Originally Posted by
*Superman
Unfortunately, this country cannot afford to allow one of the main banks to go bust as it would shatter our rating with foreign companies who we rely on so much for employment.
The real problem was the banks weren't regulated as they should have been when things were 'good'. It suited Bertie Ahern and his Government to have credit flowing freely, but it was recklessness on the last Governments part to allow it happen. Now we can see it flowed too freely resulting in astronomical prices being paid for houses for instance. And in an effort to convince people that they could still afford these astronomical prices, 35 and 40 year mortgages became the norm, quite simply because if they were any less, the monthly payments would be too high.