Professor Alan Ahearne:

But ... So that was one of the factors, how much private capital. The other was how much capital ratios the Central Bank would set and, ultimately, the decision about how much capital the banks needed was a decision for the Financial Regulator and the Central Bank. I remember being in a meeting at some stage where there was a bit of a discussion - the Central Bank and the Governor and the Financial Regulator were there - a bit of a discussion about what's a good capital ratio for banking and the regulator abruptly stopped it and he said, "Excuse me, there's only one person who can set capital ratios, and that's me", which he was correct. It was not a political decision or a decision for a Minister or a Department.