Professor William Black:

That is precisely what we did in the savings and loan crisis. We would put them into receivership, the subordinated debt would be wiped out and the shareholders would be wiped out. That is what is supposed to happen to risk capital. The insured depositors would be paid in full and the other folks would get a haircut appropriate to what they signed onto - that is, in bankruptcy they take in proportion to whatever is left in those situations. What is different about Ireland is the enormous extent of non-depositor liabilities. That should have been a huge warning flag to your regulators.