Mr. Mike Aynsley:

So ... the ... you know, I think in my statement, I did highlight the Fine Gael manifesto which was pretty blunt in terms of, you know, "We're going to liquidate this bank by transferring its assets and obliterating it by the end of 2011." And that, sort of, runs counter to the approved plan that had recently been put in place with the European Commission, which looked at a measured wind-down over a 20-year period of time so ... look, you know, it seemed pretty obvious that there was, if you like, changes afoot, just what they were, you know, I have to say I didn't really know because, to be blunt, I can't really be sure what election promises are going to be fulfilled when the new Government actually gets in.

So I didn't really know whether that would be the case. The other thing you don't know as well is, the new Government coming in, how quickly they are going to come to terms with what they've got their hands around. You know, they're not across all the detail as are the old Government. So, you know, there was uncertainty but, certainly, with the new Secretary General coming in, or the new head of banking policy, it became clear very quickly that the approach was to deleverage the system and deleverage, largely through Anglo Irish Bank, very quickly.