The PIIGS are not out of the woods yet. Ireland’s ongoing economic woes have financial markets concerned that the country might need an EU bailout. A new round of austerity measures could trigger a downward spiral.
Sean FitzPatrick, 62, couldn’t help smirking when he appeared before the judges of the High Court in Dublin last Wednesday. FitzPatrick, who is Ireland’s most famous banker, had already declared personal bankruptcy last summer, after accumulating €145 million ($195 million) in debt.
His monthly income is currently €188, FitzPatrick’s legal counsel informed the court. But he will only be a poor man if his wife Catriona leaves him. The six houses and the rights to a retirement fund which is worth millions belong in part to her, and cannot simply be seized by creditors.
FitzPatrick owes the largest sum to the Anglo Irish Bank, where he served as chairman until late 2008. “The bank granted him and his relatives and friends some very strange loans,” says one banking supervisor, who does not wish to be named. FitzPatrick’s friends in the government turned a blind eye to his dealings. Shortly after his resignation, the bank had to be nationalized.
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Updates:
2:10 pm EDT, September 27th, 2010 — UK economic recovery under way, says IMF
Notes:
I threw the last link in to make Gilles Duceppe’s eyes pop out. Quebec ‘elites’ and all that.