Ex-chairman of Anglo Irish Bank cleared of fraud

The former chairman of the collapsed Anglo Irish Bank was found not guilty Wednesday of providing illegal loans to buy shares in the bank, after an 11-week trial. Sean Fitzpatrick, 65, was cleared of providing unlawful financial assistance to 10 customers of the bank to buy shares in the lender in 2008. The bank went bust shortly afterwards, leaving the Irish economy close to collapse. The jury will resume deliberations on Thursday on two other former executives of the bank: Patrick Whelan, 51, and 63-year-old William McAteer. They deny the same charges. Anglo, mostly a commercial and business bank, lent aggressively to property developers during Ireland's booming Celtic Tiger years so was left severely exposed when the real estate market collapsed. In 2008, nearly 30 billion euros ($34 billion) of taxpayers' money had to be pumped into the bank to prevent it from going under. The following year, the Irish government nationalised the bank when further cash was needed to prop up the failed lender. Rebranded the Irish Bank Resolution Corporation, Anglo was liquidated last February, closing what Prime Minister Enda Kenny called "a sad and tragic chapter" in Irish economic history.