Hopes are high in Fianna Fáil that Taoiseach Brian Cowen and Finance Minister Brian Lenihan will be awarded the Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences for their unprecedented achievements with Anglo Irish Bank.
The Cabinet is due to meet today to celebrate Anglo’s latest results which show it made an €8.2 billion loss for the first six months of the year after writing off €5.8 billion on loans sold or heading for Nama and €2.5 billion on loans remaining at the bank.
“For such a small bank to generate such huge costs is an extraordinary achievement,” a leading analyst said.
Mr Cowen was recognised as one of the world’s best leaders by Newsweek last month. “Momentum is building in his favour,” the analyst said. “First Newsweek, now Anglo… there is a sense that the Nobel is his for the taking.”
