Mr. Séamas Ó Muilleaneoir:

It does not have to be limited to SME lending, however we would suggest that is the gap in the market that needs to be filled. The potential the credit unions have with their excess deposits is enormous. However, for the credit unions to get into this bigger lending is fraught with danger. While it is not my business to tell them what to do, our research suggests they could double their business. We are talking about setting up the ten banks. The credit unions could double their business, and they would still have only approximately 5% or 6% of the household market. If the ten community banks we are talking about ended up with approximately 3% of the market each, they would reach only 36% of the market. In the German system, 70% of the system is owned by the public. There is a need for another layer of two or three national public banks to deliver in this bracket.