Sir, – Having left banking in the mid-1990s, and given my age, I felt I should stay out of any debate on the subject. However, your editorial (“The Irish Times view on bankers’ bonuses: restrictions should remain”, June 6th) impels me to take issue with you on behalf of the thousands of decent hard-working people in banks because no serving senior banker would dare to come out in defence of anything relating to banks in the current climate. Initially, when two or three banks started down the road of expansive lending policies, the were lauded by many in the media and in politics while the two big Irish banks were criticised and considered “fuddy duddy” because of their conservatism and for not facilitating more people attempting to get on the property ladder. The boards of the “old-fashioned ” banks subsequently, and foolishly, felt compelled to follow the popular and fashionable ones with disastrous consequences for everyone. The former governor of the Central Bank, Philip Lane, on suggesting that the cap on bonuses should be revisited, may not have realised that, in making his views public, that he would unleash another spate of bank-bashing.

Source: The Irish Times June 09, 2019 23:03 UTC