Anglo Irish scandal complicates Dublin's debt negotiations Senior executives at Anglo Irish Bank had laughed off concerns expressed by Irish regulators and EU governments that they were abusing the bank guarantee issued by Dublin at the height of the financial crisis by using it to lure bank deposits from the UK and Germany. "So f***in" what. Just take it anyway . . . stick the fingers up," David Drumm, Anglo Irish chief executive, told his colleague John Bowe, head of capital markets, in a phone call recorded by the bank's internal systems and broadcast on Tuesday. During the conversation, which was recorded a few days after the Irish bank guarantee was issued at the end of September 2008, Mr Drumm and Mr Bowe laughed and joked about the strategy of using the bank guarantee to attract deposits from overseas rivals. At one point in the call Mr Drumm mimicked a senior Irish regulatory official, who had contacted him to express concern that the actions of Anglo Irish were causing a rift between Ireland and Germany. Mr Bowe then broke into verse singing "Deutschland, Deutschland, über alles," bars from the German national anthem. Mr Drumm laughed at the rendition by Mr Bowe. Anglo Irish, which was liquidated earlier this year, was the financial institution at the centre of Ireland's banking crash and is forecast to cost taxpayers €30bn. Under the leadership of former chairman Sean Fitzpatrick and Mr Drumm the bank lent tens of billions of euros to property developers, fuelling a massive property bubble. By the end of September 2008 Anglo Irish was close to collapse, prompting Dublin to issue a blanket guarantee to all its banks to try to bolster confidence in its financial system. London and Berlin reacted angrily to the guarantee, accusing Irish banks of using it to attract large deposits from German and UK banks. The recorded phone conversation, broadcast by the Irish Independent newspaper on Tuesday, follows its earlier disclosure of a separate phone conversation between Anglo Irish executives, which suggest the bank deceived regulators about its financial health in the days leading up to the bank guarantee. The revelations have prompted fresh calls for an inquiry into Dublin's banking crisis. On Tuesday Eamon Gilmore, Ireland's deputy prime minister, warned the latest revelations about Anglo Irish abusing the bank guarantee could complicate Dublin's negotiations with its EU partners for relief on its banking-related debt. "It makes it more difficult, of course it does, but we're going to continue to work to get the best possible outcome for the Irish taxpayer," Mr Gilmore said. Dublin wants to use Europe's new €500bn bailout fund to retrospectively recapitalise its banks, which would help Dublin ease its debt burden. Mr Drumm, who moved from Ireland to the US after the collapse of Anglo Irish, had told Mr Bowe in the phone call he had a "pop" at an official in the regulator's office, reminding him about the UK's action to shore up Northern Rock. "I said, "look they went around with the f***in" Union Jack wrapped tightly around them like a jumpsuit and grabbed all the deposits and where was our f***in" minister for finance then?"" he said. Mr Drumm had urged Mr Bowe to continue to seek out deposits. Correct and right. So OK, so just keep nursing along . . . jack the [interest] rates up. That's what I really meant, get the f***in" money in, get it in," he said. Ireland's strategy of guaranteeing the banks backfired spectacularly as Dublin was later forced to inject €64bn into its main banks, which precipitated an international bailout in November 2010. In a statement on Monday Mr Bowe categorically denied he participated in misleading the central bank, saying the talks with the central bank were focused on obtaining funding for Anglo Irish that would allow it to continue on an interim basis, pending a more stable market. In a further statement issued on Monday night he said he deeply regretted the tone and the language he used in the phone call, which he said was both improper and inappropriate.