Mr. Peter Roebben:

After only several weeks in Ireland, it would be presumptuous of me to claim to be an expert and answer comprehensively this very complex question. What we do observe is that it is very clear that, at the core, there is an imbalance between offer and demand. This is undeniable. Our economists estimate that where the market is today it should absorb 35,000 newly built units per year and we are on the path to add 22,000 this year. Last year, the figure was approximately 18,000. We have an imbalance and this has been going on for some time. It is building up and the economy is doing very well. Unemployment is at an extremely low rate. We have this tension that leads, particularly in certain areas, including Dublin, which is very important for our business model, to prices that pose an affordability problem. This is a clear fact.

On the prudential rules, quite honestly, I believe it is good that the Central Bank of Ireland puts limitations into the market. One of the big lessons that came out of the previous crisis - in the Irish market and in all the other countries where we have a presence - is that we see the central banks intervening in the definitions of the rules, the level of which depend on the local circumstances. This is a good evolution because mortgage markets left on their own, particularly if the underlying real estate markets are unbalanced, will become unhinged. The Central Bank prudential rules are good.