The power of banks Government dependency upon the banks gives them huge political leverage.

Summary First Paragraph: How did we get to the massive public intervention in many countries during the banking crisis that started in 2008? When looking at the decisions and eventual costs of the bail-outs, the question on many people’s mind is: Why does finance have so much power? One of the most dramatic cases in this context is Ireland, where the direct costs of state intervention in the Irish banking sector are estimated at around €64 billion (41 per cent of GDP) according to the Irish House of the Oireachtas. As we all know, this had led to the sovereign bail-out by the IMF and the EU in 2010. The burden of this is carried by the Irish population, through taxes, pay cuts, the bankruptcy of Irish businesses and rising unemployment.