Win-win culture under attack

“Heads they win, tails the Government picks up the tab,” was how the Central Bank governor Patrick Honohan described the risk-reward climate that exists in banking.

Mr Honohan made his stinging comment in his closing speech at the Central Bank of Ireland stakeholder conference yesterday.

Despite his populist tone, Mr Honohan qualified the statement by explaining that Irish bankers had lost a lot in status and wealth through the loss of their shareholdings.