FINANCE MINISTER Michael Noonan has said that he is not happy that the State has to repay over €700 million of an unsecured Anglo Irish Bank bond but argued there is no choice in the matter.
The government is today repaying $1 billion USD of an unsecured bond to the now defunct bank in line with the agreement made by the last government to take on all assets and liabilities of Anglo in September 2008.
Noonan told Morning Ireland he was not pleased with the outcome saying this “isn’t a great day when we’re paying back bonds where the taxpayer had no liability whatsoever” but insisted it was in the country’s interests to do so.
He said:
I’m not too pleased that Anglo is being paid back.The arrangements made by the previous government to secure it were a disaster and they left us in a situation where not only was there a guarantee given but for the unguaranteed bonds, the state nationalised the bank and by nationalising the bank they took it over lock, stock and barrel, liabilities as well as assets.
So the only way out, I always said during the election, is we’d only act in the consultation and with the agreement of the European bank and we couldn’t get the agreement but I’m not happy about it.
With another repayment due in January of next year, Noonan said the government was continuing to work with European authorities on alternatives which “was a better way forward” than to not do so.
He cited the interest rate cut Ireland achieved on its bailout loans as one example of the benefits of a good working relationship.
Noonan said that in terms of further promissory notes to Anglo the government was working on one possible alternative which would see them exchanged for a 30-year loan from a European bailout fund which would “take €10 billion off the debt”.
“We’ll keep at it now, the negotiation is not complete, this is ongoing,” he said.
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