THE scene: Anglo Irish Bank HQ, St Stephen’s Green, Dublin 2. Location: The Sean FitzPatrick Memorial Room for Humble Bankers. Interviewers: Outgoing Anglo Irish Bank chairman Donal O’Connor and current director Maurice Keane (ex-Bank of Ireland) Interviewee: Gary Kennedy (ex-finance director AIB) Vacancy: A seat on the board of Anglo
Monthly Archive
for: ‘May, 2010’
No Wonder Merkel’s Angry
WHAT a great week for Ireland. Our nemesis, the credit rating agencies, are beating a retreat; the British Tories have been forced to form a coalition government; Cameron and Clegg are going to follow us down the road of pain and penance; the two happy UK victors are 18 months behind us. And we know …
Credit Ratings Agencies Playing God
THEY all bear neutral names, like ‘Moody’s,’ ‘Standard & Poor’s’ and ‘Fitch’. Such soothing sounds disguise fiendish power. So far this year the dreaded global ratings agencies seem to have flown below the Irish radar. Probably because they have been nursing self-inflicted wounds. Last year they managed to perform a feat almost unparalleled in Irish …
AIB Wimps and Cute Hoors
Last Wednesday I set out for the AIB agm. The shareholders were mostly the usual pensioners, battered by the hardship inflicted on them by the bank they once trusted. Nothing had changed on Wednesday, although AIB chairman Dan O’Connor is far softer on the surface than his predecessor Dermot Gleeson. First he listens with concern …