McAteer settled €8.2m loan with Anglo before liquidation

Willie McAteer, the former finance director of Anglo Irish Bank, settled an €8.2 million director's loan with his former bank prior to it going into liquidation in 2013.

Mr McAteer reached a settlement agreement with Anglo over a year ago. The agreement was approved by its State-appointed board of directors, which had special rules in place to ensure former employees were not favourably treated relative to other borrowers.

Mr McAteer agreed to sell assets, including his family home in Rathgar, Dublin 6, as well as shares and other investments in order to repay his former bank. He is also believed to have made a commitment to the bank to share in any income he may make in the future.

This could include a share in any earnings he may make from High Court proceedings he initiated in March against Matheson, the law firm that advised Anglo on its dealings with the so-called Maple 10.

Mr McAteer was found guilty last month of allowing Anglo make illegal loans to 10 developers known as the Maple 10 in order for them to buy shares in the bank. He was spared a jail sentence and Judge Martin Nolan said at his sentencing hearing that, among the mitigating factors he had considered, was that the banker was of the view and "given that view" that the Maple 10 lending had been given a "green light" by Anglo's lawyers.

The manner in which McAteer borrowed €8.2 million originally has been known to be the subject of an investigation by the Garda fraud squad and the Office of the Director of Corporate Enforcement since 2010.

A file has been sent to the Director of Public Prosecutions for its consideration.

Mr McAteer initially was loaned €8.2 million by Anglo on the day before the bank guarantee on September 29th, 2008. This loan was to prevent Bank of Ireland selling Mr McAteer's shares in Anglo, which it held as security against his borrowings. As Anglo's share price fell sharply during that period, Bank of Ireland put Mr McAteer under pressure to sell off his stake to repay his loan to it.

If Mr McAteer had sold his shares in Anglo at that point in the financial crisis, it would have had to be declared to the stock market and would likely have caused the bank’s share price to collapse even more dramatically. To prevent this happening, Mr McAteer refinanced his Bank of Ireland loan with Anglo itself. Initially his borrowings from Anglo were secured only on his Anglo shares.

Importantly, however, following the nationalisation of Anglo in January 2009, Mr McAteer agreed to provide the bank with a full personal guarantee, ensuring he took full responsibility for his debts. He later negotiated a settlement agreement with it on this basis.