McCreevy subject of European ethics inquiry

AN AD HOC ethics committee in the European Commission is examining a directorship held by former commissioner Charlie McCreevy in a new firm which aims to capture a significant share of the British banking market.

Amid criticism of Mr McCreevy’s involvement with NBNK Investments, the company last night said the recently retired internal markets commissioner will have a “less substantial” board role in the coming months and will not receive directors’ fees in that period.

NBNK Investments was set up during the summer by former Lloyds chairman Lord Levine to pursue acquisition opportunities in the British banking sector. As institutions seek to recover from the financial crash, some large players are selling assets to comply with EU competition rulings.

In August, NBNK took a £50 million (€57.86 million) stock market listing on the Alternative Investment Market in London with funding from investors including Aviva, FC Management, Invesco and Och-Ziff Capital Management.

Mr McCreevy’s appointment has prompted criticism in the European Parliament, where generous “transition” allowances paid to Mr McCreevy and many of his former commission colleagues have met with a frosty reception.

Labour MEP Nessa Childers said NBNK was “feeding off the financial crisis” fanned by Mr McCreevy’s “light-touch” approach to financial regulation. “The bitter irony will not be lost of the thousands of people in Ireland and across Europe who lost their jobs due to the financial crisis.”

The ethics committee in the EU executive is examining Mr McCreevy’s board membership under rules obliging former commissioners to “behave with integrity and discretion” as regards the acceptance of certain appointments or benefits.

A spokesman confirmed its establishment but declined to comment on its work.

Mr McCreevy left the commission in February and is obliged during a one-year transitional period to notify it when he takes up a new job. The commission establishes an ethics committee in the case of notifications with a possible conflict of interest.

This is the second ethics committee to examine Mr McCreevy’s work since he left the commission. Last May, another committee cleared his membership of the Ryanair board but said he could not advise the airline on any case involving its business which came before the EU executive’s internal markets division when he was commissioner. As internal markets commissioner, Mr McCreevy was the originator of new legislation to set up a new pan-European system of financial regulation.

Mr McCreevy’s remuneration from Ryanair would be deducted from his €11,150 per month “transition allowance”. He also receives an annual ministerial pension of €74,746 and a €52,213 pension for having served as a TD.