Mr. Simon Carswell:

In the aftermath of the guarantee being introduced, Anglo used the guarantee to go out into the market and attract deposits very aggressively. It was not alone. Only one or two banks said they were told by the regulator not to use the guarantee to solicit deposits. Certainly, it made such news that day that Ireland was regarded as a safer bet because the Government was standing behind it.

The perception on the night was that Anglo was still going to be nationalised even after that decision was made. The view was that the decision made on the night of the guarantee was a stopgap measure that might buy the banks some time. The Government, through the Central Bank, in consultation with the banks that went in that night, asked each bank for €5 billion to tide Anglo over which, if one looks at the rate of loss of deposits for the bank, would have brought it to the weekend, maybe a little bit longer. So the measures that were introduced that night were regarded by people leaving the building that night as buying time. I think the view was that nationalisation was still very much on the table but the regulatory authorities expressed concern that a bank could not be nationalised mid-week because of the complications and technical issues that come with that. The belief was that nationalisation would still happen at the weekend.