13/7/2014: A Miracle of Reformed Banks Operating Costs Performance

We are all familiar with the fact that Irish banks are aggressively deleveraging and beefing up their profit margins. This much has been set out in regulatory and policy provisions (e.g. PCARs) and lauded by the Irish policymakers as a sign of improvements in the banking sector. Alas, the same cannot be said about operating costs in Irish banks. This metric, in fact, has not been given much attention in Irish media and by Irish politicians. So in their place, here's the latest from the IMF (special note on Spain published this week):

Wait... what?! Irish banks cost-to-income ratio is hanging around 80%, well ahead of all other 'peripherals'. Is the Irish economy (borrowers) sustaining excessive costs and employment levels in Irish banks? Why, yes, it appears so...