FO'T says Drumm is not a tragic figure because he is too banal and lacking in self-awareness. I agree but FO'T doesn't really understand Drumm's situation.
https://www.irishtimes.com/opinion/fint ... -1.3539119The best thing about this article is that the Deputy Editor of the IT has finally come clean on his paper's unquestioning support for Anglo.
The IT Editors at the relevant time, Geraldine Kennedy and Maeve Donovan, were full of banal denials to the Oireachtas Banking Inquiry.
https://www.degruyter.com/downloadpdf/j ... 7-0016.pdfA basic problem with FO'T's analysis is that he doesn't understand that promoting Drumm in 2004 was a stroke of genius by Seanie. With a stooge like Drumm as CEO, Seanie as Chairman could run the show by remote control without legal responsibility, especially for those personal loans. Seanie was never charged with the shenanigans around the ILP "deposits" or the Maple 10 and the charges about misleading the auditors on his personal loans were quashed by the judge (
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FO'T also overlooks the fundamental point of the Anglo trials. The criminal charges arose from efforts to rescue Anglo, not from the actions which undermined Anglo in the first place. If their various last-gasp manoeuvres had managed to keep Anglo afloat, Drumm and Co. would be legends in their own circles. Nor does FO'T understand the role of a Central Bank. Of course, Anglo was insolvent but so were many other banks around Europe (Deutsche!). An independent Central Bank would be obliged to keep Anglo afloat because Anglo had a clean bill of health from the Financial Regulator who was part of the Central Bank.
Hence, FO'T misunderstands Drumm's anger towards, and contempt for, the Central Bank. The trial judge ruled out all the evidence about the Financial Regulator but we should be told who actually knew what and when about these crimes. First and foremost, their auditors, E&Y, who have been hiding behind Drumm for the past 10 years.
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