Results 9,121-9,140 of 27,945 for speaker:Michael McGrath
- Committee of Inquiry into the Banking Crisis: Nexus Phase (13 May 2015)
Michael McGrath: And what would you say to the argument that, you know, getting the audit is a very lucrative business, huge streams of revenue for your firm and essentially an auditor is not going to rock the boat because an auditor wants to be back the following year doing the same job again and earning massive fee income? What would you say to that argument?
- Committee of Inquiry into the Banking Crisis: Nexus Phase (13 May 2015)
Michael McGrath: Returning briefly -----
- Committee of Inquiry into the Banking Crisis: Nexus Phase (13 May 2015)
Michael McGrath: Sure Mr. Cullen yes.
- Committee of Inquiry into the Banking Crisis: Nexus Phase (13 May 2015)
Michael McGrath: Returning briefly to IAS 39 Mr. Fitzpatrick, it has been very significant in the context of Irish banks. Did the adoption of that standard mean that audited financial statements no longer had to comply with the true and fair view standard? It didn't remove the true and fair view standard?
- Committee of Inquiry into the Banking Crisis: Nexus Phase (13 May 2015)
Michael McGrath: And did you personally, and Deloitte generally, feel it was an appropriate standard?
- Committee of Inquiry into the Banking Crisis: Nexus Phase (13 May 2015)
Michael McGrath: Okay. The Central Bank Act 1989, as you know, places an obligation on auditors to report to the Financial Regulator if they have any reason to believe that there are any circumstances which would affect the bank's ability to meet its financial obligations, for example. Did Deloitte make any such report to the Financial Regulator under section 47, pertaining to Ulster Bank?
- Committee of Inquiry into the Banking Crisis: Nexus Phase (13 May 2015)
Michael McGrath: Yes.
- Committee of Inquiry into the Banking Crisis: Nexus Phase (13 May 2015)
Michael McGrath: So it was a nil return, as such, each year.
- Committee of Inquiry into the Banking Crisis: Nexus Phase (13 May 2015)
Michael McGrath: Okay. And apart from that statutory duty to report to the Financial Regulator, as auditor of the bank, would you have had other interaction with the Financial Regulator relating to Ulster Bank?
- Committee of Inquiry into the Banking Crisis: Nexus Phase (13 May 2015)
Michael McGrath: Okay. Can I just take you to the booklet of core documents, Vol. 1, page 34. So it's from Ulster Bank Limited board paper, UBIL capital injection requests, August 2007, and on page 34. So we see that Ulster Bank Ireland had-----
- Committee of Inquiry into the Banking Crisis: Nexus Phase (13 May 2015)
Michael McGrath: It's coming up on the screen there as well. Ulster Bank Ireland had transferred over €4.5 billion of-----
- Committee of Inquiry into the Banking Crisis: Nexus Phase (13 May 2015)
Michael McGrath: Okay.
- Committee of Inquiry into the Banking Crisis: Nexus Phase (13 May 2015)
Michael McGrath: It's page 34 of the booklet.
- Committee of Inquiry into the Banking Crisis: Nexus Phase (13 May 2015)
Michael McGrath: Yes, can you see it?
- Committee of Inquiry into the Banking Crisis: Nexus Phase (13 May 2015)
Michael McGrath: Okay. So we see that Ulster Bank Ireland had transferred €4.5 billion of Republic of Ireland property risk to a different company to stay within property sector limits set by the Financial Regulator. Were you aware of the fact that €4.5 billion had been shifted, in essence, to get around any breach of the regulatory limits, and what was your view of it?
- Committee of Inquiry into the Banking Crisis: Nexus Phase (13 May 2015)
Michael McGrath: Okay. As you know, Mr. Fitzpatrick, Ulster Bank Ireland ultimately required a bailout of over £14 billion from RBS, so when you look back now at the period for which you were the auditor in charge of the audit for Deloitte, is there anything further that you could have done to ring any alarm bells, signpost any risks to a greater extent, made the readers of the financial statements more...
- Committee of Inquiry into the Banking Crisis: Nexus Phase (13 May 2015)
Michael McGrath: Thank you. Thank you, Chair.
- Committee of Inquiry into the Banking Crisis: Nexus Phase (13 May 2015)
Michael McGrath: Yes, thank you very much Chair. Mr Fitzpatrick, can I just, by way of example, I've been looking at the 2007 financial statements for Ulster Bank Ireland Limited and there is reference in the ... in the report of the directors to risk management and the key risks are cited and one of them is credit risk, and then note 25 is much more detailed in terms of risk management. But what would you...
- Committee of Inquiry into the Banking Crisis: Nexus Phase (13 May 2015)
Michael McGrath: That you won't be repaid by your customers?
- Committee of Inquiry into the Banking Crisis: Nexus Phase (13 May 2015)
Michael McGrath: Would that be part of it?