There has been much criticism of the loans above 100% that were available at the peak of the housing boom, which immediately placed borrowers in negative equity.
The bank's persistent failure, especially during 2002, to cut interest rates in response to sluggish economic performance across the euro area (and above all in Germany) has drawn criticism from within Europe as well as from America's Federal Reserve and international institutions.
Mr Kennedy did reserve some criticism for the government, saying its concern with "spin above substance" had generated "an Alice in Wonderland political world" in which the electorate was increasingly mistrustful of politicians.