Dr. Colin Hunt:

I thank the Deputy. On the first part of his question, the Government pay restrictions in relation to the banking sector remain in place. I have no expectation that they will change in the near term. The Government’s restrictions, as they apply to AIB, post the acquisition of Goodbody, will remain in place. They will remain a feature of the remuneration arrangements within AIB. There will be no return to variable pay in the absence of agreement in advance from the State. It is not anywhere near the top of my agenda. It is not even on the first page of my agenda items, as CEO at this point in time.

On the Goodbody issue, when I became CEO of the bank, I was conscious of the fact that this is a pillar bank. We have an ambition to provide a full suite of products and services to our customers at every stage of their lives. We had a number of product gaps. These were in investments, wealth management, and capital markets. In a move to eliminate those gaps, we engaged in discussions with Fexco and with Goodbody, with a view to bring that company into AIB Group. The remuneration arrangements within Goodbody are different from their remuneration arrangements within AIB. Those remuneration arrangements, for example, variable pay, are a feature of the industry in which Goodbody competes. I would not have wanted to acquire the business in the absence of us having the ability to continue with the pre-existing remuneration arrangements within Goodbody, because if I was not able to continue with them, I would run the risk of the business being significantly damaged by an outflow of talent and staff members. We have put in place a clear set of restrictions to ensure the continued application of the restrictions on remuneration that apply to AIB. That was the basis on which I wrote the letter to the Minister for Finance.