Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank Mr. Masding and Mr. O'Sullivan. I also welcome their colleagues. I thank them for their opening statement and presentation provided in advance. They were quite detailed and comprehensive. I and my party come to this issue from the perspective of wanting to see a viable future for Permanent TSB. We want to see a strong profitable bank providing badly-needed competition in the Irish banking landscape. However, there is a wider responsibility to society and customers, which is why we want to tease out these issues in some detail.

It is important for Mr. Masding to recognise that people have legitimate fears about their loans being sold on to so-called vulture funds. These vulture funds have a very different business model from any bank. It is not a long-term business model. As Mr. Masding knows, they do not have any interest in working out a mortgage over a 15 or 20-year period. It is important to recognise that people's concerns and fears are legitimate.

What is the specific direction from the regulator, the SSM, as to what Permanent TSB needs to do to reduce its level of non-performing loans?