Irish banks face €24bn funding gap

Irish banks need an extra €24bn (£21.2bn) to survive the financial crisis, pushing the total cost of bailing out the banks to €70bn, the BBC reports.

The central bank's long-awaited stress tests on the Bank of Ireland, Allied Irish Banks, Irish Life and Permanent and the EBS took into account the meltdown in the residential property sector. The findings show Allied Irish Banks needs to raise €13.5bn, while the Bank of Ireland needs €5.2bn, EBS €1.5bn and Irish Life €4bn. The plan is the fifth attempt to draw a line under the Irish banking crisis. Money set aside from the €85bn EU-IMF bailout agreed in November will be used to fund the latest recapitalisation. The country's central bank says the banking system will be restruct...