Roche accuses bankers of 'complete lack of moral compass'

MINISTER OF State for European Affairs Dick Roche has accused senior bank executives of arrogance in claiming their actions were “not criminal”.

Mr Roche also accused the banks of “cute hoorism” and “hubris”.

He told the Dáil: “It is intolerable to read of senior bankers suggesting that their actions were not criminal, and that this is in some way an exoneration of those actions. This suggests that there was a complete lack of moral compass at some levels in Irish banking. Logic went out the door and greed was the motivator.”

During the debate on the recapitalisation of AIB and Bank of Ireland, he said there was no doubt “practices have developed in the Irish banking system which, regrettably, reflect the culture which used to be known as ‘cute hoorism’. Serious damage has been done to our reputation internationally. The real tragedy is the damage has been done by people who have been at the top in banking circles for years.”

This “hubris-ridden group have operated with an arrogant disregard for the normal conventions of even their own business”.

Former Labour leader Pat Rabbitte condemned Bank of Ireland chief executive Brian Goggin after his comments in an RTÉ interview about his income.

“He took €2.9 million last year. He said on the radio that he will take a great deal less this year. When he was pressed, he said he thinks it will fall below €2 million. In the name of God, what kind of alternative planet are these guys living on?”

Mr Goggin’s predecessor, Michael Soden,“came on the radio after him to say he would have been gone – he would have handed in his badge because he could not have continued – as soon as the shares dropped below €5 or €6. He said that senior management would have had to do likewise. That has not happened.”

Mr Rabbitte said he had “great sympathy for the Minister for Finance, who is being pushed and pulled as he tries to deal with a range of extraordinarily serious issues”.

He continued: “I suspect that the number of people advising him who are of the calibre that is necessary is quite small. Those advisers who are of the sufficient calibre are overstretched. In this debate, I have to ask whether a blind eye was turned to certain practices in order to maintain the stability of the banking system. How can a man of the intelligence and training of the Minister for Finance have failed to read the critical section of the report?”

He added: “I cannot accept that the 388 intelligent people who work for the Financial Regulator, at a cost of €58 million, did not see the Seán FitzPatrick business or the Irish Life Permanent business.” He believed “a blind eye was turned to some of these practices”.

Frank Fahey (FF, Galway West) said four of Galway’s leading businesspeople told him it was “impossible for them to continue to work because AIB and Bank of Ireland have refused them any kind of working capital even though it would be fully secure”.