Mr. Nick Ashmore:

In terms of the resources, the SBCI runs with a team of 16 people dedicated to the organisation. We also run with the support of the NTMA's broader centralised functions such as human resources, legal, finance, technology and some risk functions. We estimate that the number of equivalent full-time employees represented by that support is between ten and 12 people. That is the total team working on the SBCI.

In respect of agricultural loans, we provide a common set of terms to each bank. We provide the guarantee and ask for significant amounts of management information back around the individual loans, which we use to ensure those loans are eligible for the financial support we provide. As we support the loans being provided on an unsecured basis, that removes the need for farmers to apply and provide their land or other assets as security for the loans, which often results in an increased amount of paperwork and can result in significant legal fees, so it is one of the major positives of the loan. We are certainly not aware of a different approach being taken by the different banks and we do not get into the detailed aspects of the credit evaluation because that is something we have delegated to the banks. They are still on the hook for 20% of the initial losses and, ultimately, if losses go beyond 15% of the portfolio, they are on the hook for the entire loss so their credit rules and conditions still apply. There will always be different approaches between banks in the market in terms of how they go about documentation and what information they require from SMEs but this is the first we have heard of that issue. We will certainly raise the question with Ulster Bank and see what is has to say.