John McGuinness (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I spoke to Mr. Verbraeken earlier. I am a customer of the bank, as I am of other banks. KBC Bank has a branch in Kilkenny. I have to say I have been impressed by the manner in which the bank engages with customers, both through its technology and through its branches.

When Mr. Verbraeken agreed to come before the committee today, because the bank has a different offering and a different way of presenting its offerings to the public, I expected he would present his case quite differently. The bank is customer focused, as most businesses are, but it is particularly customer focused. I have to say that I am deeply disappointed that Mr. Verbraeken does not even attempt to address the numbers. There is a sense in Mr. Verbraeken's position that he wants to get to the end of it, he wants to have this overall statement etc., and maybe offer the compensation and deal with it that way. While we are waiting for that, there are many customers out there - we do not know how many - who are suffering a human tragedy of a kind because their homes have gone and their credit rating is probably gone. There are cases where families have not only been devastated by this but broken up over it. They are driven to the point now where they are meeting tonight at 7.30 p.m. in Citywest. Will Mr. Verbraeken have someone at that public meeting to represent the bank?