Former director of finance at Anglo Irish Bank Willie McAteer has been sentenced to two-and-a-half years for fraudulently obtaining a loan of more than €8m from the bank in September 2008.

The sentence will run concurrently with the three-and-a-half year sentence McAteer is already serving for his part in a €7.2bn conspiracy to defraud, by misleading people about the true health of Anglo.

The court heard McAteer had more than three million shares in Anglo and had loans of more than €8m from Bank of Ireland secured against them.

On 29 September 2008, Anglo's share price fell so low that Bank of Ireland was entitled to sell McAteer's shares without notice.

McAteer informed Anglo. The bank was concerned that the sale of so many shares by a director of Anglo could have had a catastrophic effect.

Anglo decided to give McAteer a loan of more than €8m to pay off Bank of Ireland.

The court heard McAteer did not seek it and did not devise its terms but accepted the loan.

McAteer is already serving a three-and-a-half year sentence for being involved in a €7.2bn conspiracy to mislead people about the true health of Anglo in September 2008.

Three years ago he was sentenced to 240 hours of community service for giving unlawful loans to ten developers to buy shares in Anglo also in 2008.

Judge Martin Nolan said this was a "plan hatched by Anglo".

He said McAteer had pleaded guilty to fraudulently trading.

He had co-operated with the plan and it was to his discredit that he was involved in it.

The judge said McAteer and other higher executives at Anglo Irish Bank were under considerable if not severe pressure.

He said their whole ambition at this time was survival.

He said survival was not a reason to commit a crime but it was a substantial motivating factor.

Judge Nolan said McAteer was already serving a three-and-a-half year sentence and would be impoverished when he was released.

He said he had been successful and wealthy but his circumstances had changed dramatically.

The judge said this was a serious crime.

McAteer was in a serious position and should not have committed it despite the pressure he was under.

But he said McAteer had pleaded guilty, he was very unlikely to re-offend and there was no evidence about a loss to Anglo.

Judge Nolan said it would be unjust to impose a consecutive sentence.

He sentenced McAteer to two-and-a-half years in jail, to run alongside the sentence he is already serving.