Where is the vision for our banks?

As he approaches retirement after 33 years in the Financial Services Union, Larry Broderick reflects on the role of the banks in Irish society and recommends how the sector should move forward

Larry Broderick, the outgoing general secretary of the Financial Services Union Picture: Fergal Phillips

Walking from the northside of Dublin to the southside can often feel like travelling from one city to another.

That’s certainly how I felt on a cold March day 33 years ago, when I left Liberty Hall, on the north quays of the Liffey, to interview for the position of assistant general secretary of the then Irish Bank Officials’ Association, housed in a grand Georgian house on St Stephen’s Green.

Liberty Hall was ...