2011 Awards for Excellence

Citation

(2012), "2011 Awards for Excellence", Journal of Financial Regulation and Compliance, Vol. 20 No. 1. https://doi.org/10.1108/jfrc.2012.31120aaa.001

2011 Awards for Excellence

Article Type: 2011 Awards for Excellence From: Journal of Financial Regulation and Compliance, Volume 20, Issue 1

The following article was selected for this year’s Outstanding Paper Award for Journal of Financial Regulation and Compliance

“What caused the Irish banking crisis?”

K.P.V. O’SullivanDepartment of Government, London School of Economics, London, UK

Tom KennedyDepartment of Accounting and Finance, Kemmy Business School, University of Limerick, Limerick, Ireland

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to explore the Irish banking crisis and explain how various factors contribute to a collapse in asset prices, an economic recession and the near failure of the banking system. The paper seeks to document the dangers of pro-cyclical monetary and government policies, particularly in an environment of benign financial regulation and pent-up demand for credit.

Design/methodology/approach - The paper maps the Irish banking crisis against its general background. It describes the roots of the crisis, with particular attention given to government and monetary policies, the practices of the financial regulator and banks during the property bubble, together with the difficulties associated with the international sub-prime crisis.

Findings - While the global financial crisis exacerbated matters, the banking crisis in Ireland was largely a home-grown phenomenon. The crisis stemmed from the collapse of the domestic property sector and subsequent contraction in national output. Its root cause can be found in the inadequate risk management practices of the Irish banks and the failure of the financial regulator to supervise these practices effectively.

Originality/value - The paper documents the “Celtic Tiger” phenomenon of the last decade: the Irish economic and property miracle, its sharp decline, and the sub-prime crisis. It delineates one of the most severe banking and economic crisis in a developed country since the great depression with a number of key policy lessons for rapidly expanding economies.

Keywords: Ireland, Regulation, Banking industry, Recession, Financial economy

www.emeraldinsight.com/10.1108/13581981011060808

This article originally appeared in Volume 18 Number 3, 2010, pp. 224-42, Journal of Financial Regulation and Compliance

The following articles were selected for this year’s Highly Commended Award

“Banks, knowledge and crisis: a case of knowledge and learning failure”

John Holland

This article originally appeared in Vol. 18 No. 2, 2010, Journal of Financial Regulation and Compliance

“The effect of building society demutualisation on levels of efficiency at large UK commercial banks”

Robert Webb, Cormac Bryce and Duncan Watson

This article originally appeared in Vol. 18 No. 4, 2010, Journal of Financial Regulation and Compliance

“Financial innovation and social welfare”

Andrew William (Andy) Mullineux

This article originally appeared in Vol. 18 No. 3, 2010, Journal of Financial Regulation and Compliance