€33 billion wiped off stock market in 12 months

ALMOST €33 billion has been wiped off the value of Irish shares over the last 12 months with almost €23bn slashed from banking stocks alone.

Last year saw one of the worst ever performances in the Irish stock market when it lost €26bn in value. This coupled with further losses of €7bn since the start of the year has resulted in losses of €33bn in the year to the close of the markets last night.

Yesterday, Irish Life& Permanent chief executive Denis Casey described the sharp fall in Irish financial shares in recent months as a “huge over-reaction” and stated that in time the markets will again recognise the underlying strength of both the Irish economy and Irish financial institutions.