Ireland's Department of Finance Wednesday released two major reports on the country's banking crisis, which jointly blamed the near-implosion of the banking sector on government fiscal policy, poor corporate governance and weak financial regulation.
The two reports — one by the Central Bank of Ireland Gov. Patrick Honohan and the other by economic consultants Klaus Regling and Max Watson — laid the blame squarely at government leaders for tax breaks on construction activities and lax regulation.
The findings and conclusions of the reports should provide the basis for a statutory Commission of Investigation into the bank failures, and will also be referred to a parliamentary committee on finance and the public service, the Department of Finance said.
During the Celtic Tiger boom years, Ireland's banks gave billions in loans to property developers, many of which are likely to go unpaid.
Since the onset of the crisis, the chief executives of all major banks, plus the heads of the Central Bank and Financial Regulator have all been replaced.
