Des Traynor (3 June 1931 - 11 May 1994) was an Irish banker, financier and accountant known for his dealings with Charles Haughey and his involvement in the "Ansbacher Affair".
His parents were John Joseph and Kathleen Traynor (née O'Connor) who lived at 39 Grand Canal Street, Dublin.
Traynor attended the Christian Brothers School on Westland Row, and later St Mary's College, Rathmines.
[2] Traynor married Doreen, and lived at Kilronan, Howth Road, Clontarf, Dublin.
Through Haughey, Traynor became the most prominent financial adviser in Ireland, particularly to those engaged in the Dublin property boom of the 1960s.
This work led him to deal extensively with Guinness & Mahon, one of the oldest merchant banks in Dublin.
Traynor was appointed to the new board of the newly merged Roadstone Ltd and Irish Cement Ltd in 1970, to aid in the tensions around the merger caused by directors from the two previous companies.
The secrecy of the loan accounts and associated deposits were noted, and again Traynor assured the inspectors no transfers had taken place since 1972.
[5] In 1988 Traynor, Furze and Collins bought Guinness Mahon Cayman Trust, selling it in August of the same year to the Henry Ansbacher Group.
Subsequently renamed Ansbacher Cayman Ltd, all deposits were transferred from this new entity from Guinness & Mahon to Irish Intercontinental Bank, with Traynor continuing to manage the accounts of his clients[1][6] until his death from cancer[4] on 11 May 1994.