Former bank director faces action over €1.76m ‘debt’

A FORMER AIB director who has advised famous businessmen including Tony O’Reilly and Ben Dunne is facing High Court legal action over his own bank ‘debts’ of €1.76million.

Bernard Somers and his wife Marguerite are being sued by fund Launceston Property Finance over loans advanced to the couple by the former Anglo Irish Bank in 2010.

Mr Somers’s lawyers told the Commercial Court he will pay what he owes by next March and said he has a track record of paying back millions to the banks.

Judge Brian McGovern yesterday adjourned the case until then to ‘see if he’s as good as his word’.

In June 2010, Mr Somers borrowed €3.6million from Anglo to ‘renew and extend existing commercial facilities [loans]’. It was secured against his south Dublin family home which was a ‘very valuable asset’, according to court papers before the judge yesterday. The loan was originally to be repaid in full by May 31, 2011, the court papers say.

After Anglo was renamed IBRC and then wound up, the loan was transferred to Launceston Property Finance, which then began pursuing the couple for repayment. Since then, Launceston has received repayments of more than €1.5million from Mr Somers, of Foxrock, Dublin 18, reducing the debt to €1.76million, according to court papers.

Yesterday, lawyers for Launceston asked Judge McGovern to grant the case entry to his fast-track Commercial Court so it could be heard as soon as possible.

But Judge McGovern said Mr Somers had already paid ‘considerable amounts of money owing’ and was promising to pay the rest.

The judge adjourned the case until March 12.