(DePfa did fail in the crisis, as did a small number of other German-owned bank or nearbank entities, but the assets, liabilities and overall business of these entities were essentially all offshore, and their losses were not assumed by the Irish Government).
In addition, the annual rate of growth of loans to the private sector, although still high, has continued to decline over recent months. Regarding the second pillar, there are clear signals of lower inflationary pressures from the demand side. Recent data on economic activity indicate that real GDP growth in 2001 will most likely be lower than was expected a few months ago.