Ireland “Especially Exposed” To “International Shocks” Warns Central Bank

Ireland remains especially exposed to another financial shock because of the extremely high levels of public and private debt, the open nature of the economy, and Brexit, Irish Central Bank Governor Philip Lane has warned in a pre-budget letter to Minister for Finance, Michael Noonan.

“Ireland is especially exposed due to the legacy of high public and private debt levels, the sensitivity of small, highly-open economies to international shocks and Brexit-related vulnerabilities,” Ireland’s Central Bank Governor said.

The letter was covered in the Irish Independent, Irish Times and Irish Examiner. This is something we covered in our interview with Max Keiser last week – see here.

There are many potential international financial and geopolitical shocks today which have the potential to derail the very fragile economic recovery or indeed contribute to a new global debt crisis.

Geopolitical risk remains very high. ‘Brexit’ has created a whole new set of risks to Ireland, the UK and the Eurozone itself. The Middle East remains a powder keg and tensions with Russia remain very real. There is the real risk of conflict and the consequent effect on oil prices, global markets and the global economy. Read full story here…