Professor Alan Ahearne:

On the EBS, I mean, it probably would have though it was a very small institution and depositors may well have become very worried about it post the programme. Is this institution going to last at all? And so that would've created worries for depositors which were unnecessary. So folding it into AIB and, therefore, depositors had AIB behind it, at least did provide some assurances to depositors. I don't think there were any big costs to it but ... and no huge benefits, but I think there was a benefit for stability or deposit stability reasons, having a bigger bank like AIB behind those deposits.