Life in old Anglo yet but presentation of results somehow suggested a swansong

ANALYSIS:Yesterday was the last time Anglo Irish Bank will report under its now infamous name

IT MAY not quite be the beginning of the end, but the presentation of Anglo Irish Bank’s results yesterday seemed like something of a swansong.

It was the last time Anglo will report under its now infamous name. By October, Anglo and its new partner, Irish Nationwide, will be officially known as the Irish Bank Resolution Corporation (IBRC).

Chief executive Mike Aynsley was keen to highlight the progress made over the last two years. Having been instructed to take the “wind-down” route rather than the good bank-bad bank option favoured by management, the bank has had to reinvent itself as a restructuring and recovery bank rather than a lender.

Setting aside the colossal loss to the taxpayer, the figures seem to suggest the objective at least has been achieved. The balance sheet has been reduced from €94 billion at December 2008 to €54 billion at June 2011, inclusive of all capital injections.

Following the sale of the US loan portfolio, which is expected to be completed by the end of the year, Anglo will have reduced its net loan portfolio by about 77 per cent from €69 billion at December 2008 to €16 billion, plus an extra €2 billion which it is inheriting from Irish Nationwide.

While the sale of its US loan portfolio will lead to a significant downsizing of its loan book, the bank insists that selling off loans is not necessarily the best option.

“When you sell the book, there is a capital consequence,” one senior Anglo executive said yesterday. “A much better outcome is to collect the debts.”

The bank collected repayments of close to €3 billion across all its jurisdictions during the first half of the year, much at 100 cent in the euro.

Despite the huge level of interest in its US loan book, Anglo said there was little real interest in its Irish loan portfolio at the moment, though it is open to pursuing this avenue.

Meanwhile, the bank said it would defend itself vigorously in the various legal actions in which it is involved with the Quinn family. It is also taking a tough stance on debtors, though some customers – particularly those who were loaned money by Anglo to invest in funds or Anglo shares – may feel hard done by that the very bank that encouraged unsustainable borrowing levels and questionable investment strategies is now so vigorously pursuing them “on behalf of the taxpayer”.

Yesterday, Mr Aynsley was frank about the future for those who work for the bank, particularly those who have left the bank for AIB. “People don’t have the expectation of a long-term career here.” But he was also philosophical, welcoming the fact that despite Anglo’s toxic image, some of its staff are now in demand. Even the sorry tale of Anglo, it seems, has a silver lining.