Disgraced banker Sean FitzPatrick has been arrested in an early morning swoop at his Wicklow home.

The former Anglo Irish Bank chief executive was taken from his Bray address at 8am on Friday morning.

Police escorted FitzPatrick to the nearby Wicklow station where he is being questioned in the investigations into irregularities at Anglo.

Detectives from the Garda Bureau of Fraud Investigation are holding FitzPatrick under section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act 1984. He can be questioned for up to 24 hours.

After previously arresting FitzPatrick in 2010, police had to obtain a warrant for his second arrest from the local district court.

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The Garda (police) Bureau of Fraud Investigation and the Office of the Director of Corporate Enforcement are investigating financial irregularities at Anglo Irish Banks in the 18 months before its collapse.

The Irish taxpayer is expected to fork out over $50billion before the Anglo bail-out is complete. The bank has since been rebranded as the Irish Bank Resolution Corporation.

Directors' loans and a seven billion Euro deposit transfer between Anglo and Irish Life & Permanent are at the heart of police investigations.

FitzPatrick is the second senior Anglo official to be arrested recently. Former Finance Director Willie McAteer was questioned by detectives early last month.