Mr. Jeremy Masding:

I thank the Chairman and members of the committee for the invitation to today's meeting. My colleagues and I look forward to a constructive engagement with the committee, as we have enjoyed in our previous meetings. I am joined today by my colleagues Stephen Groarke, chief risk officer; Shane O’Sullivan, director of operations; and Ger Mitchell, HR director and accountable executive for the CBI tracker reviews.

I do not propose to spend too much time on these opening remarks. However, I would like to emphasise the continued focus that we have in transforming PTSB into a vibrant Irish retail and SME bank while continuing to sort out legacy issues. The good news is that we are now spending more time on the former and less on the latter.

In this regard, I have five key messages. First, Permanent TSB is now well positioned as an operationally profitable, well-governed business which makes an important contribution to the Irish economy and which will, over time, complete the repayment of the generous financial support it received from the taxpayer at the time of the crisis. The bank is now competing strongly and is providing financial support and backing to people across the country. For example, we have substantially grown our share of the mortgage market in the past 12 months in particular and that strong growth has continued right up to the present; we are performing very well in respect of current accounts; we maintain a strong deposit base; and we are now beginning to see the fruits of the investment in our new SME business. Indeed, last week we had a presence - for the first time in many years - at the National Ploughing Championships with many in the agriculture and associated sectors welcoming our return to the market.

We are performing well and that has been reflected in upgrades for the bank over the past year from each of the three rating agencies which cover us, Moody's, Standard & Poor's, and DBRS. We are about half way through the transformation of the group and, on balance, we are on track versus the original vision set in 2012.

Second, a strong Permanent TSB is a goal worth fighting for. Everybody wants more competition in the Irish banking market and that is what we are providing. We are a relatively small institution taking on, and taking market share from, two pillar banks. We are doing it through many channels - branches, phone, mobile, online and intermediaries. We are working with more than 2,700 staff employed in communities across the country and underpinned by more than 100 years of history. I believe that is something to be valued.

Third, having successfully navigated a range of seemingly insurmountable obstacles since the financial crisis, my colleagues and I are now focussed intensely on building out our customer franchise; dealing with the issue of non-performing loans; ensuring we have the right levels of capital for unexpected losses; and generating sufficient profitability to invest in the future. There will be significant movement on these issues in the months and years ahead and I am sure we will discuss this in some detail this morning.

Fourth, we are always mindful that our decisions have very real consequences for our customers, many of whom may be dealing with other issues and pressures. However, a failure to make the right, sometimes-tough decisions also has consequences. Therefore our aim is to be responsible and fair in dealing with customers but not to avoid taking the hard decisions we need to take in order to be able to serve our full customer base and, of course, to grow a sustainably profitable business.

Let us take mortgage arrears as an example. So far, we have offered long-term solutions to more than 30,000 mortgage customers thereby allowing those customers and their families to remain in their homes. For those to whom we have so far been unable to provide a solution or who refuse to engage with us, we must, ten years after the financial crisis, use all the tools at our disposal in as fair a manner as possible to find resolutions.

Finally, I am very proud of what we have achieved at Permanent TSB and I am a passionate advocate of the bank and of my colleagues - perhaps sometimes too passionate. However, I know nothing which we have achieved would have been possible without the steadfast support of the Government and the taxpayer since the financial crisis began, for which I and my colleagues are deeply grateful.

I believe that the best way of repaying that support is by building a profitable, well-governed business of which this country can be proud. We have not completed that journey yet and there will, no doubt, be further challenges to overcome but we are well on the way to achieving that goal and we will not rest until we get there.

I thank the members for allowing me the time to make these opening remarks. My colleagues and I now look forward to their questions.