Mr. David Hall:

This goes back to who regulates the regulator. When entities applied for banking licences - Revolut is the most high-profile recent example, as well as one of the Spanish banks - why did they not get regulated? We cannot have a situation where we are told there is no competition when two named entities have publicly said they have applied for a licence. We do not know who else has applied and has not been successful and for what reason. Maybe there is good reason. Maybe there is too much bureaucracy. Revolut has 1.9 million Irish customers transacting billions of euro every year. As a layperson, I find it remarkable that it can do that but it cannot pass a test in the Central Bank. Something is wrong and questions need to be asked about encouraging competition but who has the authority to ask the Central Bank? It does not look like anyone has that authority at the moment but the Central Bank has to be held to account. It is in all of our interests that it be held to account.