'Relentless attention to property'

MEDIA:THE MEDIA paid "relentless" attention to the property market, "lauded" Anglo Irish Bank and were "dismissive" of warnings about the bubble economy, according to the report by Finnish banking expert Peter Nyberg.

His report into the causes of the Irish banking crisis cites the media alongside politicians, bankers, entrepreneurs and academia in a form of institutional “groupthink” that contributed to Ireland’s financial instability.

The media were “generally supportive of corporate and bank expansion, profit growth and risk-taking while being dismissive of warnings of unsustainable developments”, according to Mr Nyberg.

“Meanwhile, much of the media enthusiastically supported households’ preoccupation with property ownership,” the report states.

“The long upswing in the property market, accompanied by relentless media attention, eroded the risk awareness both of banks and their customers in Ireland.”

In particular, the media shared in the “general belief” among bankers and others in political and academic circles “that there would be, at worst, a soft landing” in the property market, the report states.

Public commentators with trusting audiences had “a relatively large influence” on how the pre-crisis economy was perceived, discussed and acted upon, Mr Nyberg adds.

Anglo Irish Bank was lauded by many investors, consultants, analysts, ratings agencies and the media as “a role model for other Irish banks to emulate”, he concludes.