Irish banks under ECB supervision from 2014

Irish banks will come firmly under the supervision of the European Central Bank from Mar 2014, following agreement on what is seen as the first building block of banking union.

The ECB is to have ultimate responsibility for overseeing all eurozone banks following the landmark agreement in Brussels, which is seen as the first step towards breaking the link between banks and the sovereign that brought Ireland to its knees.

It will give the Frankfurt-based body full investigative powers and allow it to intervene in any of the eurozone’s 6,000 banks and to impose penalties, including fines and withdrawing licences.