So I spent the last few days in the very pleasant environs of Maastricht, as an invited speaker at a symposium on the future of international banking. Some really interesting papers and presentations were delivered, on which I will blog later.
At the conference were a goodly number of bankers, central bankers past and present, and academics on banking and related.
A summary of the views of the core Europeans would be ; Ireland is trying, and that's to your credit, but your legacy banking debts (read, the pro note) are going to be left with you, as YOU screwed up by lax regulation badly implemented. Oh, and your corporate tax rate? You want us to bail you out while you screw us with tax arbitrage? Not. Gonna. Happen.
I see that Brendan Howlin has stated that a deal on the note is essential. One hopes that he is talking to and listening to the same thing as I was hearing. It ain't pretty…
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Brian M. Lucey 
Where I would have to agree in part to some culpability on Ireland due to lax regulation. Surely we have covered that with our pension fund etc. What about ECB reckless lending and Ireland taking the hit to stop contagion. Should we now start playing hardball and talk about default?
No point talking about it unless we are prepared to do it,and our gov don’t have any bottle so there is no point
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Whe the European politicians look at our (irish) low corporation tax and how our top polaticiand and civil servants are paid they think we deserve this lesson in hardship.
look at.
and
Economics has mote to do with psychology and human nature than LAWS like physics.
Well, I agree with the bankers on this one, our sense of entitlement is not
matched by their generosity – quell suprise!