank afloat, it will require capital assistance from the Government. [But] it would be much less than that [€20 billion].”
Mr Dukes, who will take over as chairman when Donal O’Connor steps down later this year, said it would be more rational to allow the bank to develop as a more viable entity that could be floated in the future with a potential net benefit to the taxpayer.
However, he admitted there would be cases where the bank would not be able to recover all the money it is owed.
He also told RTÉ radio that the bank was in the process of downsizing its balance sheet to reduce the need for funding, and said the recapitalisation would put it in a “far better position” to go to the market for the funding it required.
It was announced yesterday that Mr O’Connor has notified the Minister for Finance Brian Lenihan of his intention to step down in June. He joined as a non-executive director in 2008, and was asked to take on the role of chairman six months later.
“With a major cost reduction programme well advanced, with the restructuring plan having been submitted to the EU, and, most importantly, with a new senior management team in place [including six external appointments], the bank is now in a position that allows me to move on,” Mr O’Connor said.
Mr Lenihan will announce the appointment of a number of non-executive directors to Anglo’s board in the coming weeks.
Mr O’Connor’s decision to leave comes in advance of the publication of a report into corporate governance at the Dublin Docklands Development Authority, the State agency where Mr O’Connor was chairman and Mr FitzPatrick was a board member while both men were on the board of Anglo.
