Mr. Pat Farrell:

Obviously, I cannot comment on an individual case because of customer confidentiality. However, the Deputy is correct that the bank must observe a whole series of regulations. The regulations on the opening and operation of bank accounts are the result of the evolution of legislation on money-laundering, sanctions, etc. The Deputy called out some of them. These regulations are onerous and extensive and the bank must ensure at all times that it operates all accounts in a manner consistent with them. That said, in the particular case raised by the Deputy, we conveyed to the account holders that we had assessed the case and it was outside the risk appetite of the bank. Unfortunately, I am not in a position to elaborate on that because, as I stated, customer confidentiality attaches to all of those accounts.