The Irish banks stand accused of failing to provide correctly for their bad loans when the economy turned in 2007. The result was balance sheets that bore no relation to the imploding property market. This, in turn, contributed to a failed policy response. The government did not do enough, quickly enough to force the bank to address their problems.

Yesterday’s warning to the banks not to be too hasty when it comes to writing back these reluctantly-made provisions is the other side of the coin. Having finally faced up to the scale of their problem, the banks took massive write-downs on their loans, helped by accounting changes that made it easier to recognise losses on loans that, on the face of it, were performing.

The recovery in the property market has meant that some of the mortgage and other loans “kitchen-sinked” as part of the Central Bank’s stress test may now turn out to be not as bad as was thought.

The enthusiasm now being exhibited by the banks for "writing back" these provisions to boost their paper profits is in marked contrast with the reticence they showed for writing them down. Ulster Bank has already boosted its bottom line by €300 million in this way. The recovery in property values is barely 12 months old, and the banks now want to write back provisions. The crash was more than three years old by the time they fully faced up to their losses.

The Central Bank is correct to warn the banks. They – and their auditors – would be well advised to heed the bank's words if they want their published accounts to be taken seriously.