Mr. Shane O'Sullivan:

I accept that. Our primary obligation is to the borrower who has the mortgage with us. Our duty of care is to that borrower but we are cognisant of the consequent impacts. It is our duty to receive the open market value for the borrower and for the State, which has a large shareholding in the bank, and it would be wrong not to offer the property to first-time buyers and trading-up buyers. If we were to limit it and sell it with the tenants in situ, the price we would receive would consequently be lesser because one would have fewer people interested in viewing the property. Our primary obligation is to the borrower, to minimise the debt after the sale, and that is our obligation to our shareholder as well. However, we are cognisant of tenants and the difficulties it can raise. Our managing agent will look at the lease and seek to ensure that we meet and honour the guidelines of the RTB.