Regulator’s denial of risky lending by banks ‘astonishing’

THE Financial Regulator has been criticised by Fine Gael for suggesting high-risk lending by banks had nothing to do with the crisis that engulfed the sector this week.

The regulator, Patrick Neary, was centrally involved in the Government’s decision to bail out the banks.

In an interview on RTÉs Prime Time programme on Thursday night, Mr Neary refused to accept banks were over-exposed to the crumbling property market, and insisted this was not a factor in their near-collapse.