None of these advantages have been lost as a result of the global financial crisis. But crucially for Ireland, this unprecedented international shock has come at the same time as the economy has been undergoing a necessary rebalancing in the composition of its growth, intensifying the challenges it faces. In particular the construction and the banking sectors need to adjust.
Banks' tighter lending standards in light of the Royal Commission have also had an effect on their lending activity over the past year. Not only did this change in the banks' behaviour contribute to the strong growth of non-bank lending, it may also have contributed to the shift in the nature of the collateral underlying the nonbank securitisation deals.