Patrick Neary, the former Financial Regulator has reportedly said he did not ask Seán Quinn about the size of his stake in Anglo Irish Bank when the two men met in early 2008.

Mr Neary was speaking at the trial of three former Anglo directors, he went on to say that he was not informed of the full extent of Mr Quinn’s stake in the bank until late March 2008 – almost six months after Anglo were made aware.

At that stage Quinn had built up a 28 per cent stake in Anglo through contracts for difference (CFDs), which are financial tools that involve betting on a share without buying it.