Third arrest for FitzPatrick

Former chairman and chief executive of Anglo Irish Bank Seán FitzPatrick has now been arrested a total of three times in connection with the investigation into the collapse of the bank.

Mr FitzPatrick, who resigned from his post in 2008, was arrested in March 2010 and in December 2011 as gardaí investigated the circumstances surrounding the bank's collapse.

With up to 80 per cent of its loans in property investment and construction Anglo was massively exposed to the sector at the time of the property crash in 2007/08.

As chief executive and subsequently chairman of Anglo, Mr FitzPatrick presided over one of Ireland's greatest boom-and-bust stories and became one of the State's most prominent bankers during a 33-year career with the institution.

Mr FitzPatrick built the bank from a net worth of €5 million in 1985, growing it to €13.3 billion at its peak in mid-2007, only to see it drop €13 billion in value in the 19 months before his resignation.

He became chief executive of the bank in 1986 and his appointment as non-executive chairman when he was replaced as chief executive by David Drumm at the end of 2004 was criticised by fund managers as being counter to best practice guidelines on corporate governance.

He resigned from the bank in December 2008 when details of secret loans of up to €87 million taken out with the bank came to light.

The loans were transferred to Irish Nationwide Building Society before the banks reporting year-end only to be transferred back shortly afterwards.

Mr FitzPatrick also resigned his non-executive directorships with Aer Lingus, food company Greencore and packaging group Smurfit Kappa.

David Drumm resigned as chief executive of Anglo Irish Bank shortly afterwards.

Mr FitzPatrick attracted controversy before his resignation when he was a guest on Marian Finucane's RTÉ Radio 1 programme on the Saturday after the Government announced the €440 billion bank guarantee.

While the former Anglo boss thanked taxpayers for the exposure assumed by the State for the country's banks, he refused to apologise for the crisis, claiming that Irish banks were themselves victims of the global credit crunch.

He most recently came to the public’s attention at Euro 2012 where he was photographed checking into a hotel in Poznan ahead of Ireland’s match against Spain.