Shares in Irish banks fell up to 60 percent on Monday following the decision last week to nationalise Anglo Irish Bank.
Following is a timeline of key events in the Irish financial sector.
February 2007
Irish bank shares hit record highs, having trebled in value since the start of the decade, driven by the 'Celtic Tiger' economic boom which helped transform Ireland from one of western Europe's poorest countries into one of the world's wealthiest.
March 2007
Irish house prices fall for the first time in five years, marking the beginning of a steady and sharp decline in the country's bank shares as fears mount over the extent of their exposure to a once-booming property market.
Feb. 6, 2008
Irish Life & Permanent Chief Executive Denis Casey says sharp falls in Ireland's banking stocks have been a "huge over-reaction" given the resilience and sound fundamentals of Ireland's economy and banks.
May 7, 2008
Anglo Irish Bank posts a 15 percent rise in first-half earnings and says it expects the same rate of growth for the full year.
May 21, 2008
Bank of Ireland becomes the first of Ireland's leading banks to hint profits may fall, responding to the worsening economic slowdown at home and the deepening credit crisis globally.
July 30, 2008
Allied Irish Banks says first-half earnings fell 4 percent and warns of a 10 percent drop for the full year but offers shareholders a chunky dividend hike that it says reflects the bank's capital strength.
Sept. 25, 2008
Ireland becomes the first euro zone country to slide into recession in 2008, with economic activity at its weakest in a quarter of a century after its property bubble burst.
Sept. 30, 2008
Ireland becomes one of the first countries to respond to the collapse of U.S. investment bank Lehman Brothers with a guarantee covering 400 billion euros ($532.2 billion) of liabilities at six Irish-owned banks. The package is later increased to 485 billion euros to cover foreign-owned banks with significant operations in Ireland.
Oct. 14, 2008
The Irish government hikes taxes and reins in spending in an emergency budget and predicts its budget deficit risks smashing EU rules.
Nov. 5, 2008
Allied Irish Banks says it plans to bolster its capital without diluting existing shareholdings by revising dividend payments and disposing of assets if necessary.
Nov. 13, 2008
Bank of Ireland posts a 34 percent fall in first-half earnings and cancels its cash dividend to shore up its capital position. It says it cannot rule out raising equity but it is not on its agenda.
Nov. 29, 2008
Irish Finance Minister Brian Lenihan concludes talks with banks, saying state involvement would be weighed on a case by case basis and that the government had not proposed consolidation in the sector.
Dec. 14, 2008
The government responds to further steep falls in shares in Ireland's banks by saying it will invest up to 10 billion euros recapitalising them.
Dec. 16, 2008
A senior executive at Allied Irish Banks repeats that the bank does not need extra capital.
Dec. 18-19, 2008
Anglo Irish Bank's chairman Sean FitzPatrick and chief executive David Drumm resign within hours of each other over a scandal involving loans of around 87 million euros.
Dec. 21, 2008
The Irish government says it will inject 5.5 billion euros ($7.68 billion) into the country's three main banks, leading to the nationalisation of Anglo Irish Bank.
Jan. 9
The Finance Ministry says 2009 would see Ireland's worst recession on record, with the budget deficit set to reach more than three times the limit allowed by European Union rules.
Jan. 15 2009
The Irish government says it will nationalise a "weakened" Anglo Irish Bank.
Jan. 19 2009
Bank of Ireland announces that Chief Executive Brian Goggin will retire this summer to make way for a new leadership to guide the bank through market turbulence.
Shares in Irish banks fall by up to 60 percent on fears some peers would have to follow Anglo into state ownership.
