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Moody's places Tier 1 securities of Anglo Irish Bank on review for downgrade[/FONT]          
		
		
	
	
                                      
[FONT=verdana,arial,helvetica]Action follows announcement that the bank will not pay coupons in the future and that it is considering an offer to buyback the securities [/FONT]
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London, 13 July 2009 -- Moody's Investors Service today placed on review for possible downgrade  the Tier 1 securities of Anglo Irish Bank (with the exception of the non-cumulative  preference shares with voting rights that are rated C). The bank's  cumulative tier 1 securities are rated Caa1 and the bank's non-cumulative  Tier 1 securities are rated Caa3, all with a negative outlook.   [/FONT]
  
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On July 9 Anglo Irish Bank Ltd (Anglo, rated A3/P-1/E) announced  that as a condition of approving the Irish Government's recapitalisation  of the bank the European Commission (EC) requires that no further coupon  payments be made on any of the Bank's Tier 1 Securities.  
Moody's understands that there has not been any guidance from the  EC on when payments will be able to resume, however we expect that  this is unlikely to happen until the bank has returned to profitability.  However, given the current situation of the bank and the difficult  economic environment Moody's would not expect this to happen in  the short -- to medium term, although we note that a substantial  portion of its loan portfolio will be transferred to the National Asset  Management Agency (NAMA) and this may speed up this process. 
We  also note that, depending on the value of the assets which will  be transferred, this could also lead to a further capital requirement.  We are also of the opinion that continuing government support is likely  to be required to give the bank sufficient flexibility to restructure  and establish a viable business model again. [/FONT]
  
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In addition the bank has announced that it is considering a buyback offer  for the Tier 1 securities, as well as for one junior subordinated  security and one dated subordinated security. This is still subject  to regulatory and shareholder approvals. Given that the bank has,  as detailed above, already announced that coupons will be omitted  on both cumulative and non-cumulative Tier 1 securities,  any offer to buyback these Tier 1 instruments is likely to be classed  as a "distressed exchange" by Moody's. The securities  are currently trading at a large discount to their par value and therefore  Moody's expects that potential losses to investors who choose to  accept the offer will be substantial. The review for possible downgrade  will therefore focus on the likely losses for investors assuming the offer  goes ahead. [/FONT]
  
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The current Caa1 and Caa3 ratings on the cumulative and non-cumulative  Tier 1 securities are based on an expected loss approach that already  assumed a high probability of the omission of coupons and high loss severity  over a three-year period. However they do not incorporate  the potential larger loss as a result of the potential buyback offer and  the likelihood of being classed as a distressed exchange by Moody's. [/FONT]
  
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The dated subordinated and junior subordinated issues that are likely  to be part of the buyback are unlikely to be classed as a "distressed  exchange" by Moody's and therefore the ratings are affirmed  at Baa1 and B3. [/FONT]
  
  
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PREVIOUS RATING ACTION AND PRINCIPAL METHODOLOGIES [/FONT]
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The last rating action on Anglo was on July 7, 2009 when the senior  debt guaranteed by the Irish government was downgraded to Aa1 (negative  outlook) from Aaa (review for possible downgrade).
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The detailed ratings and actions are listed below: [/FONT]
  
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Anglo Irish Bank Corporation Ltd: [/FONT]
  
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• Cumulative Tier 1 securities placed on review for possible downgrade. [/FONT]
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• Non-cumulative Tier 1 securities placed on review for possible  downgrade. [/FONT]
  
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Anglo Irish Bank had total assets of EUR 88.5 billion at end-March  2009. The bank is headquartered in Dublin, Ireland. [/FONT]