Mr. Nick Ashmore:

This is the first time something like this has been done in the Irish context, besides being a new institution. We have to be prudent in underpinning a scheme like this. We could not necessarily make an assumption around the mix of lending and duration within the portfolio. We had to err on the side of caution and we have put aside enough loss reserves to cover full payment of the guarantee under the scheme but also covering the full potential degree of subsidy. Should we find out in due course that the loan book is different from that original prudent assumption, that turn of events may release some cash back to the Exchequer. That funding will go back to the Department of Agriculture, either to go back into the pot or to be available for recycling into a future scheme. Whatever happens, the funding will not go to the banks unless it is absolutely required.

We could not predict going in and still cannot predict at this stage what the mix and duration of the loans will be and what exactly the loan book will look like. We are finding that as time goes on the duration is getting longer, because the longer loans are larger and they take longer to process. The smaller loans are put out more quickly. We are seeing that evolution.

It is a question of trying to balance the mix to make sure we are well covered and can absolutely fulfil the obligations placed on the SBCI in providing this guarantee. Sourcing the European funding from COSME has been a critical piece of that. We are one of the few institutions anywhere in Europe that has been able to apply the COSME programme to the agricultural sector, which is a major step forward and innovation.

In terms of the pig sector and the horticulture sector, it is notable that these loans are larger on average and as we said, the larger loans are taking longer to come through the system. It may well be that we will see more of those sectors coming through later in the drawdowns. As and when we have more data, we will provide a further update, probably monthly from here on out. The banks tend to provide us with the data in batches rather than in real time. We can provide an update in due course. Were there any further questions?