Rival banks rushed to copy Anglo practices

LARGE losses were realised at Irish banks when the crisis hit because they were trying to match the profitability of Anglo Irish Bank.

The Nyberg report said Anglo and to a much lesser extent Irish Nationwide Building Society (INBS) were both seen as highly profitable institutions to which other banks should aspire.

It said that as other banks tried to match the profitability of Anglo in particular, their behaviour gradually, and even at times unintentionally, became similar.