An Irish Banking Manifesto: The Views of a Disenchanted Former Banker

Since the financial crisis broke in Ireland there has been a clamour for a full explanation for how and why it happened. The various accounts to date have focused on the role of the financial regulator, the government, and the economic cycle, but little attention has been given to the lending behaviour by the banks. Various journalists and academics have provided valuable insights to the problem, but what is missing is a perspective from the inside. Tim McCormick spent eighteen years in Irish banking in the 1970s and 1980s before spending a similar length of time training Irish managers in finance at the Irish Management Institute. In An Irish Banking Manifesto McCormick argues persuasively that the primary cause of the financial crisis was the behaviour of the bankers themselves - reckless lending, a pursuit of profit at all costs, a total disregard for their customers and the public at large, an insidious bonus culture that clouded their judgement, and an arrogant belief that they were somehow superior to all and deserved their rewards. Having castigated the bankers' poor performance, he then sets out a clear reform programme that will ensure such behaviour cannot be repeated and which will allow us to regain confidence in Ireland's banks.