Controlling the banks - Top brass must feel the heat

BRAVE, visionary, radical, decisive, possibly a stroke of genius, very welcome and a masterstroke were some of the enthusiastic endorsements that greeted the Government’s commitment to underpin Irish banks.

The immediate, continuing and positive response of the markets suggest that some investors are reassured. So much so that some decided shares in Irish banks represent value and have invested accordingly.

The neutralising of the immediate threat posed by predatory hedge fund managers, some of whom would have lost millions once Irish banks were secured, is another reason to celebrate if not to cheer loudly.