ANGLO Irish Bank's former auditor Ernst & Young was paid nearly €2m last year by the bank. The bank paid Ernst & Young €1.4m for the audit of the bank's 2009 interim results, while €500,000 was paid out for other services, according to Anglo's annual report. The accounting firm is currently under investigation by the industry watchdog, the Chartered Accountants Regulatory Board, over its role in the now-nationalised lender's demise. Ernst & Young has said that all of the audits conducted for Anglo's shareholders were undertaken in accordance with the appropriate auditing standards.

Ernst & Young was paid €2.2m by the bank for its auditing and related work in 2008. It provided advice on tax compliance and letters of comfort, the bank said in a note to the annual report.

Ernst & Young resigned as the bank's auditor last September. It was replaced by Deloitte, which has been paid a total of €2.2m for its work since then.

The report also reveals that Anglo spent €25m on consultancy fees in the 15 months through 2009. "A key component of the bank's restructuring process is the sale of eligible assets to Nama... Professional fees have also been incurred as external consultants have been employed to assist the bank's restructuring process, as well as obtaining legal counsel for investigations and reviews into the legacy issues and payment of related expenses to the Financial Regulator," the report said.