Mr. Bernard Byrne:

We would look at doing this if it was consistent with our existing business and if it was in a marketplace where we had a strong presence, such as Ireland, or in a particular sector. If it was in a marketplace where we did not have a strong position, such as the UK, we would not be particularly interested at this point in time. Our key focus points are in delivering better propositions in the Irish market and reducing the cost to serve in the Irish market. The key issue for investment and, ultimately, the attraction of capital - not just equity capital but debt capital, which is going to be increasingly important - depends on getting the cost-income ratio below 50%. It was said earlier that to pass benefits on to the customer one must operate efficiently. There is no point in having a higher or lower interest margin if one has a very significant cost base and one has to take the cost base down to pass on benefits to customers and to be competitive. The board has just had a strategy meeting and we are focusing on our core markets and trying to get more efficient.