Report missed scale of bank losses

A report on the health of the Irish banking system — commissioned by the financial regulator in 2008 and relied upon by taoiseach Brian Cowen to justify the bank guarantee — drastically underestimated the extent of losses that would be made.

The report, compiled by PriceWaterhouseCoopers (PwC), found that in its worst case scenario, Irish banks would lose €10.6bn at most.

The figure pales in comparison to the €64bn taxpayer-funded bailout the country’s banks eventually needed.