Kieran O'Donnell (Limerick City, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

People in positive equity have raised the issue with us. Typically, when they fall into arrears it would appear, on the face of it, to be an advantage to the bank to effectively move to repossess by way of repossession through the courts in terms of a home loan or receivership in terms of a commercial property such a buy-to-let. In that instance, from the bank's viewpoint, because the property has been sold funds have been realised, the loan is cleared and one's balance sheet capital ratio is improved. A risk asset, in some ways, will have been taken off one's balance sheet in terms of sum weighting. Is it a fair comment to make that if one sells loans in positive equity that are heavily in arrears, it will boost the capital ratio of the bank's balance sheet?