Since the Lehman shock, the United States has been suffering balancesheet adjustments in the household sector, a problem in which households incur excessive debts and a protracted period is required for resolution.
In addition, the exposure of domestic institutions to hedge funds and private equity is very low by international standards. Secondly, given the extent of the disruption to normal market functioning internationally in recent months, it is inevitable that access to liquidity in the interbank market by Irish banks, like all banks, would be affected.