Ms Mary-Elizabeth McMunn:

The Deputy mentioned remuneration and bonuses. Pre-crisis, there were no rules around how such payments were awarded, the form they would take or how they were paid. It is important to note that all banks and larger investment firms are subject to remuneration requirement changes made at a European level. There are now provisions in place which promote longer term incentivisation, and provisions for clawback where variable remuneration is awarded. The principle underlying those changes is that there is a much better balance between risk and reward, and ultimately trying to promote much more safe, sound and effective risk management within those institutions. There is a contextual piece to what has happened at European level, which we have been part of and supportive of in the context of moving from more short-term incentivisation to longer-term incentivisation. We have said in the past that we are keen to ensure that the cultural change espoused by the banks is properly incentivised and that incentivisation is not just monetary in the context of the behaviours and cultures within institutions more generally.

The Deputy asked a question about Brexit. He is absolutely right; we have spoken about the contingency planning work we have been doing and the cliff-edge work we have focused on. Another aspect of this situation is that we have had an unprecedented level of applications from companies that are looking to come here, far in excess of what we would see in normal times. That has meant that we have had to re-prioritise and assign our experienced resources to the assessment of those applications. That is not without some cost.