logo
episode-header-image
Feb 2021
8m 58s

Ireland's bank bailout

Bbc World Service
About this episode

In the wake of the 2008 global financial crisis Ireland had to borrow billions to stop its banks from going under and to keep its economy afloat. The IMF, the EU and the European Central Bank provided the money. Matt Murphy has been speaking to Patrick Honahan, who was Ireland's central banker at the time of the bailout.

Photo: Protesters take to the streets of Dublin in November 2010 to oppose savage public spending cutbacks needed to secure an international bailout. Credit:Ben Stansall/AFP via Getty Images

Up next
Yesterday
How BRICS got its name
In 2001, a few months after 9/11, economist Jim O’Neill was working at Goldman Sachs when he wrote a report about which countries might become big players in the world economy. That’s when he came up with the name BRIC - short for Brazil, Russia, India and China. At first, nothin ... Show More
9m 55s
Oct 9
Japan surrenders in Beijing
Eighty years ago, in the autumn of 1945, World War II surrender ceremonies took place across the Japanese Empire.The one in China was held at the Forbidden City in Beijing bringing an end to eight years of occupation. Thousands of people watched the incredible moment Japanese gen ... Show More
10m 12s
Oct 8
The remote island that was evacuated to 10,000km away
On 10 October 1961, a volcanic eruption threatened the population of Tristan da Cunha, a British Overseas Territory in the South Atlantic, and all 264 islanders were evacuated to the UK. Two years later, the majority voted to return. In an interview she gave to the BBC in 1961, M ... Show More
10m 43s
Recommended Episodes
Sep 2023
A huge debt crisis is coming
Around the world, debt is skyrocketing - and rising interest rates are making it unsustainable. In this first part, Ben Norton discusses the impending crisis in the United States, before explaining in part two how Wall Street traps the Global South in debt. VIDEO: https://youtube ... Show More
33 m
Mar 2023
Credit Suisse gets $54 billion lifeline
Credit Suisse accepted a $54 billion bailout fund from Switzerland’s Central Bank, after its share price plunged up to 30% on Wednesday. The nation’s second largest bank’s stock price rebounded on Thursday but with issues surrounding the bank for years, investors are asking if th ... Show More
26m 27s
Feb 2022
Argentina’s latest IMF crisis
Argentina’s government and the International Monetary Fund have been renegotiating the terms of a 2018 loan issued to the country – the largest in IMF history. The Fund’s own internal analysis of that deal was scathing. The 2018 package had been vaunted for its commitment to prot ... Show More
17m 54s
Mar 2023
Wall Street banks rescue First Republic
The largest US banks have banded together to deposit $30bn into First Republic Bank in an attempt to bolster its finances, the European Central Bank has raised interest rates by half a percentage point, Emmanuel Macron failed a critical parliamentary test and chose to override la ... Show More
9m 45s
Oct 2008
117: The financial crisis: "how did it come to this?"
La crise financière a dominé la rentrée 2008. Les marchés ont vraiment été chahutés en ce mois de septembre. Certains jours, une psychose de ‘fin du monde’ régnait en bourse. Les grandes banques centrales ont dû injecter des milliards de dollars dans des banques privées pour les ... Show More
15m 23s
Mar 2023
The 2000s Called, They Want Their Politics Back
The crew looks back at two of the most notable American political decisions of the 21st century: the 2003 invasion of Iraq and the bailout of American banks during the 2007-'08 financial crisis. Both feel relevant today, as the country marks the 20th anniversary of the Iraq War a ... Show More
45m 4s
Sep 2022
Money Talks: The rate shock
The world’s financial markets are going through their most painful adjustment since the global financial crisis. Global stock markets have sold off sharply and bond markets are on course for their worst year since 1949. The British pound briefly fell to its lowest level ever agai ... Show More
33m 51s
Mar 2023
Should I be worried about all the bank failures?
Are we in the middle of a financial crisis? Today’s show breaks down the latest bank crises — from Credit Suisse to First Republic. Read more: Another week, another banking calamity.  On Sunday, Swiss banking giant UBS came to the rescue of its rival, Credit Suisse. It was the fi ... Show More
18m 31s
Sep 2022
Money Talks: The rate shock
The world’s financial markets are going through their most painful adjustment since the global financial crisis. Global stock markets have sold off sharply and bond markets are on course for their worst year since 1949. The British pound briefly fell to its lowest level ever agai ... Show More
33m 51s