Dr. Colin Hunt:

Competition comes in multiple forms. In Northern Ireland, if you and I went for a stroll down the main street of Enniskillen or we went for a stroll in Omagh or Strabane, and if we were to count the numbers of competing retail institutions we would need more than two hands to count them. Competition comes in multiple forms.

There is another element that must be borne in mind, which is our market share. We have a far smaller market share in Northern Ireland than we do in the Republic of Ireland. We are a pillar bank in the Republic of Ireland but we are not a pillar bank in Northern Ireland.