This article is from page 4 of the 2013-07-09 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 4 JPG
A FORMER Anglo Irish boss, who is currently being pursued by the bank for a repayment of part of his retirement package, is living in his dream home in Killaoe on the shore of Lough Derg.
John Rowan stepped down as the head of Anglo Irish Bank’s British operations in 2005 after former Anglo colleague David Drumm became chief executive. The 55 year-old and his wife Annette bought the property at Rahena Beg, Killaloe, which included almost 10 acres of land and a two-storey house, in August 2007.
There is no mortgage recorded on the property, according to land registry papers. Mr Rowan ran the bank’s UK operations for almost 18 years, building up the business from scratch from 1988 onwards.
The UK operations represented more than a third of the bank’s profits at the time of his resignation in 2005, a full three years before the bank needed State help and four years before it was nationalsied.
Proceedings against Mr Rowan, launched by the liquidated successor to Anglo Irish, IBRC, are to resume in the Commercial Court later this month.
IBRC is claiming that the resignation agreement drawn up for Mr Rowan does not comply with the Companies Act because it wasn’t approved by a general meeting of the bank. In an affidavit, Mr Rowan has said he is “horrified” that the bank is now seeking repayment more than seven years after he stepped down from Anglo, pointing out that it was not until late 2011 that IBRC claimed his retirement package was unlawful.