December 16, 2009

The Irish Bank Officials' Association (IBOA) has today welcomed calls for a comprehensive Oireachtas inquiry into what went wrong with the Irish banking system.IBOA general secretary Larry Broderick has written to the Minister for Finance Brian Lenihan to seek to establish a comprehensive inquiry under the auspices of a Joint Oireachtas Committee set up specifically for this task – pointing out that in assessing recent events, this investigation should also aim to draw important lessons for the future.

"Not only does the general public deserve a thorough explanation," said Broderick, "but thousands of ordinary bank employees also deserve to know how a substantial failure of leadership in the financial services sector has placed their jobs and livelihoods in jeopardy."The Union leader backed the suggestion by governor of the Central Bank, Dr Patrick Honohan, that such an inquiry should be conducted like a US Congressional hearing - availing of expert witnesses as well as examining the key participants in the events leading up to the crisis.