Bankers in sackcloth and ashes

Our bankers and some of their economists have been helping the political policemen and policewomen with their inquiries in recent weeks.

Happily for them, they have not been dragged to the basement for an encounter with a couple of sweaty, heavy gardaí, nor did they find themselves in a stuffy courtroom being filleted by a sharp-tongued senior counsel under the sceptical gaze of a judge, but, nevertheless, it cannot have been a particularly pleasant experience.