Irish Banks Seek Relaxed Capital Rules; Barrister Paul H O’Neill Warns Against Reckless Lending
Irish banks have asked the European Commission to relax post-financial crash capital rules to increase lending capacity. Barrister Paul H O’Neill opposes this, citing past bank recklessness and warning against a return to «reckless lending.»
Irish banks have formally requested that the European Commission ease current regulations concerning bank capitalization. These rules were implemented following the 2008 financial crisis, and the banks argue that relaxing them would «unlock lending capacity,» as reported in the Business section on April 24th.
Paul H O’Neill, a barrister from Clontarf, Dublin 3, has voiced strong opposition to this proposal. Drawing on his professional experience, O’Neill witnessed firsthand the severe repercussions of the «utter recklessness» exhibited by Irish banks prior to the financial crash.
O’Neill finds the banks' current attempt to relax capital rules «abhorrent.» He contends that this move is essentially an effort to revert to what he describes as the «good old days of reckless lending,» and he urges that it be recognized as such.