Ciarán Lynch (Cork South Central, Labour) | Oireachtas source

Thank you very much. That concludes the leads, but there is just one issue, maybe if we can just get a bit of further clarity on the appropriateness of property-related lending strategies and risk appetite in AIB. This relates to core document AIB PB2, page 6, item 4, or 4.2. Very simply, Mr. Forde, the Central Bank have a licensing and supervision requirements and standards for credit institutions and the standards provided that the credit institutions should not have risk assets amounting to more than 200% of shareholder funds; that's the own funds inside in the bank. And, in any one sector of business, or economic activity, or were considered to apply to two or more separate sectors, the limit was 250% of own funds. Now, in July 2006, the banks' exposures to the broad property, building and construction sector, amounted to 206% ... or, sorry, 260% of own funds, which was already now going over the limit and while the limit was 250% and then the bank continued to breach these limits and such lending reached the level of 390% at September 2008. Now, you were the head of AIB's Republic of Ireland's business. How do you reconcile the level of lending to the property and construction sectors while you were, at this case now, clearly in breach of regulatory prudential lending limits for the sector from 2006 onwards?