Mr. John Trethowan:

The Senator has put a finger on the reasons application numbers are low. Shopping around is fine, but for a small or medium enterprise, there are only three banks in town. As some of the banks are contracting physically by closing branches, etc., there is a feeling of remoteness and isolation that does not help one to have courage in a complaints process. The record of people in Ireland complaining is well known, but the act of lodging a complaint is another aspect. In the UK counterpart of the Credit Review Office the first year report indicated that it dealt with approximately 60 million people and received 2,177 applications from nine banks. It received 40 from Northern Ireland. People do not seem to go the whole way in complaining. When the Credit Review Office was set up, we tried to ensure customers and bank staff understood there would be no penalty for going to it. To date, I have heard nobody indicate he or she had been victimised because of lodging an appeal. People may be wary of the process or falling out with their bank because there is no alternative within 20 miles if they do fall out with staff in the local branch. They may be afraid of what might happen if they were to go to the Credit Review Office. The proprietor of a small or medium enterprise with ten or 15 people working in it would do anything to ensure they stay in work, including making an appeal to the office.