Professor Philip Lane:

It has been helpful that this committee has been holding the banks to direct account. As we have repeatedly said, the Central Bank operates on a highly intensive and confidential basis with the banks. The fact that this committee and the Minister have a public mechanism to engage with the banks will assist the banks in working out a conclusion as soon as possible, if they are genuinely minded to serve the interests of their customers. That is the message the Central Bank is sending them in our engagement but this is reinforced in meetings with the Minister and the work of this committee is helpful.