Joe Higgins (Dublin West, Socialist Party) | Oireachtas source

Mr. McCarthy, in your opening statement that you presented in written form to the inquiry on page 4 you say in 2003, that Ulster Bank contributed €350 million profit to the Royal Bank of Scotland and then you contrast that with €1 billion profits in Allied Irish Banks and €1.17 billion at Bank of Ireland. And then you say, "On this basis the enlarged [Ulster Bank] appeared to be punching well below its weight and to have a clear opportunity to challenge the ‘dominance’ of AIB and [Bank of Ireland]". So, as you became chief executive officer in January 2004, was your main motivation to catch up, profit-wise, with AIB and Bank of Ireland?