The introduction of mortgage lending restrictions to curb house price growth was the main reason for the Central Bank of Ireland winning the "Central Bank of the year Award" from Central Banker Magazine.
According to the magazine's website "Central Banking.com", the Irish Central Bank impressed the judges by showing resolve to tackle a sensitive issue in an independent manner.
"The judging panel, comprising members of Central Banking editorial staff and former senior central bankers sitting on the publication's advisory board, highlighted the introduction of residential mortgage lending rules in Ireland," the website said.
Noting these actions helped to curb property prices and price expectations in 2015, the judges said the move demonstrated the Central Bank of Ireland's resolve to tackle sensitive issues in an independent manner.
Both Irish Central Bank Governor Philip Lane, and Erdem Başçı, the Turkish governor (who won Governor of the year), pointed to the expansion of their toolkits for addressing financial stability as key developments in the period under review.
"Now that we have the appropriate toolkit in place to protect financial stability, I believe the willingness of the Central Bank to intervene in a structural and proportionate manner is evident and clearly demonstrates the bank has undergone a transformation since the financial crisis", commented Professor Lane.
The Governor cited the importance of Ireland building up financial and fiscal buffers to guard against future shocks.
Looking forward to the prospect of a European recovery, he said he supported the continuing efforts of the European Central Bank's governing council to deploy non-standard measures in fulfilling its price stability mandate.
Looking beyond the euro area, he said that "developments in emerging economies should be monitored closely, given their importance in determining global output and their growing impact on the global financial system".
