IN THE LATEST round of Anglo tapes released by the Irish Independent this morning, the former head of treasury at the bank John Bowe can be heard putting the blame for the banking crisis on the shoulders of the Central Bank and the Financial Regulator.
He says they were “effectively egging us on – for Irish banks to help each other”.
On the tapes, which can be listened to on Independent.ie, Bowe was trying to convince the regulator and the Central Bank that a €7 billion boost from Irish Life and Permanent for Anglo’s balance sheet was all above board and not “market abuse”.
That deal is now being investigated by the Office of the Director of Corporate Enforcement.
The paper reports that the latest conversations will raise questions about how much Anglo executives knew about the sinking bank and how much they tried to cover it all up.
Bowe already featured on a number of the tapes alongside his former boss, bank chief David Drumm and the former director of retail banking, Peter FitzGerald (pictured).
Drumm also featured on the tapes released by the paper yesterday, after which he put out a strongly worded statement saying he would no longer allow himself be used as the “scapegoat” for the crisis.
He also attacked the “drip, drip, drip” of the tapes and has repeated his call for all recordings made at Irish banks to be made public.
The tapes reveal the bank’s executives discussing crucial matters concerning the bank in the run-up to the bank guarantee in September 2008.
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