Bankrupt Anglo-Irish Could Be Closed Down

There is a debate on whether to close down Anglo Irish Bank or not, now that it was revealed that it could take another EU25-35 billion to keep its doors open. This is on top of the fact that it holds mortgages on 300 hotels that have either been closed down or should be closed down, and are remaining open as "zombie hotels," just to postpone the inevitable.

Nonetheless the government and the EU are entertaining a plan to create a smaller, "good" Anglo Irish Bank, and a much bigger "bad" Anglo Irish Bank, which would obviously be dependent on the government. This will be discussed between Irish Finance Minister Brian Lenihan and EU Competition Commissioner Joaquin Almunia.

Other ministers, however, want to shut the bank down entirely, since Ireland cannot sustain another bailout. Junior Government Minister Conor Lenihan is quoted in the Guardian as saying the bank "has to be decommissioned" and "fairly swiftly." The Guardian reports that global hedge funds are betting on Ireland being plunged into a Greek-style financial crisis this autumn as "Anglo Irish threatens to destabilize the entire Irish economy."