Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Wednesday, 4 September 2013

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform

Overview of Financial Sector: Discussion with Bank of Ireland

12:05 pm

Mr. Richie Boucher:

Okay. It is impossible for us to forecast in the future. However, as I mentioned, as part of our assessment of our capital requirements we look at each of our portfolios under the range of interest rate scenarios we see, under unemployment scenarios we see and income scenarios we see. That is the consensus and then we look at the stress scenarios. The stress scenarios obviously are significantly worse. One of the particular stress scenarios at which we look is continued recession in Ireland and euro interest rates increasing. That obviously is a stress scenario. What we look at are the customers who are going into default and so, as we mentioned, in the current environment, reflecting work we are doing, a general, gradual and bumpy improvement in the economy and, in particular, the increasing number of people in employment, our early arrears are falling. Should interest rates spike to whatever level, then the number of customers who will move into arrears inevitably will increase. Should the economy not perform in accordance with expectations, the arrears will increase. It is impossible to give an exact figure but we have looked at our capital on both of those scenarios.

With regard to Priory Hall, is there something that Mr. Stephen Mason-----

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