10 Years On From The Banking Crash: Banks Are Learning To Love Again

WE’VE all been there. Suffered immeasurable heartache. The moments seared into our brains forever, the pain of it all echoing and reverberating around the chambers of the heart until the day we die.

No entity knows this pain like Irish banks – 10 years ago the banks were heartlessly cast aside by an Irish public who couldn’t see just how loving and supportive banks had been. The love and support once offered by the public had been relinquished and replaced with anger and resentment.

10 years on from that moment the Irish public raged against the government of the day handing the banks a blanket guarantee, banks say they are ready to love again and have forgiven the Irish public everything.

“It still hurts,” explained one Bank of Ireland official, recalling the moment the look of love left the Irish public’s eyes, “but I guess what we’re saying is we forgive you Ireland”.

“Ha, d’ya remember when they’d look at ya all horny, dressed up to the nines begging for a loan for something daft like a house extension on a previous extension on top of a conservatory,” chimed in one AIB employee, warmly recalling when they were unconditionally loved.

The sacred bond of trust was broken however, when the Irish public flatly refused to handle banks at their worst, when they were only to happy handle them at their cash rich best.

“Don’t get us wrong, we know we were no angels. But who hasn’t bankrupted a country overnight? What happened to for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health,” a former Anglo employee said, still visibly bitter.

It would have been hard to believe 10 years ago, but it seems that banks are letting bygones be bygones and ready to love and be loved again.

“We’d like to think we’re more mature now, we’ve learned from the rash reaction and heartlessness of the people who shunned us, and we’re ready to finally open our hearts again,” one banker shared as several of his peers put their arms around each others’ shoulders and smiled warmly.

“We know it can take some people a long time to realise they were in the wrong but with each passing day it’s clear the Irish public are realising that which is better late than never”.

The banks concluded the interview by stating confidently that they could never envisage something like this happening again.