Mr. Jim Brown:

I thank the Senator for his questions. First, in terms of the targets, as we mentioned in the discussion earlier, we will meet the targets, but we will make sure we do so in such a way that it gives the right outcome for the customer and the bank. We think there is a need for a less prescriptive approach in some circumstances for some customers.

On the second point, we do not have a policy of writing off debt. We believe the solutions we have available which we offer to customers in arrears ensure people are able to keep their homes, which is the primary focus for Ulster Bank.

I cannot give a definition of “strategic defaulters”. I could not even give a number for Ulster Bank, other than to say that of the people who are in arrears, 35% are not engaging with us or making payments.

The last point was about arrears. Overall, if one looks at the average across the market and Ulster Bank arrears as a percentage of the value of loans, we are in line with the overall market and for buy-to-let properties, we are probably slightly better than the market. There may be individual categories in which we are better or worse, but generally we are in the pack.