Banking

John Walsh: Irish banks should no longer be considered risky propositions

The lack of competition in the banking sector here reflects structural defects in the Irish market, as well as a failure of the European banking union to live up to its original billing

Whereas there were six domestic banks 15 years ago, there are three today, Bank of Ireland, AIB and Permanent TSB

There has been a number of regulatory changes in the wake of the financial crash but, in some crucial respects, the Irish banking sector is not that different today to the pre-2008 era.

The three pillar banks – AIB, Bank of Ireland and Permanent TSB – are heavily exposed to the property market, mostly through their mortgage books. It was the same concentration in lending that did so much damage when the property market collapsed ...