Ireland eaten again by zombie banks

“Bondholders escape as €24bn put into banks,” headlines the Irish Times, in the wake of the Central Bank’s stress test results for the banking sector of 31 March. On a day immediately dubbed “Black Thursday”, it was announced that the state will now have to pour another €24 billion into Ireland’s toxic banks. “It will be the fifth bailout of the banks since 2008 and brings the total State support to €70 billion,” the Dublin daily notes. As a result of the announcement, all Irish banks are now state-owned, with every man, woman and child in the Irish Republic contributing €17,000 each to keep them afloat. So far the new government is resisting the idea that senior bondholders should be forced to share the burden, with Taoiseach (PM) Enda Kenny saying that such a tack would not be “reasonable or logical”. However, the Irish Times leader notes : – “the new Government must remember that it sought and obtained a mandate from the electorate not to allow the cost of bailing out the banks to sink the State.”