Ms Anne Marie McKiernan:

Absolutely. As I said in other fora before that and in bilateral contacts with the central bodies who were here on Tuesday as well as with individual credit unions and other stakeholders, we have made it clear that one of the issues we would like to see addressed most proactively is the need for more of what I have called "sectoral leadership". By that I mean clarity from the sector regarding the vision for the business model moving forward. That is not necessarily from any one individual or body but it is for the sector to more clearly set out what it believes is the best way to take the model forward. We have also made clear our expectations. In each of the areas which is on the table for discussion right now, including long-term lending and mortgages, I have set out our reservations, expectations and a stance of openness to change albeit we need to see how it is going to be used. Other areas relate to social housing, which I will come back to in a minute. There are issues in relation to payments, current accounts and debit cards also. Clarity of direction and in proposals and faster action on proposals are required.

It might be illustrative to take an example. We received what I would describe as an "emergent proposal" which I will not name for reasons of confidentiality, and had constructive engagement on it in early 2014. We set out our views and what needed to be addressed to take it forward. We were delivering on our expectations and guidance and engaging proactively. That would have taken the form of many bilateral engagements as well as multilateral ones. In 2017, it is still, however, at an early stage of development. That is not in any way because we are blocking it or making anything it unclear. It is actually because the issues to be dealt with are pretty complex. Other matters may have got in the way or become higher priorities for the particular owner of the proposals. However, it is disingenuous to portray us as being blockers in any way in relation to that. As such, the first thing I want from the sector is greater clarity of future vision and direction and the taking forward of proposals.

Let us point to areas of success on the business model. One of them is in the area of current accounts which has become more complex due to evolving EU legislation, higher expectations, digitisation in financial technology, etc. With extensive engagement last year, a group of progressively minded and developmental credit unions came together with a design and we worked extensively with them to turn that from the design phase to the application phase to the approval phase. That became known as the members' payment current account service, or MPCAS.

We would point to that as the model we would like to see taken forward regarding other proposals. It was very clear what they wished to do. It was clear who were the owners of it. They understood that shared services gave it the best chance of success and we engaged proactively to ensure it happened and published our application processes and risk management framework. It is not to say that this is the only winning proposal, but to say that the way in which it was dealt with shows, for one, that we are open for business, two, that we will help the sector where the sector is clear on where it can help itself, and three, that these things can be done far quicker when there is effort behind it.