Michael Fingleton has failed in his attempt to stop the Central Bank from carrying out an inquiry into alleged regulatory breaches at Irish Nationwide.

The former chief executive of the building society tried to argue that the Central Bank was acting outside of its powers.

Following its collapse, Irish Nationwide needed a bailout of over €5bn. It was nationalised and merged with the former Anglo Irish Bank into IBRC.

A Central Bank investigation looked into its activities over a four-year period beginning in August 2004.

On the back of that, it decided to hold a public inquiry into alleged breaches of regulation and the alleged participation of certain individuals, including Mr Fingleton.

He claimed the Central Bank was acting outside of its powers and to hold such an inquiry would be an unlawful breach of his right to a fair hearing - an argument dismissed this morning by Mr Justice Seamus Noonan.

The former chief executive also claimed he would not be able to defend himself properly because of his financial position, but the court heard evidence he was paid €9.7m between 2003 and 2008 and that his pension was worth €30m when it matured.

The inquiry is due to begin next month and could take up to 45 days.