TAOISEACH BRIAN Cowen has said the Financial Regulator will have an important input into calculating the cost of recapitalising Anglo Irish Bank.
Mr Cowen said calculations would be finalised next month and that it was not helpful to speculate on the final figures at this stage.
He told RTÉ's This Weekthe speculation about the final figure had affected market sentiment and he refused to be drawn into such speculation.
Mr Cowen said the figure from Financial Regulator Matthew Elderfield would help the markets to see how the Government is going to manage the situation.
Mr Cowen said what was needed now was less speculation about numbers as it was unhelpful. Instead people wanted to hear from the competent authority what the “likely overall figure that is needed to capitalise the bank” was going to be.
“The strategy for the bank has been accepted by the competition commissioner and has been well received by the markets,” he added.
Mr Cowen said the Government made a decision last week on the future strategy for Anglo Irish Bank and how it could try and “de-risk” it as a threat to the economy.
He said the Government had been able to do that after a lot of consultation and discussion with the National Treasury Management Agency, the Governor of the Central Bank and the European Commission.
The Taoiseach said the figure from the Financial Regulator would take everything into account and give a clear figure to the markets.
He said the Government’s decision to divide Anglo Irish into two entities was taken to reduce the exposure of the taxpayer as creating a good bank would not have been good for the economy.
