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"Balance sheet management" a known industry practice, former Anglo manager tells conspiracy trial
Summary
In a 2016 trial, former Anglo Irish Bank senior accountant Peter Fitzpatrick, aged 63, testified that balance sheet management, also called window dressing, was a recognised industry practice. He explained that a €7.2 billion circular transaction with Irish Life and Permanent in 2008 was cash‑neutral and intended to manage the bank's snapshot. Fitzpatrick said the transaction increased Anglo's loans and customer accounts by €7.2 billion, making it material. He described how such transactions were treated on the balance sheet and noted that netting could remove them from the books, losing the optical advantage. The defendants, including John Bowe, Willie McAteer, Denis Casey and Peter Fitzpatrick, pleaded not guilty to conspiracy charges for misleading investors through these transactions. The trial was held at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court.
Who, what, where, when and why
What: Report matter: "Balance sheet management" a known industry practice, former Anglo manager tells conspiracy trial. Charges or matters: conspiring together and with others to mislead investors through financial transactions between March 1st and September 30th, 2008. Procedural stage: trial
When:
- March 1st Hearing Or Sentence
- September 30th, 2008 Hearing Or Sentence
- December 2008 Other
- December 3 Other
- June 2008 Other
- 2016-04-07 Publication
Why: The witness explained that if you net off an asset against a liability and they are the same amount they don't show up on the balance sheet and agreed that the bank would then "loose the optical advantage because nothing shows". CNI source report
Case subjects
Defendant
Charges: conspiring together and with others to mislead investors through financial transactions between March 1st and September 30th, 2008 (Alleged Or Contested)
Plea: Not guilty
Places mentioned
- Convent Lane
- Portmarnock
- Dublin
- Tipperary Town
- Tipperary
- Dublin
- Dublin Circuit Criminal Court
Topics
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