Professor Philip Lane:

When there is a prima faciebreach of regulation, we consider issues such as whether it was self-reported, how long it lasted and how consequential it is. The liquidity of one subsidiary within an international banking group is different from the liquidity of a retail bank operating here. If one likes, it is not as simple as the speed limit in traffic law. There is a wide range of factors here that are taken seriously. Two investigations are taking place. Going back to the issue, the administrative sanctions procedures is not the only type of sanction. There could be supervisory, supervisory warnings, remediation programmes and so on. Many things can happen when there is a breach but the conclusion in this case was that the breach was temporary, not systemic and not persistent, and the bank stands over that assessment.