What do you want to grow your bank for? Patrick Honohan says banks have not learned lessons
The former governor of the Central Bank has said Irish banks have still not fully learned the lessons of the banking crisis.
Patrick Honohan said mortgage lending restrictions were still badly needed.
Mr Honohan was appointed governor in September 2009, a year and a half after the visible effects of the banking crisis.
He says banks still need to learn from the bailout, and develop a culture of public service.
"There's still a mindset - 'how can we grow our bank'. What do you want to grow your bank for? Maybe it's good to grow your bank, but it's not an absolute."
He said banks should think more about being a public utility, and said their mindset should be: 'We are providing a service. How can we provide that service more efficiently, at a lower cost?'
"These should the objectives of banks," he said. "There's still too much of the mindset - 'we are a business...we're driven by profit'.
