| Irish banking, whose history stretches back to the 1700s, now faces its biggest crisis ever. Whether there will be a recognisable ‘Irish’ banking industry at the end of it will depend on the will of the industry, its customers, and the other major stakeholder, the state. The task will not be easy either; the restoration of a healthy banking industry will have to be achieved against a backdrop of negativity on the part of the public, and the difficulties that will arise from the transferance of these pressures to politicians, and public sector employees, which include the Regulator, and bodies such as the Central Bank and the Revenue Commissioners. The economic outturn in Ireland, and internationally, will also be critical, indeed decisive. In this issue we outline several of the factors that will impinge on the future, in plotting a roadmap back to sanity. |
