FORMER IRISH Nationwide chief executive Michael Fingleton met investigators from the Office of the Director of Corporate Enforcement on Monday as part of their inquiry into Anglo Irish Bank.

The concealment of loans by former Anglo chairman Seán FitzPatrick using short-term borrowings from Irish Nationwide is one of four areas being investigated by the Director of Corporate Enforcement Paul Appleby.

A spokesman for the corporate enforcement office declined to comment on the nature of the meeting.

Mr Fingleton declined to comment when contacted yesterday.

The former Irish Nationwide chief executive was photographed by the Irish Daily Mailentering the Office of the Director of Corporate Enforcement on Parnell Square in Dublin on Monday.

It’s understood the office has sought to interview other former INBS staff in recent months.

Mr FitzPatrick concealed borrowings of up to €122 million at Anglo, borrowing short-term loans from Irish Nationwide in the days before Anglo’s financial year on September 30th and repaying them with fresh borrowings drawn from Anglo several days later.

Investigators are also examining a loan given to one of Anglo’s directors in 2008; the lending by the bank for the purchase of shares in the bank held by businessman Seán Quinn; and the content of Anglo’s financial and other public statements in 2008.

Mr Appleby has said he expects the investigation into Anglo to be completed by the end of the year.

He will seek an extension to his office’s investigation beyond the July 28th deadline set by the High Court last May.

Mr Justice Peter Kelly criticised the progress in the investigations by Mr Appleby’s office and the Garda Bureau of Fraud Investigation into Anglo last May, saying that it was “not at all satisfactory”.

Mr Appleby defended the pace of his investigation last month, saying substantial progress had been made in a “complex” case. Similar investigations in the UK took four to six years.