Madam, - Sean FitzPatrick admits that, upon reflection, his behaviour in relation to his €87 million loan from his own bank was "inappropriate". It's funny how, having behaved inappropriately for eight years, he had his reflective moment just before the details were to be published.
One would expect that a man at the helm of one of the country's largest banks would be an insightful and intelligent individual who, unlike a naughty child, would be fully aware of the appropriateness or not of his behaviour. This can only lead one to the conclusion that his apparent contrition is insincere humbug.
The other worrying issue coming out of this is that the financial regulator has known of this behaviour for many months. One must hope, therefore, that the Minister for Finance knew also; and if not, why not?
We are now in a situation where a vast chunk of the National Pension Reserve Fund, built up by the hard work of taxpayers, is to be handed over to the banks to save them from themselves. Serious questions need to be asked about the culture pervading the running of these institutions. - Yours, etc,
BARRY WALSH,
Blackrock,
Cork.
Madam, - It has taken Sean FitzPatrick eight years to realise that hiding connected loans from the balance sheet was ethically wrong. In the same eight years, the malpractices of large corporations around the world (Enron, Parmalat, World Com to name but a few) have been exposed and their executives jailed for their off-balance-sheet practices. It should therefore come as little surprise to the Government that few people believe the balance sheets of our leading banks.
In his defence Mr FitzPatrick says he did nothing illegal. Yet the essence of good corporate governance goes well beyond definitions of legality and illegality. It concerns the ability to do the right thing when nobody is watching. The fact that the bank's independent directors failed to spot Mr FitzPatrick's behaviour is therefore irrelevant.
One would hardly expect a group of closely connected individuals to "spill the beans" on one of their own. Small wonder that Ireland's banks failed to spot the warning signs of the economic downturn and even less surprising that no international suitors emerged during the boom period. - Yours, etc,
Dr DAMIAN TOBIN,
Twickenham, London.
Madam, - Your front-page sub-heading yesterday that "FitzPatrick is first high-profile Irish casualty of global crisis" gives the impression that Mr FitzPatrick was a victim of forces outside of Ireland. I suggest it should have said he was "a casualty of his own greed".
Judging by what we read he has performed his role in a totally inappropriate manner and there is no way he could have carried out this scam by himself. I would expect the Office of the Director of Corporate Enforcement (ODCE) to investigate this matter and bring to account those involved.
The main worry must now be that this type of practice is endemic, or seen to be endemic, in our publicly quoted companies and banks and that at a time when we need to galvanise ourselves to get over a severe recession we will be deflated and undermined by more shocking news of this kind.
It appears we have a new "golden circle" and that we learnt little from the Haughey years. - Yours, etc,
NIALL MURPHY,
Cratloe,
Co Clare.
Madam, - According to Sean FitzPatrick, "the transfer of the loans between banks did not in any way breach banking or legal regulations. However, it is clear to me, on reflection, that it was inappropriate and unacceptable from a transparency point of view".
It is profoundly disturbing that these antics did not "in any way breach banking or legal regulations". And it is even more shocking that this powerful individual needed a period of "reflection" to appreciate that his behaviour was "unacceptable from a transparency point of view".
Perhaps, with a further period of reflection, he will come to appreciate that is is also inappropriate and unacceptable from the points of view of trust, moral integrity, and duty of care, to mention but a few. - Yours, etc,
DEIRDRE HASLETT,
Clonard Drive,
Dublin 16.
Madam, - The front page of yesterday's Irish Times truly says it all. The beaming face of Conor Cruise O'Brien, a lifelong principled servant of the Irish nation, is juxtaposed with the headline: "Anglo-Irish chairman quits over transfer of loans". I think we need more of the principled breed of Irish men and women and fewer of the "pups" of the Celtic Tiger. God save Ireland! - Yours, etc,
PAT HOEY,
O'Callaghan Strand,
Limerick.