Mr. Liam McLoughlin:

I will answer the questions in the order the Deputies asked them. Deputy Ó Cuív asked us about our commitment to back-office locations in rural Ireland. The Bank of Ireland employs 600 staff at its customer care centre in Kilkenny. We have maintained a network of 250 branches. For the past five years, our strategy has been to maintain our presence in communities to support our customers in those communities. We require our branches to be commercially viable. We have closed no rural branches over the past five years. We have merged some city centre branches, but we have not closed any rural branches.

The value of the support provided by the professionally trained workforce in our branches does not just lie in transaction banking; it also lies in the lending activity provided in support of SMEs, personal customers and agri-customers. I have mentioned that we provided lending of €6.9 billion into the Irish economy in 2015. That is a lot of loans to a lot of sectors and customers. We provided €3.5 billion in the first six months of 2016. The main task of our staff is to facilitate such lending, rather than to engage in transaction banking.

A number of members of the committee asked about transactions. We now see 96% of transactions being done by customers self-serving over digital channels and that number is increasing each year. The quantum of over-the-counter cash transactions in branches now accounts for 4% of our total transactions and that number is decreasing. In the last 12 months, we have seen a 20% reduction in the quantum of cheques being processed, lodged and issued by customers. Those numbers are coming down.

We were also asked about engagement with An Post. As Deputy Cannon suggested, we are seeing that activity reducing and reducing. That is being done. We have kept our 250 branches open. It has not made sense to us, from a commercial point of view, to spread that load to another institution like An Post. We expect the extent of this activity to decrease. We envisage that there will be much more activity around lending capability into communities.

The Chairman mentioned the provision of services. We provide a full service in our 250 branches. As I have mentioned, the volume of over-the-counter transactions is reducing. We are seeing less activity. Rather than reducing cash services, we are installing external lodgment ATM devices in all machines in all branches, starting with our smaller branches. This means that rather than giving six hours of service a day between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m., we can provide a 24-7 service. People can lodge and withdraw money 24 hours a day, every day of the week. Rather than reducing hours, we have made this extended facility, which offers extended opening hours, available in rural branches.

As part of our policy of supporting digital banking, we are experimenting with Wi-Fi in some of our branches to see whether we can support the challenge of implementing the broadband that is needed, particularly in the west of Ireland.

The Chairman mentioned a couple of branches. We have done no rural closures. We impose an obligation on the branches to be commercially viable. This is why lending is so important to us. We have done some city centre mergers. The Chairman mentioned the Caherdavin branch, which has not been closed. Bank of Ireland employs 27 staff in the Caherdavin community in Limerick. We have changed some of the cash services but, as I have said, we have provided extended alternatives that are in place for longer hours.

I will explain the reason we closed the branch at Parkway in Limerick city. We opened a new branch 1.7 km down the road. We moved the service down the road. We have another branch close to the Parkway Shopping Centre at the gates of the University of Limerick, as well as a branch at Roxboro Shopping Centre. Within the space of 3 km we had three branches. We have the most extensive branch network in the broader Limerick area, as well as 250 branches throughout the country. We are committed to communities and to our branch network. However, the branches must be commercially feasible.

Deputy Michael Collins asked about supporting farmers. We have a €1 billion agriculture fund for the farming community. This is supported and led by 14 mobile agriculture development managers. They work to support the farming community. The scheme has an agri-flex arrangement that operates in times of distress for farmers. For example, if commodity prices go down or if there are challenges in tillage or dairy, then we can give payment holidays to farmers or they can accelerate payments at times when cashflow is up. A flexible arrangement is in place and the feedback is positive. Our presence is strong but it is really a question of mobility for advisers. The idea is to engage with customers and to walk the farm with the farmer and to visit small and medium-sized enterprises. These are the places to be rather than in bricks and mortar. We have kept our commitment in this regard.

Deputy Heydon referred to loss of power on the part of the local branch manager. For many years, even before the crisis, the arrangement in the bank has been that the local branch manager or credit staff make the recommendation on a loan. The application goes to the centre for underwriting. That was the case prior to 2008 and it remains the case today. The key recommendation or decision is with the local staff and local branch manager. These are the people who engage with other staff. There is an appeals process if a loan is turned down, but a loan is generally turned down for either reasons of sustainability or affordability on the part of the customer. The branch manager and the regional office have an appeals process if people are unhappy with the decision. The bank has been consistent in this regard.

This is a regulated environment and we must ensure consistency of practice throughout the country. I referred to the numbers for lending in 2015. The figure was €6.9 billion for last year and €3.5 billion for the first six months of this year. This is demonstrable evidence of a strong commitment to lending in the economy. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae referred to loans as well. The volumes of loans are significant. The total figure of €6.9 billion represents a significant amount of new and increased lending to the economy.

Deputy Cannon referred to the legacy or overhang from the banks. We are cognisant of the need for new and increased lending and for Irish banks to support small and medium-sized enterprises and family-owned enterprises. We take that seriously.

The role of the bank branch is very much around a lending commitment and development exercises as well. I referred to national enterprise week, an event that takes place twice a year. The next event will be held next week. People are welcome to attend and it is open to the public. This is about supporting local small and medium-sized enterprises, including agri-businesses and other small businesses. We have the €1 billion agri-fund, a €300 million nursing home fund and a €20 million flood fund. That was used when the floods happened in January of last year. We are committed to that. I think I have covered most of the questions but if I have not, I would be glad to pick up on any points again. Mr. Farrell may wish to add a comment.