A reply I have received to a written parliamentary question to the Minister for Finance, Brian Lenihan, has confirmed that the bulk of the Anglo Irish bondholders have already been bailed out.

The reply (copy below) confirms that only €4bn of senior Anglo bonds, and €2.4bn of the subordinate debt, remain which are not guaranteed by taxpayers.

Anglo has already been given €4bn in cash, €18.88bn in promissory notes and a commitment of another €6.4bn in promissory notes (totalling €29.28bn).

On Black Thursday, September 30th, Lenihan said that the bill for Anglo could be even €5bn higher (which could bring the total tab for Anglo alone to nearly €20,000 k for every person working in the country).

Interest on Anglo bailout alone could run to €1.5bn a year for the next decade, adding to the spending cuts and tax hikes needed to meet fiscal targets.

It is a disgrace that two years were wasted, and bondholders quietly repaid in full, in the two years since the initial bank guarantee was introduced.

It is amazing that the govt. did not use this time to introduce a Special Resolution Mechanism for banks, as was done in the UK after the collapse of Northern Rock for instance, which would have allowed a sharing of the burden between bondholders and taxpayers.

Columnists in the Financial Times and The Economist, amongst others, are baffled by Fianna Fáil’s determination to pile all the pain on taxpayers while professional investors who took a punt on our banks get away scot-free.

The disclosures in this reply will greatly add to the public anger at the huge financial millstone that Fianna Fail has placed around the necks of successive generations of Irish taxpayers.

DÁIL QUESTION

NO 224

To ask the Minister for Finance the amount of senior and subordinated bonds outstanding in Anglo Irish Bank as at 29 September 2008; the amount of senior and subordinated bonds outstanding in Anglo Irish Bank as at 30 September 2008 which were covered by the Government guarantee; the amount of senior and subordinated bonds in Anglo Irish Bank which matured between 30 September 2008 and 29 September 2010 and since 29 September 2010; the amount of senior and subordinated bonds in Anglo Irish Bank bought back by the bank, and the capital gain registered as a result between 30 September 2008 and 29 September 2010 and since 29 September 2010; the amount of senior and subordinated bonds currently outstanding in Anglo Irish Bank covered by the eligible liabilities guarantee and outside the scope of the eligible liabilities guarantee; and if he will make a statement on the matter.

– Joan Burton.

* For WRITTEN answer on Wednesday, 27th October, 2010.

Ref No: 39395/10

REPLY

Minister for Finance ( Mr Lenihan) : The information required by the Deputy is set out in the tables following:

1.The amount of Senior and Subordinated Bonds outstanding as at 29 September 2008:

Debt Amount

Senior Bonds: €10,770,669,707

UK Covered Bonds: €1,512,660,000

Subordinated Debt: €4,791,653,500

2. The amount of Senior and Subordinated Bonds outstanding as at 30 September 2008 which were covered by the government guarantee:

Debt Amount Senior Bonds: €10,763,531,707

UK Covered Bonds: €1,512,660,000

Subordinated Debt: €2,108,760,000

3. The amount of Senior and Subordinated Bonds which matured between 30 September 2008 and 29 September 2010:

Debt Amount Senior Unsecured Debt: €14.6bn

Subordinated Debt: €0

4. The amount of Senior and Subordinated Bonds that have matured since 29 September 2010:

Debt Amount Senior Unsecured Debt: €91m

Subordinated Debt: €0

5. The amount of Senior and Subordinated Bonds bought-back by the Bank and the associated capital gain(s) for the period of 30 September 2008 – 29 September 2010:

Debt Amount Gain

Senior Unsecured Debt €177.6 m €6 m

Subordinated Debt €2.45bn €1,752 m

6. The amount of Senior and Subordinated Bonds that have been bought-back by the Bank and the associated capital gain(s) for the period commencing 29 September 2010:

There has been no buy back of either senior or subordinated bonds in this period.

7. The amount of Senior and Subordinated Bonds currently outstanding in the Bank that are covered by the ELG scheme:

Debt Amount

Senior Unsecured Debt: €2.68bn

Subordinated Debt: €0

8. The amount of Senior and Subordinated Bonds currently outstanding in the Bank that are not covered by the ELG scheme:

Debt Amount Senior Unsecured Debt: €4.00bn

Subordinated Debt: €2.36bn

Notes:

• Subordinated Debt can not be guaranteed under the ELG Scheme.
• The bank has recently launched a liability management exercise in relation to its subordinated debt.
• Unless stated otherwise, exchange rates as of 21 October 2011 have been used in order to provide a corresponding euro equivalent.