Mr. Ed Sibley:

The banking market in Ireland is changing again. There is a degree of recovery in the retail banks. We are seeing expansion again in what I would describe as the internationally focused banks. They do not spend a lot of time serving the Irish economy and Irish customers, rather they enter Europe. Credit unions obviously have an important role to play across the country, particularly from a financial inclusion perspective. The sector faces some challenges, but we are supportive of credit unions in trying to deal with the viability challenges they face.

Something at which we look very closely is the uncertainty surrounding financial innovation and potentially a degree of fragmentation in banking-like services being provided. Specific niche entities are coming in. We see it particularly with the providers of payments services. What we have not seen to date - this is the ultimate aim of banking union - is more cross-border activity across the eurozone. What has happened post-crisis is there has been a continued degree of retrenchment from international to national-focused banks. The aim of banking union is to expand this out. There is also capital markets union which aims to better serve SMEs.