'Baddie of the Bailout': How 'Fingers' Michael Fingleton built 'the world's worst bank'
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What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
Hey there, we are Indosport with me, Joe Malloy, and we have things like this. Generally speaking, when there's a wind in Croke Park, its general direction will be down towards the canal end. Definitely when it comes to getting that bit of extra distance to make a two-pointer more viable, that's the end that you want to shoot into.
Yeah. See, this is what happens when a World Cup ends. Talking about the wind. Literally. Talking about the wind. It's a Friday. This is the world he wants. Yeah. Now this is much better.
It is said that they are a very sophisticated animal. They weigh less than a kilo. And according to the guards, this animal is about as big as the size of a car in Scotland. According to the guards, this animal is as big as the size of a person in the world. This is an Irish Independent Podcast.
Brian Lenehan famously said, Let's be fair about it, we all partied. That's a much disputed notion. I'm not sure it's right even still, but certainly all the bankers partied. The financier Michael Fingleton, or Fingers as he was known, passed away peacefully last Sunday, surrounded by his family. His life and death divide opinion. As the man at the helm of Irish Nationwide, Fingleton presided over what was once described as the worst bank in the world.
The society was taken over by the state in 2010 and ultimately cost the taxpayer 5.4 billion euro as a result of bad loans and poor lending practices. Mr. Fingleton, will you repay the 1 million euro bonus?
I've already made a full statement of that.
To some, he was a bully of a boss and the architect of astonishing debt. But to others, he was a charismatic dealmaker who knew just how to spin a story. So who was the real Michael Fingleton? I think why I call him the baddie of the banking crisis. The real problem with Michael Fingleton was, first of all, he never admitted he had done anything wrong. He even said his bank didn't need to be bailed out, and quite self-evidently, he did. I'm Dave Hanratty, and today on the IndoDaily, I'm joined by Irish Independent Deputy Business Editor John Burns to profile one of the Celtic Tiger's most controversial figureheads.
John Burns, before we dive into Irish Nationwide and the colossal bailout package, could you start by telling us a little bit about the late Michael Fingleton, his background, how he got his start in life and where he went from there? Yeah, so he was born in 1938 in Tubbercurry, a small town in County Sligo. Second child of a Gorda and went to school locally in a place called St. Nathie's College in Ballahadreen. And he once praised the education he got there saying, if you had notions or affectations, they were belted out of you.
Yeah.
It's a very reflective time in Irish life. But again, even the way that we're discussing that there, there's a colourful nature to this man, I think it's fair to say. People have described him as a bullion. So I'm wondering, if I knew him, if you knew him at that time, and even if we ended up working for this guy, who would we have been working for in terms of his personality? Yeah, he was great at the art of self... promotion, I would say. So he adopted a kind of a trademark look, always wore a pinstripe suit, wore a trilby style hat and had a very well manicured, expensively manicured, I would say, goatee beard. And that was particularly his trademark. And he used to warn off other people from having one like it, saying, you know, this is my thing.
Don't bother trying to copy it. was a real networker in every aspect of Irish life. So with the media, it's well known, he's very friendly with journalists, but he also carried favour with politicians. He was one of these people who hung out in the Shelburne Bar, you know, as so many well-known figures from Irish showbiz, music and business did in the 1970s and 1980s holding court there. So a real hail fellow, well met. Yeah, it's interesting because I'm wondering, did he take himself seriously as well? I mean, his nickname was Fingers, so that would imply some kind of levity. But clearly there was money and clearly there was business deals and clearly he was able to get these things done.
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Chapters
4 chapters
1
What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
0:00–6:29
2
Who was Michael Fingleton and why is his death newsworthy?
6:29–13:12
3
How did a small building society in Ranelagh become Irish Nationwide?
13:12–25:19
4
What role did the 1992 law change play in Irish Nationwide’s expansion?
25:19–27:09
Speakers
4 identifiedMore from The Indo Daily
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