Daft Property - Irish Property News

IMF warns on extent of 'correction' facing State... THE INTERNATIONAL Monetary Fund (IMF) painted a bleak picture of the “unprecedented economic correction” facing Ireland, describing the stress on the State as exceeding that being faced by any other developed nation. However, in a positive diagnosis of the Government’s response, the global financial watchdog has said that on the two fronts that matter most – fixing the banks and the public finances – the Government has “moved in the right direction”. The IMF said losses faced by Irish banks could top about €35 billion, or 20 per cent of GDP, to the end of 2010, though it added that the Government “did not formally produce any estimate for aggregate bank losses” during the fund’s recent fact-finding trip to Ireland. The Department of Finance was quick to point out that “the vast majority” of these losses would be absorbed by the banks’ risk capital and ongoing operating profits. The IMF endorsed the Government’s plans for the r...