Mr. Cormac Butler:

I will go through the slight difference between the two. Obviously, when Irish banks were in trouble, they sold assets to the National Asset Management Agency. They may have sold them at a discount of, say, 40% which means that NAMA would have acquired a portfolio of loans worth €1 billion for €600 million. NAMA then sells those loans on, say, for €700 million and therefore makes a legitimate profit but, in terms of the overall transaction, there is a considerable loss to the State in the order of €400 million.