NIB managers blame the bank

Bank managers at National Irish Bank (NIB) accused of overcharging customers have said they at all times acted "in accordance with the directions of their employers".

The statement was made yesterday following a Supreme Court ruling that the employees must answer questions put to them by High Court inspectors investigating allegations against NIB.

In its ruling, the court upheld a decision of the High Court in July 1998 but, in a major development in case law, added that involuntary statements taken from employees cannot be used against those employees in subsequent criminal proceedings.

The ruling means that the decision of the European Court of Human Rights in 1996 in the case of the Guinness executive Mr Ernest Saunders is now reflected in Irish company law investigations.

It is understood NIB managers will now tell the inspectors they learned about the overcharging of interest and fees while rising through the ranks in the bank, and that it was general practice throughout the bank. The practice ended only when an instruction was issued in 1990 from head office, following an internal audit report.

The managers will say they thought it was a "legitimate, time-honoured practice in all banks" and are "amazed" now to discover that it could be a criminal activity, according to one source.

The Supreme Court decision was welcomed by Mr John O'Reilly, the "named respondent" and a NIB manager, who took the case on behalf of himself and more than 75 other former and serving NIB managers.

"This is the first occasion in which Mr O'Reilly and his colleagues have felt able to make any comment on the matters touching this investigation," the managers said in a statement issued through O'Mara Geraghty McCourt solicitors, on behalf of all affected staff. "They are very pleased that the judgment of the Supreme Court now paves the way for their full co-operation with the investigation. For nearly a year, Mr O'Reilly and his colleagues have been subjected to scathing and vicious criticism in the public arena without any capacity to reply. They look forward to the opportunity presented of vindicating their good names before the inspectors and to establishing that they acted at all times with integrity and in accordance with the directions of their employers."

A spokeswoman for the bank, which is funding the court action and any legal costs incurred by its employees, said there would be no response to the comment. The statement from the managers is the first public evidence of the tensions which now exist within the bank and the concerns which exist over who will be blamed for any wrongdoing uncovered.

O'Mara Geraghty McCourt acts for the five bank managers in NIB branches mentioned in RTE reports on overcharging at NIB. The reports led to the appointment of the inspectors. Another legal firm, Mason, Hayes and Curran, acts for a further 75 serving and former managers.

The inspectors are inquiring into allegations of fee-loading and overcharging of interest, as well as the sale of unauthorised offshore bonds by NIB Financial Services Ltd and the facilitation of tax evasion.