HOGAN, LOWRY AND THE GREAT IBRC FIRESALE

In 2013 the IBRC sold of billions of Euro worth of loans belonging to individuals and companies whose loans were impaired. Among the big borrowers whose loans were sold were Davy Stockbrokers (the country's biggest brokerage at the centre of the Siteserv controversy) and who apparently bought back their own borrowings at a substantial discount.

Denis O'Brien and his companies may also have had loans sold off to as yet unknown buyers, In what is an ironic twist it was noted that while O'Brien's loans were being supposedly sold off by the IBRC, he was proposing to buy Topaz FROM the IBRC at a hugely discounted rate.

Most interestingly, sources have said that the sell-off also included property loans belonging to high-profile borrowers who had borrowed from either Anglo or Irish Nationwide This included politicians such as Phil Hogan and Michael Lowry who were impacted when their property loans were sold off in the great IBRC firesale of July 2013. Other names mentioned include the legendary broadcaster Gay Byrne.

To date IBRC and NAMA had refused to release names of individuals who were funnelled to either go into NAMA or have their loans sold off by the IBRC but the revelation of the above names and particularly Hogan's name should raise very serious questions regarding whether Hogan disclosed the information to the relevant authorities after being put forward by the government as an EU Commissioner.

There was no mention as to whether the Liquidators (KPMG) were intending to follow up with legal proceedings to recover the balance between the original mortgage value and the final sale price as would be normal in this situation from both men.

However I am sure that the last thing that anyone involved with the fire sale wants is for a scandal to break which could ultimately affect not only the stability of the current government but that could also end in the recall of Commissioner Hogan from Europe.