Financial security - Chasing rumours

FINANCIAL regulator Patrick Neary is trying to establish if there was malicious intent behind some of the rumours circulated about financial institutions recently. The suspicion is that institutions were undermined by innuendo setting them up for an undervalue killing.

All of us depend on secure financial markets and anything illegal that would jeopardise that relationship must be identified and stopped. If Irish professionals illegally colluded with overseas interests to try to undermine sound Irish institutions they must face the consequences. Our laws provide for fines of up to €10 million and or 10 years in jail.

The threat this kind of activity poses to our economy was illustrated as recently as Tuesday when the Central Bank of Iceland was forced to raise interest rates by 1.5% to 15% to counteract the impact rumours were having on the country’s financial stability.

Ireland and Iceland are both small, open economies vulnerable to the shifting sands of international confidence. Each must do what it can to protect its interests and if that means confronting white-collar crime in a way that we have not done before then so be it.

This is a high-stakes game and if Mr Neary can establish wrongdoing those responsible can expect little sympathy. Nor should they get it.