Ms Niamh Murphy:

I want to come in on one or two things there. At an overall level, data is provided in detail to the Central Bank by our members, in particular every quarter, as they are obliged to do. The Central Bank has also requested that each of our members provide it with details of the solutions they have in place. There is a long list of alternative repayment arrangements that are available to borrowers. It depends on each individual circumstance which is why the Central Bank introduced the standard financial statement which requires the borrower to go into each aspect of his or her financial situation in a great deal of detail. It is a very difficult experience for many people and we agree absolutely that it is very challenging for them. It is why in many of the longer term solutions proposed the banks will pay for independent advice, which the borrowers can achieve themselves. In many cases of long-term arrangements, the banks will pay towards legal advice. That is the case.

The Vice Chairman referred earlier to banks selling their books. The majority of the sales which have taken place to date are from banks that are either winding down their operations in Ireland or have been forced into making the sales. We do not see a lot of existing lenders who want to stay operating in Ireland selling on their books. If one looks at some of the banks based in the UK who had a substantial mortgage business in Ireland and have parcelled off the loans, there is a mix of good and bad in there. Based on the information we have and the experiences we have seen, in the majority of cases where there is a mix, they are trying, as Mr. Crowley said earlier, to get the flow and to get the loan cured if at all possible. That is where they will make their money back when they decide to move the asset on. That is the nature of those types of company and the way they invest. They buy the asset at a reduced price and look at the improvement in the economy. They would not be here buying these books unless they saw that there was a benefit to them in the way the economic circumstances are changing. That leads then to an increased level of cure.