Banks all over the world are reeling these days, and Anglo Irish Bank is in the middle of the death spiral dance.
The government had to rush in to save the institution from total collapse, and bit by bit, some very shady dealings have come to light.
Suddenly, it's come out that ten unnamed persons were invited by Anglo Irish to buy a 10% stake in the bank, shortly before the Irish government stepped in to salvage the operation.
Not wanting those ten special, highly select individuals to be out of pocket, Anglo Irish loaned them the money to pay for the shares. At the time, the deal was worth 300 million euros. Today, the shares are essentially worthless.
The consortium of buyers, having borrowed the money, can walk away from the deal, which means the Irish taxpayer is on the hook for the loan.
Any wonder that everyone wants to know the identity of the so-called "Golden Circle"?
Legally-minded types don't think that the names can be named because there's confidentially in banking matters. Others believe that, since the government nationalized the bank, it's now a government operation and the government can do what it likes since it makes the rules.
In the absence of any concrete evidence, speculation takes hold, and Fintan Drury has already come forward to state that he's not one of the ten. He's a friend of the taoiseach, he was a non-executive director of Anglo Irish Bank, and the notion to sell ten percent of the bank was all Sean Quinn's idea and that was a month after Mr. Drury resigned his position.
So who else had the power and the financial means to buy into the deal? Lists of names are floating around Leinster House. Will the real Golden Circle please stand up?
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