Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees
Thursday, 21 May 2015
Committee of Inquiry into the Banking Crisis
Nexus Phase
Mr. John Hurley:
Yes, but the increase in ... and it was well referred to in our financial stability reports in the aggregate. I mean, the growth in property lending is all over our financial stability reports, going from 2004 up. So the aggregate lending and the aggregate approach to property was well set out in those reports. That, of course, was part and parcel of the problem. But looking into 2006, then, what would we have done differently, which was your question? The reality is when you look at the response of lending to those measures which were taking place. We knew, for example, at the end of 2005 that property prices were reducing somewhat, not just here but internationally. We had a forward indicator in 2005 which was about house registration, so we had an idea of how house building was going to go. But the reality is, when we went into 2006, all those indicators were suggesting a certain direction. It went the opposite way.
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