IFSRA chairman to face questions about bank regulation

The chairman of the Financial Services Regulatory Authority is due to appear before an Oireachtas committee today to answer questions about the crisis in the Irish banking sector.

Jim Farrell is expected to be quizzed about why his office failed to spot problems with the lending practices at Anglo Irish Bank and other institutions.

The Oireachtas Finance Committee is investigating the effectiveness of the regulation of Irish banks in light of the crisis that has prompted the Government to nationalise Anglo Irish and to inject €2bn of taxpayers' money into AIB and Bank of Ireland.