Mr. Justice John Hedigan:

I certainly hope not. The issue of the sale of non-performing loans gives rise to a lot of very complicated and difficult problems. On the one hand the European Central Bank requires the Irish banks to bring the percentage of their non-performing loans down to below 5%. The banks are having to do a lot of sales in this way. I am aware of the fact that the rights and privileges under a contract will move to the new purchaser, the so-called "vulture funds", but I am also aware of the fact that it is much harder to try to organise a restructuring of a mortgage with a vulture fund. Such funds do not seem to be quite so able to do that as are the banks. On the other hand, if a person just wants to settle a loan, the vulture funds are much easier to deal with. The inability to restructure has recently come into question and I have been told that in fact the funds are in a position to do that. This leaves me in a position where I am not sure what the situation is.

To be honest with the Senator, it is news to me about the advice the banks got from the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales. I had not heard that before and do not know anything about that. It is very interesting to hear, but I had not heard it before. As far as the non-performing loans are concerned, it is a worry, but on the other hand I can see the problem that is there. The so-called "securitisation" process, by which banks operate the sale of sections of their portfolios, has long been regarded as a way of controlling their exposure to risk. That gives rise to problems where, after the loan has been sold, a person might want to restructure his or her loan but finds that it is much more difficult to do.