The resignation of Sean Fitzpatrick as Chairman of Anglo Irish Banks, following the disclosure that he transferred €87m in loans with Anglo to another bank before the end of the financial year, raises the most serious questions for Anglo-Irish, the Irish banking system, the regulator and the Minister for Finance.

I will be writing today to the Chair of the Dail Committee on Finance and the Public Service, Deputy Michael Ahern, asking him to convene an emergency meeting on Monday next to discuss all aspects of this affair. The Financial Regulator and the Minister for Finance should be asked to attend the Committee.

The Oireachtas needs to know when the Minister for Finance first became of this affair. Were the details of Mr. Fitzpatrick’s activities known to the Minister when they announced the €400bn bank guarantee on September 29th, the day before Anglo’s financial year end. Minister Lenihan made a statement to the Dail on Thursday or the government’s bank recapitalisation plan. Why did he not provide the Dail with this vital piece of information?

I believe that Mr. Fitzpatrick’s actions are a financial three-card trick that appear to run a coach and four through the spirit if the not the letter of the requirements of financial reporting. Published accounts are expected to give a true and fair picture of a company’s situation. A director transferring a massive loan to another bank over a period of eight years to avoid it coming to the attention of the public or the banks shareholders can hardly be regarded as giving a fair picture.

Anglo Irish, like all other banks, has an Audit Committee, a Risks Committee and a Loans Committee. How could they not have been aware of these loans, unless they were in some way disguised? The public will also want to know if similar loan arrangements could have been used by directors of other banks.

Mr. Fitzpatrick has been quick in the past to lecture the government and the Dail and to call for cuts in public spending. In July 2007 he also denounced the banking regulatory system as ‘corporate McCarthyism’. As we can see from this affair far from constituting ‘McCarthyism’ serious questions have been raised again about the effectiveness of our regulatory system.

Mr. Fitzpatrick’s actions were unforgivable and will have further undermined public confidence in the entire banking system.