Speaking of banks, I wonder if First Active's John Smyth realised when the bank announced a redundancy programme recently that he might be one of its first casualties.

The former chief executive, who oversaw both its conversion to a public bank and the subsequent slump in investor confidence, paid the price for poor share price performance.

Not that he can have much complaint. First Active has had several attempts at reworking its image in its short life as a public company but has done little to fundamentally alter its business base.

Its experience only serves to reinforce the argument that going public is not a panacea for any company. Shareholders are more demanding than members when looking for profit growth and strategic direction from a one-dimensional outfit. And that's even before our more open economy attracts foreign competitors eyeing the relatively chunky margins in Irish banking.