Dublin - The Irish Stock Exchange or IEX plummeted 7 per cent to 4,033.13 by noon Monday in reaction to the news that US investment bank Lehman Brothers intended to file for bankruptcy protection.

Banks suffered the heaviest losses, with Anglo Irish Bank Corp plc down 11 per cent to 4.48 euros, Allied Irish Banks plc down 9.7 per cent to 7.12 euros and Bank of Ireland down 7.2 per cent to 4.65 euros. (dpa)