A Tale of Two States | 20 comments (20 topical, editorial, 0 hidden)

Re: A Tale of two States (none / 1)

How much of that export value is from Irish value added work. Are the figures net of the value of input precursors? And how much is due to Ireland's favorable treatment of corporate taxation issues? Finally, how much better would the Irish economy be had the Fianna Fail government not accepted all of the bad debt accumulated by foreign banks on its soil? I would have thought a 50/50 split would have been generous.

"It is not necessary to have hope in order to persevere."

by ARGeezer (ARGeezer a in a circle eurotrib daught com) on Thu May 26th, 2016 at 02:46:55 PM EST

Re: A Tale of two States (4.00 / 2)

Yes, there is an increasing divergence between Ireland's GDP and GNP:

And yes, lower tax corporate tax rates cause some multi-nationals to book profits in Ireland which were in reality earned elsewhere, inflating Ireland's GDP figures.

The banks covered by the Bank Guarantee were baled out to the tune of €60 Billion but most of this is expected to be recovered as Nama (National Assets Management Agency) is expected to make a profit on the bad loans it acquired at c. 40% face value. So yes there was some loss sharing.

Despite the above, Ireland's economic recovery is real. Unemployment has reduced from 15.1% to 8.4% in three years and the rate of employment increase (in all sectors of the economy) is currently accelerating despite international headwinds.

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by Frank Schnittger (mail Frankschnittger at hot male dotty communists) on Thu May 26th, 2016 at 03:58:43 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: A Tale of two States (none / 1)

Has Ireland put in place adequate prudential regulation of banks doing business in Ireland or is it still relying on 'others' to do this?

"It is not necessary to have hope in order to persevere."

by ARGeezer (ARGeezer a in a circle eurotrib daught com) on Thu May 26th, 2016 at 05:37:18 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: A Tale of two States (none / 1)

The largest Bank, AIB, is currently still 99% state owned, and so, in theory, state controlled. The Central Bank and the Financial regulator, previously asleep on the job, have been significantly revamped. The worst offenders - Anglo-Irish Bank and Irish Nationwide Building Society - have been shut down. Irish Nationwide's chief executive, Michael Fingleton is still being investigated by the Central Bank. David Drumm, former Anglo-Irish CEO has just been extradited from the USA to face trial here. Larger banks will in future be overseen by the ECB. So some progress. I cannot comment on the adequacy of current prudential legislation as this is not a field I know a lot about.

Index of Frank's Diaries

by Frank Schnittger (mail Frankschnittger at hot male dotty communists) on Thu May 26th, 2016 at 06:09:22 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: A Tale of two States (none / 1)

Well, all I can say about the US Fed as a model for prudential regulation is that it has been pathetic and I see no prospect for that to change. By law it has the power to pull the banking license of any bank in the Federal Reserve System, but it would be a financial earthquake if they ever did so. Without a major change in Fed leadership I don't see this even on the horizon. I wish I could take comfort from Lenin's old dictum: "The worse the better."

"It is not necessary to have hope in order to persevere."

by ARGeezer (ARGeezer a in a circle eurotrib daught com) on Thu May 26th, 2016 at 08:03:12 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: A Tale of two States (none / 1)

The Fed is occupied by current banksters, as opposed to, say, the SEC, which is occupied by once and future banksters. So I expect the Fed to rein in the banks about three days after Hell freezes over, and since I don't believe in Hell....

by rifek on Fri May 27th, 2016 at 12:09:58 AM EST
[ Parent ]

A Tale of Two States | 20 comments (20 topical, 0 editorial, 0 hidden)

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