IRISH BANKING FEDERATION:THE IRISH banking sector is competitive, is well-capitalised and has strong capacity to absorb external shocks, the chief executive of the Irish Banking Federation said yesterday.
Pat Farrell told the Oireachtas Committee on Finance and the Public Service that the Irish banking sector had received a clean bill of health from international organisations as diverse as the IMF, the European Central Bank and the OECD.
However, Irish banks borrowed 40 per cent of the money they lent to customers from international and wholesale money markets, and access to funds was becoming much more restricted.
He said that, since the international turmoil began with the credit crunch, access to funding had become more expensive. There had been a substantial spike in mortgage rates. These problems were "by no means unique" to Ireland.
He said there were just 50 repossessions last year, most of them voluntary. Figures this year suggested "no appreciable change". There was also a "very strong savings culture" in Ireland, with a savings rate of 5.8 per cent. The UK equivalent was just 1.1 per cent.