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it is not realistic for Ireland to default on ECB debt without putting our membership of the Euro and EU in doubt - and destroying our banks

What? People in Ireland still think they have banks left, let alone worth defending?

At least the current Irish Central Banker is not that insane: Sell Irish banks to foreign investors, says Honohan

Ireland's banks should be sold off to foreign owners to quicker clean up the debt crisis, the country's top banker declared today.

Patrick Honohan, governor of the Central Bank, also claimed a new government will be able to change the terms of the €85bn EU/IMF bailout.

The banking chief said getting overseas investors to take over the homegrown banks that survive the current economic mess was looking like the best option.



Keynesianism is intellectually hard, as evidenced by the inability of many trained economists to get it - Paul Krugman
by Carrie (migeru at eurotrib dot com) on Fri Feb 4th, 2011 at 06:34:54 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Migeru:
What? People in Ireland still think they have banks left, let alone worth defending?

The ATM machines still work...

Index of Frank's Diaries

by Frank Schnittger (mail Frankschnittger at hot male dotty communists) on Fri Feb 4th, 2011 at 08:03:32 PM EST
[ Parent ]
But that's not what this is about. The payment clearing system will survive unscathed.

Somebody really has to explain to people (and politicians, and unfortunately even to central bankers) how a regulatory bank resolution works.

Keynesianism is intellectually hard, as evidenced by the inability of many trained economists to get it - Paul Krugman

by Carrie (migeru at eurotrib dot com) on Sat Feb 5th, 2011 at 02:51:22 AM EST
[ Parent ]
That is another central point.  The Government literally said the ARMs would stop working if they didn't guarantee and then bail-out the banks.  The whole scam was based on the notion that the banks were indivisible and absolutely essential to the continence of ordinary day to day and business life.

The metaphor of the ATMs not working was actually used to bring home to people the seriousness of the situation - unfortunately in an entirely misleading way.

So the key points are - debt restructuring is an entirely routine way of resolving structural imbalanced which have been allowed to build up between debtors and creditors - for which both are responsible, and yes, the ATMS (which is the sum total of many people's experience of banking - will continue to work before, during and after the process.

Index of Frank's Diaries

by Frank Schnittger (mail Frankschnittger at hot male dotty communists) on Sat Feb 5th, 2011 at 06:39:20 AM EST
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