Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees
Thursday, 11 June 2015
Committee of Inquiry into the Banking Crisis
Nexus Phase
Mr. Brian Patterson:
Yes, I agree, and, as we know, it is no longer published, it's not a document that's done anymore. But I think, given the size of the problem that had begun to evolve in 2006 and 2007, if the Central Bank came out and said, "We're not going to publish a financial stability report this year", that itself would have set off the alarm bells because I think there comes a point ... let's see if I can describe this properly. In the early days, the financial stability report probably had to reflect only mild concerns, and so maybe it was able to do that. As the pressure cooker developed more and more pressure inside it, the financial stability report should have reflected greater concern but, paradoxically, it had to be even more constrained than it had been before because of the fear of bringing about a run on the banks. So, it got ... you get caught in this kind of dilemma, that no matter what way you jump, you're in trouble.
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