WIPE OUT; The global credit crunch After Panic Monday it's Lose-day Tuesday for banks Share prices plummet Job loss fears intensify.

Byline: BY PAT FLANAGAN

SHARE prices crashed on the Irish stock market yesterday with billions of euro wiped off the value of the country's banks.

For a second day running Irish financial institutions took a battering on the ISEQ - the Irish Stock Exchange.

Some bank shares sank back to levels they were selling for in the mid-1990s.

At one stage Anglo Irish Bank had 14 per cent wiped off its share price, while Irish Life and Permanent lost 10 per cent.

AIB shares were down 10 per cent while Bank of Ireland shares slid by 6.9 per cent.

Shares at Halifax, part of HBOS, tumbled by 22 per cent yesterday following 17 per cent during Monday's meltdown.

Halifax, Britain's biggest mortgage lender, has made inroads into the Irish market in the past two years.

The ISEQ Index closed down 3.7 per cent - its lowest level since April 2003.

Meanwhile, there are growing fears for thousands of Irish workers at computer giant Hewlett Packard after it announced 25,000 jobs were to go worldwide.

The Irish Bank Officials' Association is demanding an urgent meeting with bosses to discuss the crisis.

HP employs about 4,000 Irish workers at plants in Leixlip, Dublin, Galway and Belfast.

The IBOA is worried about members jobs both at the parent company and Electronic Data Systems, which was bought by Hewlett Packard recently.

IBOA general secretary Larry Broderick said: "Both HP and EDS in Ireland have been very profitable thanks to the highly committed contribution of their employees.

"These workers are concerned about their future in light of the intense media speculation that has followed the job cuts announcement by HP's chief executive Mark Hurd.

"While it has been suggested a substantial proportion of job losses will occur in the US, we are looking for clear assurances about the security of our members' jobs in Ireland.

"If it transpires some job reductions are planned here, IBOA will be seeking an undertaking from management that any redundancies will be implemented on a voluntary basis with properly agreed severance terms for any staff leaving the company."

The US share price in HP's competitor Dell dropped to its lowest level in seven years.

Dell employs around 2,000 workers at its Limerick manufacturing plant in the Raheen Industrial Estate.

A further 1,000 people work in various financial, marketing and other positions.

The firm also employs 1,300 sales support staff at Cherrywood in South Dublin.

CAPTION(S):

BRASSED OFF Sign on the ISEQ HQ yesterday