Patrick Neary had announced he will step down as chief executive of the Irish Financial Services Regulatory Authority.
The decision comes on the same day the Authority received a report on the failure to act for almost a year following the discovery of controversial loans transfers by Anglo Irish chairman Sean Fitzpatrick.
In a statement, the Authority says that the report, which it states it cannot publish for legal reasons, concludes that ‘there was a breakdown in terms of internal communications and process and in the regulatory follow-up and response of the organisation. This resulted in a failure to take appropriate and timely actions in relation to what was a serious matter and to escalate the matter to the Authority.’
The chief executive was never told that Fitzpatrick’s bank loans did an impression of someone learning to dance for Lannigan’s ball, stepping out and stepping in again each year as the auditors showed up to inspect the bank’s accounts.
Neary says he is ‘grateful for the strong, professional and dedicated commitment to public service by all my colleagues and staff at both the Regulator and the Central Bank.’
Presumably this includes the person(s) who never bothered to mention the loans.
