Mr. Ed Sibley:

We are happy to engage on the issue. We do much work directly with the credit unions and in other forums in terms of supporting them in business model development.

As I discussed with the Chair, we are looking at their current approach and expect to consult on it. The current approach to limits, whereby they are a factor of the rest of the loan book is less preferable than a limit focused on reserves because that gets to the capability and capacity to lend. We will consult on that issue and will welcome views from all stakeholders on how that will look into the future.

We have engaged with the Sparkassen on a couple of occasions. I acknowledge the Deputy did not ask about them directly. There is no restriction on their coming here. The issue they have raised is how they will fund themselves and whether they have sufficient capital to come here. If they can address those issues, then that is absolutely fine, but it is not a matter for the Central Bank to provide them with that funding.