Anglo Irish Bank's chairman Donal O'Connor has said he acknowledges the sense of hurt, outrage and disappointment that people feel towards the bank.
His comments come in the bank's annual report covering the year to the end of September 2008, which also reveals that the bank lent a total of €451m to ten 'long-standing customers' last year to buy shares in the bank. It said €83m of this had been repaid.
Mr O'Connor said it was carrying out a detailed review of all of these deals, including the legal advice it received and its consultations with the financial authorities.
The report said the bank would set aside €300m in its results for the six months to the end of March to account for potential losses on money it lent out using only shares in the bank as security. This figure also includes potential losses from loans to directors.
The bank also said it was reviewing controversial deposits of over €7 billion made by Irish Life & Permanent with Anglo last year.
The report shows that former chief executive David Drumm, who resigned in December, was paid just over €2m in the year to the end of September 2008, down from €3.2m the previous year.
Former chairman Sean FitzPatrick, who also resigned in December in the controversy over concealed directors' loans, was paid almost €540,000.
The report shows that at the end of September, loans to Mr FitzPatrick totalled €83.3m. The report also gives details of other loans to other former directors, without naming them. This gives a total of €179m loaned to directors. The chairman said the bank was likely to take a financial hit in the six months to the end of March linked to these loans, as a result of the deterioration in the bank's share price.
€3.75m payment to retiring director
The annual report reveals that the bank paid a total of €11.5m to directors in the year to the end of September, including a €3.75m payment to Tom Browne, who retired in November 2007, 'in recognition of his contribution to the group'.
There are no similar payments for David Drumm and Willie McAteer, who resigned recently, though it is understood both have outstanding deferred bonus payments due in December this year. It is understood the Anglo board is taking legal advice on this issue.
The report also shows that the bank paid rent totalling €31,500 to 'close family members' of Sean FitzPatrick for the use of a property in the UK which was used to accommodate the bank's staff on a temporary basis.
The report also says charges for bad loans will increase in 2009 and subsequent years due to the economic deterioration in its main markets. It is currently conducting a review of all loans, and will include this in the results for six months to the end of March.
The bank has put off the appointment of a new chief executive until a new business plan and a number of reviews being carried out by the board are completed. In the meantime, Mr O'Connor will act as executive chairman.
It says fees for non-executive directors of the bank have been cut by 20% from January 1 this year.
Finance Minister Brian Lenihan said the report's publication marked an effective break between the old and new Anglo Irish Bank, in particular the chairman's statement that the new board would ensure that governance at Anglo was of the highest standard.
He said he would explore the bank's future plans with the board in the coming weeks, saying Anglo could now set about re-establishing itself as a reputable financial service provider.
Meanwhile, Anglo Irish Bank's external auditors Ernst & Young have rejected suggestions that they are distancing themselves from previous annual reports.
Speaking on RTE's Six One earlier, corporate governance expert Professor Niamh Brennan of the Quinn School of Business at UCD referred to statements at the bottom of Anglo Irish Bank's website, saying they indicated tensions between the auditors and management in the last two months.
The statement said the auditors accepted no responsibility for any changes since the financial statements were originally presented on the website. Ernst & Young says such statements are mandatory when audit reports are published on a website.
