Drumm should attend Oireachtas Banking Inquiry – McGrath
Published on: 07 January 2015
The former CEO of Anglo Irish Bank David Drumm should be invited to appear before the Oireachtas Banking Inquiry given the senior role he played in Anglo Irish Bank for a number of years leading up to Ireland’s banking crisis, according to Inquiry member and Fianna Fáil Spokesperson on Finance Michael McGrath.
Deputy McGrath was speaking following a decision against Mr Drumm published last night by a US Bankruptcy judge.
Deputy McGrath stated, “Given the senior role played by David Drumm in the running of Anglo Irish Bank over a number of years, I fully expect he will be asked to appear before the Oireachtas Banking Inquiry over the coming months. I will certainly be proposing that such a request be issued to Mr Drumm and I sincerely hope he will attend before the Inquiry to give his own account of the role he had in the bank.
“Given Mr Drumm’s role as CEO of Anglo Irish Bank from 2005 to 2008 and his previous role as Head of Lending for the bank in Ireland, his evidence will be crucial to gaining a full understanding of how Anglo Irish Bank was being run during this crucial period. He is perhaps uniquely positioned to explain the strategy being pursued by the bank, the lending policy it adopted concerning the property and development sector and its assessment of the risk associated with such an approach.
“Mr Drumm’s involvement in and cooperation with any other investigations being conducted in Ireland is matter for the relevant authorities. With regard to the Banking Inquiry, it is vital that Mr Drumm, along with all other executives who had an involvement at a senior level in the management of banks in Ireland, be requested to give an account of the role he played at Anglo prior to his departure from the bank in December 2008 and that members of the Inquiry team have an opportunity of putting some forward the key questions as they see fit.”