Professor Gregory Connor:

That is a good question and it raises a factor I have not mentioned. The foreign entrants to the Irish market tended to be a very bad influence. Bank of Scotland (Ireland), for instance, was a very bad influence in its actions. Even the Icelandic banks were threatening to enter the Irish market, with talk of one of them attempting a takeover of Irish Nationwide Building Society. The foreign banks were another troublesome feature in the Irish banking landscape. The statement of the proportions of market share misses that there was also an increase in foreign actors. The foreign share grew but the domestic versus foreign shares were roughly constant.