Ms Mary-Elizabeth McMunn:

In response to Deputy Nash’s specific question, there is an acknowledgement for us that this is a seismic shift in terms of the retail banking sector. I want to assure the committee that it is an absolute priority issue for us, in terms of our engagement with the institutions across our collective teams. It has been a priority issue for us since the announcements by both of the banks last year. We have cross-divisional teams that are dedicated to working on these issues with the specific banks. There has been much engagement and it is multifaceted in relation to the issue. I appreciate and will come to the Deputy’s question in a moment, which is specifically on the liabilities. However, there are asset and liability transfers happening. It is a multifaceted issue. There will be much work that needs to be done to ensure this is done safely.

At a very headline level, we expect the firms to do it well. It needs to be led by the executives of these institutions and overseen and challenged by their boards. They need to have a customer-focused lens in their approach, which includes in terms of the plans they put in place. We have made many supervisory interventions since last year. On the specific issue, it is not just around the liability side, but it is about ensuring the banks have the capacity to take on both assets and liabilities.

I will pass to Mr. Kincaid in a moment but from our perspective, a supervisor’s job is not to just form a view of how the institution is right now, but of how it will cope with the challenges ahead. That is our role, in terms of pointing that out. I have spoken to each of the CEOs of the retail banks and impressed upon them the importance of the months ahead in relation to the phased migration of customers from both the asset and liability sides. In addition, I impressed upon the leadership of the retail banking system that the system must ensure it has done all it can for customers in relation to this migration activity.

I will pass to Mr. Kincaid now.