Mr. David Duffy:

It is a mixture of all of the above but the primary aims are to keep people in their homes and for SMEs to protect jobs. They blend because sometimes the SME has a home connection and other buy-to-let properties. We are 100% informed by trying to keep people in their homes and jobs intact in viable businesses.

With regard to the numbers quoted and the statistics, I can give a breakdown of the total level of activity and speak to some of the elements of the individual quantum of offers. It is somewhat difficult to reconcile the number quoted from the Central Bank. My colleague, Mr. Brendan Byrne, might be able to confirm that our outstanding arrears number is in the region of €430 million to €450 million. It is bigger than the aforementioned number but our arrears figure refers to the total of our book not just those in the MARP process. The quantum of exposure for AIB is between €430 million and €450 million in totality. As a reference point, that has not materially increased over the past 12 months.

I will provide a short commentary that can give substance to much of the discussion and questions. We have three areas. MARP is in the second quarter of this year. It is an isolated period of activity informed by a regulatory target for making offers. I will deal with this issue first before addressing two major areas of activity in which we are also engaged. In agreement with the regulator, we translated the June target of 20% in our book into 6,200 offers. We have made 8,600 offers over that period across all of the areas. Of the figures for the quarter, 153 were split mortgages and 439 were voluntary disposals where customers asked us to take that route. We had five trade downs, as well as capitalisations of arrears. People sometimes ask if that is real but a large number of individuals were temporarily in arrears and in such circumstances they have the affordability but we capitalised and extended the arrears provided they paid the nominal sum for six months. If, for example, somebody is able to pay €300 per month continuously for six months we would then capitalise his or her arrears. This is a very popular choice among those who are in temporary arrears or a small quantum of arrears.

We have also offered a number of term extensions. In some cases, we have resolved the issues through cash payments. We have been able to take 448 customers out of arrears in the quarter through careful management of cash flows. We have capital plus interest circumstances in ten cases where the individuals concerned agreed to pay capital plus interest, as well as an additional sum to clear arrears. We also have a number of legal cases where a significant amount in the first quarter is defined as being in excess of 5,000. These involved letters sent to individuals advising them that unless they engage with us they will be subject to the full legal route and all of its outcomes. In the start-up of this process, that was a higher number. It does not mean that 5,000 people are heading towards repossession. In our case, that portfolio was, on average, 955 days past due. In other words, they were nearly three years in arrears and had not engaged with us despite repeated attempts limited to the CCMA.