Mr. Jeremy Masding:

In February 2017, all European banks - not just Permanent TSB - were given a direction that the NPL percentage had to be a low single digit to support the growth of the broader European economy. The direction we have given is to target meeting the European average of just over 5%. There is no guidance as to how we should do that but in terms of why it matters, which I think is important, our capital ratios are kept high because of the level of NPLs. The level of resources we allocate to manage NPLs continues to be high, which obviously diverts our attention from being able to continue to grow the business.

We have got guidance on two things - the European average, which is 5.6%,and it needs to be done in a timely manner.