THE DIRTY DOZEN w/e June 17th 2012

'I'll do everything I can to lighten your load but I'm not getting off your back.'

 

For those who state that the bank bonds are a dead issue, a few numbers:

€106bn - amount paid in bank bonds since Sep 2008 blanket bank guarantee
€21bn - amount paid in bank bonds since May 27th 2011
€52.5bn - bonds outstanding in the six Irish banks (per info on May 27th 2011)

€13.7bn - amount paid in bank bonds so far this year
€6.2bn - amount still to be paid in bank bonds this year
€13.7bn - yearly average in bank bonds to be paid 2012/12/14/15

€2.4bn - next 12 bonds (see table below), of which
€1.5bn - unsecured unguaranteed, of which
€1.14bn - Anglo and INBS combined.

This is the lifeblood of the Irish economy being drained from us through our banking system on an ongoing basis. Guaranteed (immorally and unethically so anyway) or unguaranteed this is mostly our own money (we own five of the six Irish banks) but it is all money we simply can't afford to give away without a fight. 

It is for this and for this alone that our banks were 'saved', so they would continue paying out those bonds week after week in full (including their 'coupons' or interest), as they came due. WE didn't need to keep those six banks alive; the ECB did and it was at their insistence that it was done. 

It's also at the ECB's insistence that we are picking up the full tab for this. They strongarm our weak government into taking out huge loans from them, we give it to the banks, the banks pay the bondholders, we now owe the ECB what previously the banks owed the bondholders and we repay it with interest.

They will keep a close eye on us and if it appears as though we're going to break under this imposed burden they'll give us a break on the interest rate or the terms - they will not give us a break on the principal sum.

Bank debt writedown and the Promissory Notes written off in their entireity, that's what we need, that's what justice demands.