Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Thursday, 16 July 2015

Committee of Inquiry into the Banking Crisis

Nexus Phase

Mr. Paul Gallagher:

Absolutely, the ... and, in fact, it was a really serious concern, because the ... it's written into the statutes and, in fact, on their website, you'll see with their explanation of ELA, that, if they think it involves monetary financing, then they are prohibited. And, therefore, if they are effectively supporting banks that should have been supported by the State, that is equivalent to monetary financing. That was a very big issue in relation to Anglo and the whole resolution of the promissory note issue, and the very beneficial deal that was, ultimately, achieved by this Government in relation to the promissory notes and the replacement with the government bonds. So, legally, he was absolutely correct.