Results 1,321-1,340 of 7,975 for speaker:Joe Higgins

Committee of Inquiry into the Banking Crisis: Nexus Phase (21 May 2015)

Joe Higgins: Mr. Hurley, on Thursday, 20 March there was an Anglo Irish Bank board meeting by conference call. In chapter 10 of a book called Anglo Republicby a financial journalist, Simon Carswell, who appeared at this inquiry, he states: “Later that afternoon, Drumm [which is David Drumm, the chief executive officer of Anglo] placed a call to John Hurley and pleaded with him to release a...

Committee of Inquiry into the Banking Crisis: Nexus Phase (21 May 2015)

Joe Higgins: Yes.

Committee of Inquiry into the Banking Crisis: Nexus Phase (21 May 2015)

Joe Higgins: Yes, but did you run a statement past the chief executive of Anglo bank for approval?

Committee of Inquiry into the Banking Crisis: Nexus Phase (21 May 2015)

Joe Higgins: But Mr. Carswell says-----

Committee of Inquiry into the Banking Crisis: Nexus Phase (21 May 2015)

Joe Higgins: Yes. This ... he says the two statements emerged, one from you and one from the Financial Regulator later on that day.

Committee of Inquiry into the Banking Crisis: Nexus Phase (21 May 2015)

Joe Higgins: Just the last question perhaps, Chair.

Committee of Inquiry into the Banking Crisis: Nexus Phase (21 May 2015)

Joe Higgins: On Wednesday, 17 September 2008 there was an Anglo board meeting ... page 36 of the core document, Vol. 3, but it's not necessary. "the Chairman and Chief Executive [I quote] should meet with the senior officials in the Central Bank and explain the dire consequences not just for the bank but for Ireland as a whole, should they not act quickly to re-establish liquidity". Did you meet the...

Committee of Inquiry into the Banking Crisis: Nexus Phase (21 May 2015)

Joe Higgins: And then, Mr. Hurley, on Thursday, 25 September, there's an extensive minute of the board meeting of the Central Bank, it's page 33 of Vol. 3, core. I won't quote them because they're too extensive but what we have is an extensive outlining essentially of the bank guarantee that came to pass the following week ... and one sentence says: "A senior management member of the CB advised the...

Committee of Inquiry into the Banking Crisis: Nexus Phase (21 May 2015)

Joe Higgins: And the ... so, in reality, the Central Bank had virtually decided already that week that there would be a guarantee-----

Committee of Inquiry into the Banking Crisis: Nexus Phase (21 May 2015)

Joe Higgins: The last sentence of that tranche was: "There would be a need to talk to two banks who to date been negative on such a proposal".

Committee of Inquiry into the Banking Crisis: Nexus Phase (21 May 2015)

Joe Higgins: The last thing then, just to sum up the day, Mr. Hurley, in a sense. €64 billion of private bank and bondholders' debts was put on to the shoulders of the Irish people, which was private debt by private entities, by decision of the Government with the full support of yourself and the Central Bank. After seven years of austerity, hardship for our people, as a result of that decision-----

Committee of Inquiry into the Banking Crisis: Nexus Phase (21 May 2015)

Joe Higgins: ----was it moral or just or defensible that such a decision was taken?

Committee of Inquiry into the Banking Crisis: Nexus Phase (20 May 2015)

Joe Higgins: Yes ... Mr. McDonnell, you've said that the audit process goes on over the year and you said about 200 employees would be involved in the Bank of Ireland audit, but just very, very briefly, for people out there and ourselves, could you just physically tell us how is the audit done? Like, does a small army of 200 leave Spencer Dock, march to the headquarters, or do they fan out around the...

Committee of Inquiry into the Banking Crisis: Nexus Phase (20 May 2015)

Joe Higgins: Yes, but how do they do that? Do they go into all the branches or to the headquarters, or-----

Committee of Inquiry into the Banking Crisis: Nexus Phase (20 May 2015)

Joe Higgins: And Bank of Ireland will have compiled what happens in a range of branches-----

Committee of Inquiry into the Banking Crisis: Nexus Phase (20 May 2015)

Joe Higgins: And then they have access, what, to computers, to information networks or to paper, or-----

Committee of Inquiry into the Banking Crisis: Nexus Phase (20 May 2015)

Joe Higgins: Okay. Now Bank of Ireland was organised along divisional lines and different divisions had separate management information systems. And there was issues arising with difficult-to-manage credit and risk groupwide ... in the Oliver Wyman report, 20 May 2015, it says, summarises, that in relation to information available to the board on the credit risk, and I quote "Incomplete heterogeneous'-----

Committee of Inquiry into the Banking Crisis: Nexus Phase (20 May 2015)

Joe Higgins: Page 10, yes - "incomplete, heterogeneous and difficult to collate". Now, were you satisfied that you had full access to the, and accurate information to discern the full financial position of Bank of Ireland, considering these issues?

Committee of Inquiry into the Banking Crisis: Nexus Phase (20 May 2015)

Joe Higgins: And when it comes to risk, what is the legal role of the auditor? For example, as you know there have been issues with concentration in property and construction, and then there has been the concentration around a small number of developers in the case of some banks. Do you have a role in advising on the wisdom of lending, let's say, tens of millions to buy a field just for speculative...

Committee of Inquiry into the Banking Crisis: Nexus Phase (20 May 2015)

Joe Higgins: So if PwC representatives came across in a situation where they saw a €50 million loan for a few fields west of Mullingar, and €40 million for a few more fields in west Cork, which is on the basis of value to be realised, on the basis of speculation that the property that will be built on those will go up, etc., etc., the auditor might think, "This really is unwise". Would the...