Mr. Ed Sibley:

We are very much part of the SSM and the work being done in that area. Central Bank staff are involved in, or have led, the reviews in the Irish banks and elsewhere. I am entirely comfortable that the approach taken throughout Europe is consistent, and much more so than it was before the creation of the SSM. Although it is small, in decimal points in overall percentages, the modelled risk weights have started to tick down a little, as the risk profile of the mortgage books has improved. Fundamentally, it is driven by loss given default and the probability of default. There is an historical element to that. It is clear there have been significant historical losses and that arrears remain in the system. There is still a higher probability of default for performing mortgages in the system in Ireland today than there is from a eurozone average perspective. Tangibly and concretely, mortgage lending in Ireland is riskier than in most other European jurisdictions, which is reflected in the risk weights. Nevertheless, as I stated, we will continue examining what is within our gift to address and improve the fundamentals.