‘I did not know details of Anglo transaction’ – ex-chairman

THE former chairman of Anglo Irish Bank has told a jury he did not know the detail of ‘round-the-house’ transactions with Irish Life and Permanent, ‘because when I found out it was a shock to me’.

Donal O’Connor, who succeeded Seán FitzPatrick as Anglo chairman, said he knew of a large deposit from ILP but was not aware of what he termed ‘the round-the-houses issue’ until three months after the transaction. He told Mary Rose Gearty SC, prosecuting, that a mention of a figure of €7.2billion at a November 2008 meeting piqued his concern, but said he was assured by the director of finance that this was normal balance sheet management.

He was giving evidence at the Dublin Circuit Criminal Court trial of former Anglo CEO David Drumm, 51, of Skerries, Co. Dublin. Mr Drumm denies conspiring with former bank officials Denis Casey, William McAteer, John Bowe and others to defraud depositors and investors at Anglo by ‘dishonestly’ creating the impression deposits in 2008 were €7.2billion larger than they were.

He also denies false accounting on December 3, 2008, by furnishing information to the market that Anglo’s 2008 deposits were €7.2billion larger than they were. He accepts multi-million-euro transactions took place between Anglo and ILP in 2008, but disputes that they were fraudulent or dishonest.

Yesterday, Mr O’Connor told Ms Gearty that he dialled into an audit committee meeting on November 18, 2008, as he was in Australia.

Mr O’Connor said that towards the end of the lengthy meeting there was a reference made to ILP.

‘I interrupted, butted in, and asked, “Is that window dressing?”’ he said.

Mr O’Connor said Willie McAteer, former director of finance at Anglo, replied that it was ‘normal balance sheet management’. The witness told the jury he got the impression the ILP transaction had been cleared and that there was no issue with it. The trial continues.