While all the Irish retail banks are significantly better capitalised than pre 2008, they are more vulnerable than those without this legacy to future economic shocks. While recognising that eaten bread is soon forgotten, it is worth spending some time outlining what has been done.
It also allows market participants to manage their collateral and liquidity needs more effectively, as it is now much easier to move collateral from where it is to where it needs to be, anywhere in Europe. While this short list of advantages does mark a “concrete achievement,” as described by Schuman, the end of the T2S story remains unwritten.