The former head of credit investments at Anglo Irish Bank has resurfaced at the local subsidiary of Nigerian firm, Afribank, making him one of the few senior members of the beleaguered institution to find gainful employment elsewhere.

Andrew Curtin moved to the post of managing director at ANP International (ANPI) – an IFSC-based subsidiary of Afribank – in September, having formerly held the post of associate director and head of credit investments at Anglo.

His responsibilities at Anglo included overseeing asset-backed securities and structured credit products, so understandably – considering the fact the bottom has largely dropped out of this market over the last 18 months – Curtin was keen to switch sectors.

“While I would not dispute the assertion that there is still a viable business within Anglo, given my particular role in the company, I couldn’t see a meaningful future for myself there,” he says. “It’s a challenging market to find a new position, and I was in discussions with ANP International about the role for some time before my departure from Anglo.”

ANPI, meanwhile, employs around 30 people in the IFSC and acts as a “channel of intermediation between the Afribank Group and the international banking community”. Its activities include letters of credit processing, cash management, foreign exchange, group funding and correspondent banking. A slight change in direction for Curtin? Not entirely.

“I spent nearly four years working for Citibank in Indonesia during a financial crisis there, so this move enables me to return to my involvement in emerging markets,” he says. “It’s also an opportunity to return to core banking, whereas the future for structured credit is not what it was by any means.”

Suffice to say, considering the fact it ran itself into state-ownership and the ongoing controversy in the senior ranks, having Anglo on your CV isn’t exactly going to enamour you with prospective employers.

And, as one disgruntled Anglo employee told the Irish Times, some would rather lie than admit to having worked at the bank.

Financial services recruiters in Ireland tell us that there’s also a certain reluctance to consider Anglo candidates for new roles, particularly at the senior end. Curtin could therefore be viewed as one of the lucky few to gain re-employment.

Another Anglo executive tells us: “The regulator has been hiring a lot of people, for example, and I know a lot of Anglo people who would have been very well-qualified for those jobs, but didn’t get a look in. People who have left Anglo have either gone to London to look for new opportunities, or are pursuing further studies.”

Separately, Anglo is currently recruiting for a new senior position – director of strategy and planning – to finalise a restructuring plan. This follows on from the hire of Peter Rossiter as its new chief risk officer in September.

Chief executive Mike Aynsley also said that the redundancy programme at the bank we alluded to earlier will be finalised by the end of October.