The Government prefers private investment in banks but possible State participation remains under review while the bank debt guarantee scheme, the Minister for Finance Brian Lenihan said today.
Ireland surprised its European Union partners last month by issuing a blanket guarantee for some €400 billion worth of liabilities of six Irish banks, which it later extended to five foreign-owned banks with a significant retail presence in Ireland.
The Irish move was followed by many state guarantees, bailouts and nationalisations in other countries.
"I'm amused, I have to say, that some of them criticised our guarantee and very rapidly gave guarantees themselves," Mr Lenihan said on the sidelines of a banking conference.
"In relation to possible participation by the state in investment in banks, of course the position is kept under review by the Government. We're in a time of very great change."
The ongoing implementation of the bank guarantee scheme will allow the Government to better assess the capital requirements of banks, he said.
"State intervention can only be a last resort," Mr Lenihan later told reporters.
Reuters