Ireland’s Banks Take The First Step on Long Road to Recovery
Published on: Tuesday 13 September 2011
In July, Ireland was reeling from a flare-up of the European debt crisis. A fresh bailout package for Greece had failed to calm markets, and investors were rushing to sell bonds of other debt-laden countries. Yields on Irish ten-year government bonds surged to 14.1 percent, or 1,145 basis points more than comparable German obligations. Moody’s Investors Service underscored the gloom by downgrading Ireland’s debt one notch, to Ba1, a sub-investment-grade, or junk, rating. In that climate would anyone risk putting money into Ireland?
