Mr. Alan Merriman:

Sorry ... any ... let me be clear. We can all look to the future. This accounting standard over here that says, "You must do it this way, you must do that way in your books", that doesn't stop me as a manager being able to say, "Okay, I understand the accounting standard but this is the reality of what I'm dealing with, Mr. Regulator, or this is the reality of what I'm dealing with, Mr. Rating Agency, or this is the reality I'm dealing with, so I'm going to roll up my sleeves and hire a whole load of people who are going to help with credit recovery." The accounting standards are a complete red herring. Yes, they were unhelpful and, yes, there might have been a lag before the losses came through, and yes, that might have helped banks think they'd a better capital position than maybe they had. But it's a red herring-----