Fitzpatrick's habits come out in the wash; Indian bank bats lashes at Ireland; Anglo on recruitment mission abroad; shake-up for service stations
Seánie's low-key approach fails
IT HAS been a tough week for Seán FitzPatrick – not that he’ll get much sympathy from Joe Public.
The former Anglo Irish Bank chairman was forced to turn to the High Court last Monday to declare himself bankrupt after his former employer blocked a proposed settlement deal with creditors.
FitzPatrick had been hoping to do a deal privately with creditors when he first approached the court back in March in an attempt to devise a scheme of arrangement as an “arranging debtor” through in-camera hearings that would be closed to the public.
The judge later refused to have the case heard in camera.
Such was the secrecy behind the court application that a team from Dublin law firm O’Grady’s solicitors, led by insolvency specialist Willie O’Grady, labelled the case “Project Chairman” within the firm to keep it under wraps.
It was also interesting that Seánie chose to use a little-known accountancy firm down in Killarney, Co Kerry – O’Connor, Kelliher Treacy – rather than any of the country’s Big Four accountancy firms or well-known Dublin insolvency practices, to draft the independent accountant’s report to support the application for arranging debtor status.
It’s hardly a surprise. The report is loaded with forensic financial information detailing aspects of FitzPatrick’s life – from how much he invested in his various property, company and equity investments to where the family shopped. Hardly the kind of material Seánie would want out in the public domain.
Bank account statements included in the report show that the FitzPatrick household did plenty of shopping at Dunnes Stores in Cornelscourt and even show details of a payment to Greystones parish.
Life under bankruptcy for FitzPatrick will be under the microscope of the official assignee, the court officer who oversees the affairs of bankrupt individuals.
Banking on recession for new business
IT SEEMS that not all foreign banks have been turned off Ireland by the recession and the turmoil of the Irish financial industry. Yesterday, a delegation from Bank of Baroda, India’s fourth largest financial institution, was in Dublin to assess potential opportunities.
“It’s an early stage of exploration for us,” SS Mundra, chief executive of its European operations, told me. “We are keen to have a look at it.”
Baroda, which is 53 per cent owned by the Indian government, has one customer in Ireland – the Aim cash and carry group, which holds the master franchise for Iceland supermarkets here.
Mundra said it was interested in the retail deposit market and lending to SMEs – both tough segments in the current climate.
Baroda is a full-service retail bank in India, where it has more than 3,000 branches and a $150 billion (€118 billion) balance sheet. “We don’t have investment banking,” he stressed. “We do boring banking . . . traditional banking.”
Baroda also has a presence in 26 other countries, including the UK and Belgium in Europe. In the UK, the bank has nine branches and 130 staff, having entered the market in 1957. Its Manchester branch handles the Aim account.
Mundra spent yesterday meeting business people but did not call on the Financial Regulator or seek a meeting with the Government. “Not at this point in time, but that might follow,” he said.
Baroda is regulated by the FSA in Britain but would have to seek a licence from the regulator here to operate in Ireland.
So why would an Indian bank want to do business in recession-hit Ireland?
“We believe that where there are challenges there are growth opportunities,” Mundra said. “The UK has faced the same type of challenges in the past two years but this has been a period of maximum growth for us.”
Anglo looks abroad in heavyweight hunt
ANGLO IRISH Bank has hired a London-based executive search firm to lead its mission to recruit a heavyweight head of corporate affairs, a position that is expected to command a meaty remuneration package.
Carbon Search, a specialist recruiter in the financial sector, has been given the gig by Anglo, with managing partner Paul Steggall personally taking charge of the recruitment process.
Anglo wouldn’t comment but I understand the net is being thrown beyond the Irish market to find someone to fulfil what will surely be a thankless role.
Anglo already has a merry band of foreigners in its crew, with about half of its 13-strong team of senior executives coming from abroad, including Aussie chief executive Mike Aynsley.
Carbon Search is believed to have helped Anglo in the recruitment of senior executives following the clear-out of the old management team after the State’s takeover in January 2009.
The new recruit will initially report directly to Aynsley.
It will be interesting to see how Carbon Search sells the position. After all, we still can’t be sure what shape Anglo will take going forward until the European Commission signs off on its business plan.
The new recruit will also have to deal with whatever fallout there is from the inquiries of corporate enforcer Paul Appleby into what went on at Anglo under the old regime of chairman Seán FitzPatrick and chief executive David Drumm. A thick skin would be helpful for aspiring candidates.
Judging by statements on Carbon Search’s website, Anglo’s recruitment process is in good hands. “Carbon’s role is to identify, evaluate and assimilate outstanding senior leadership talent that makes a lasting impact for financial organisations.”
Here’s hoping.
We're on the road to unmanned forecourts
WE HAVE already had self- service banks and supermarket tills, online check-in with airlines and automated telephone customer call centres. There are hotels you can use without the need of any human interaction and pubs where you can pull your own pint.
Now, it seems, we’re on the road to unmanned service stations. About a year ago, Cork-based GreatGas launched the State’s first unmanned forecourt in Santry, and it has been so successful that managing director Ray O’Sullivan is keen to open more.
“We would like to have 10 unmanned forecourts by the end of 2013-14,” O’Sullivan told me this week. At present, legislation only allows fuel groups to sell diesel at these stations. “There is legislation coming so hopefully by the end of the year, we’ll be able to have unmanned unleaded as well.”
Santry is doing about €3 million annually in sales, becoming a regular staging post for taxi drivers on runs to Dublin airport, according to O’Sullivan. “It’s performed better than expectations. If we can get unleaded, we could nearly double that.”
It won’t do much for our unemployment queues, but O’Sullivan said there could be an upside. “Maybe, in rural locations, where people have had to close [stations], if they don’t have to staff them, these could become viable again,” the Corkman said.
Nice one, boy.
LITTLE THINGS
MICHAEL O’LEARY is having to do a lot of apologising of late. Ryanair yesterday said sorry to Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou for using his picture in newspaper adverts in the UK slagging off easyJet.
In March, O’Leary had to apologise to Mr Justice Peter Kelly of the High Court for misrepresenting him in a letter to Minister for Transport Noel Dempsey. Ryanair had to pick up the legal tab from that case.
The airline has also agreed to pay costs and damages to the easyJet founder, with O’Leary adding that it was “only fair and reasonable that we say ’sorry’ and pay him damages and his legal costs, rather than waste court time on this issue”.
What must Ryanair chairman David Bonderman, and the other board members, make of these legal setbacks?
It will be interesting to see if shareholders have anything to say about O’Leary wasting their money on these spats when the low-cost airline’s agm is held in September.
Domhnál Slattery’s aviation leasing business, Avolon, appears to be flying.
Avolon has just acquired two Airbus A320 aircraft from Air Berlin on a sale and leaseback deal. The jets will continue to be operated by Swiss-based Belair, a subsidiary of Air Berlin.
It’s a useful foot in the door with the German carrier and showed the benefit of having secured $1.4 billion in capital before its May launch.
