Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees
Thursday, 2 April 2015
Committee of Inquiry into the Banking Crisis
Context Phase
Ms Marie Hunt:
In terms of different forms of investment, if someone is buying stocks and shares, for example, they cannot go to the bank and borrow to buy whereas with commercial real estate they can do that. When someone is in the upward part of a cycle and using leverage, it enhances their returns but the opposite of that is also true. When the market crashes, they are severely exposed but unlike other forms of investment, they can borrow. That is what I am saying.