IBRC high-profile borrowers range from billionaires to bankrupts

The list of "sensitive" borrowers who were clients of Anglo Irish Bank or Irish Nationwide range from billionaires to bankrupts, demonstrating just how embedded the bank was among Ireland's boom-time investors.

In total, Anglo, later renamed IBRC and merged with Irish Nationwide, kept three lists of politically exposed persons (PEPs) or high-profile persons (HPPs) to ensure that the State-owned bank did not offer nor could be perceived to have offered any of them special treatment.

The three lists comprised borrowers from the bank, investors via its private bank and mortgage holders whom it took over after its merger with Irish Nationwide.

The lists, compiled after the bank’s nationalisation in 2009, were used to update IBRC’s board regularly on credit decisions, as well as occasionally to inform the Minister for Finance if special circumstances demanded it. There is no suggestion that borrowers are not repaying their loans, except where otherwise noted.

Billionaire Denis O'Brien is named on the lists along with Keith Wood, a former rugby international, with whom the telecoms and media entrepreneur has co-invested in various golf property deals.

Quinn family
Entrepreneur Seán Quinn, his family members and former management, including former Quinn Group chief executive Liam McCaffrey, were also put on the lists because of the importance of their business interests to the Irish economy.

John Magnier and JP McManus, the horse-racing billionaires, featured at one stage because they were high profile and had borrowings of more than €250 million to buy London commercial property via a company called Sloane Blackfriars.

The bank also included on its lists borrowings related to former staff and former board members of Anglo, including David Drumm, Lar Bradshaw, Fintan Drury and Tiarnan O'Mahoney. The list also included family members of staff or former staff.

Being a lawyer or a judge also meant you were put on the lists to ensure, for example, that the bank could not be accused of having a conflict of interest in any of its many legal actions.

Lawyers placed on the lists include Brian O'Donnell, a prominent lawyer adjudicated a bankrupt in 2013, a senior counsel with borrowings of more than €30million and about a dozen other senior lawyers who were clients of Anglo's private bank division.

Having a high sporting profile also put borrowers on the lists, including names like boxing manager and bookie Barney Eastwood, former international rugby outhalf Ronan O'Gara, and Ellis Short, the owner of Sunderland football club.

Media personalities who featured on the bank's HPP list include Duncan Bannatyne, star of Britain's Dragons' Den, and Shane Filan, the bankrupt former Westlife singer. Newstalk presenter Pat Kenny and Paul McGuinness, the former U2 manager, make it on to the lists because of their minor stakes in property syndicates.

Some of the State's most successful businessmen are also named, including Seán O'Driscoll, the managing director of Glen Dimplex.

Tony O'Reilly, the former chief executive of Independent News & Media, via his investment company Indexia Holdings, and an investment company of meat baron Larry Goodman, also feature.

Politicians and journalists
International businessmen including British fashion and retail billionaire Richard Caring are among many other names included,alongside partners in some of the State's biggest law and accountancy firms.

Irish Nationwide’s mortgage book includes the names of various politicians as well as journalists and socialites.

All of the people listed above have been previously reported as borrowers of either Anglo or Irish Nationwide.