Friday Interview:From Denis Casey's corner office on the top floor of the Irish Life building, you get a fairly good view of the Dublin skyline. Tower cranes still dominate the vista - perhaps an indication that the construction slowdown has not been as marked as the more pessimistic commentators have been suggesting.

In June, those same doomsayers latched on to the trading statement delivered by the Irish Life & Permanent (IL&P) chief executive in which he said that new mortgage lending at the Permanent TSB had fallen by almost 20 per cent - figures confirmed with the release this week of the company's interim results.

Yet Casey says too much attention has been focused on the housing market, which has led commentators and analysts to underestimate the strength and resilience of the rest of the economy.

Given Irish Life & Permanent's market-beating performance in all other aspects of its business, including a 33 per cent rise in group operating profits to €321 million, it is probably unfair for observers to fixate on one side of the business.

"I'm not sure that fair comes into it," says Casey. "It is quite clear that the international investor community has locked on to the housing market as the barometer of the Irish economy. I think the Irish housing market is an important component of the economy, but it is by no means the whole story. The Irish economy is very resilient and very robust."

Projected growth this year and next will still place the Republic at the very top of the European rankings, he says. In addition, Casey says the housing market is heading for a soft landing, and that infrastructure investment under the National Development Plan will help to make up for the slowdown in housing output.

That may be the case, but the trouble is trying to convince the markets. Earlier in the week Davy Stockbrokers lowered its share price target for the State's main banks, saying the turmoil in the credit markets had created another headwind for the sector already reeling from concerns about the property sector. It cut its share price target for IL&P by almost 15 per cent to €20.50.

Casey appears to be unconcerned about the Davy move, saying it is just reflecting jittery markets where financial stocks are out of favour.

"What they are saying is, given sentiment towards banks and given the uncertainty caused by the US sub-prime problems and the nervousness in credit markets, banks are unlikely to come back into fashion for the foreseeable future. Investing can be a fashion business, but we have a very clear view that in the long run value will always out."

Nevertheless, he is critical of the failure of global credit markets to adequately factor risk into their calculations. "The markets were awash with liquidity chasing a home, and as that liquidity chased a home it became less and less mindful of the risk which it was taking."

However, he says the Irish financials are unlikely to suffer the same problems as US counterparts as the system here is much better regulated.

"The business lobby is so strong in the US that consumer-protection legislation would not be as well developed as it is in Ireland or Europe.

"The consumer directorate role in our financial regulator has a powerful role in helping to manage what happens in the market and again Ireland, in terms of general quality, has benefited from an active regulator who hasn't been shy where he has felt it necessary to sit down and have a quiet tete-a-tete with financial institutions about their lending practices and policies."

Statistics back up the view that Irish banks have been prudent in their lending, according to Casey. Notwithstanding the rise in interest rates and the big rise in the number of new customers, Irish Life & Permanent has fewer customers in arrears than five years ago. Just four houses were repossessed last year, while the figure stands at three for this year.

"We can't find in any of our loan portfolios, from our car loans to credit cards, current accounts to our mortgages, any signs of emerging credit issues, and I don't think we are unique in the Irish market in being in that situation."

A number of IFSC-listed companies have been caught up in the credit crunch. Does he fear for the reputation of the Irish banking system if more IFSC firms get tanked as a result of the current credit problems?

"I think the investor community is sophisticated enough and smart enough to be able to understand exactly what is happening.

"There were a number of vehicles in the IFSC which were part of German banking groups which had issues around subprime debt. That has nothing to do with Irish banking, nor, frankly, has it anything to do with the Irish regulator. It is the job of the German regulator to regulate German banks, and I think it is unfair and unreasonable to be poking a stick at the Irish regulator."

In terms of exposure, Casey is also keen to stress that Irish Life & Permanent is more than a one-trick pony, arguing that its results for the first six months are testament to the diversity of the organisation. Operating profit in the life and pensions business rose by 45 per cent to €194 million.

"Almost one insurance and pension policy in Ireland in three is now written by Irish Life & Permanent."

A number of factors are feeding into this - changing demographics, an ageing population which will need pension products and the increased affluence of Irish society.

"This current generation of Irish people are the first generation in the history of the country who can aspire to inheriting and generating significant personal wealth in their lifetimes," says Casey.

The company has set up a wealth-management unit to win a growing share of what it terms the "mass affluent" market. "We estimate that household wealth in Ireland is going to grow from €700 billion today to about €1.3 trillion by 2015. Our life and our investment-management businesses are perfectly poised to take advantage of that significant development."

On The Record

Name:Denis Casey

Job:Group chief executive of Irish Life & Permanent

Age:47

Family:Married to Jo with three children.

Career:Started his career in banking in 1976 with AIB before joining Irish Life in 1980. A certified accountant he has held a variety of senior management positions in the group. He was appointed chief executive of Irish Life's retail business in 1999, a position he held until July 2005 when he became chief executive of the banking operation; Permanent TSB. He took up the role of group chief executive in May 2007 succeeding David Went.

Something you might expect:he is chairman of Financial Services Ireland and a past president of the Insurance Institute of Ireland.

Something that might surprise:He left school at 16 and his first job was as a postboy.

Outside interests:An avid fan of Dublin football and also supports Chelsea.