Madam, – It has been reported that on foot of a conversation in which Brian Cowen was told by Seán FitzPatrick about businessman Seán Quinn’s then secret investment in Anglo Irish Bank, Mr Cowen told Mr FitzPatrick he would refer the issue to the governor of the Central Bank, and did so (Home News, January 10th).
Mr Cowen, as minister for finance at the time, must have known that Anglo Irish Bank had a duty to inform the stock exchange and therefore shareholders of any issue that could materially impact on share valuation. It seems extraordinary that he did not move to protect the interests of shareholders, many of whom relied on dividends to meet anything from nursing home costs to school fees. – Yours, etc,