Mr. Richie Boucher:

I will try to deal with the questions in the order they were asked. To answer Deputy Wallace, we are a business.

We have received private capital and support from the taxpayer. We should never have allowed the bank to get into the position of requiring taxpayer support but we did. While that support has been repaid, with profit, the bank has a greater responsibility to the economy. That is enlightened self interest. Ireland's success will be Bank of Ireland's success and vice versa. One of the key lessons learned is that chasing profits in the short term is detrimental to the sustainability and viability of the business in the longer term. A key issue now is how much capital we have and how it is deployed. It is often best to hang back from the market - in other words, when a competitor is going a particular route and one is not sure how its business model works, being prepared to concede market share, particularly if a credit bubble is developing. Some of the lessons we have learned include that is sometimes best to concede market share, that it is important to ensure that one can continue to provide products for customers and that one has a business model which ensures the bank can charge. To pretend that one can provide products free of charge and will somehow magically generate a profit is not sustainable. A sustainable business is one that generates profits over the medium term by providing products to its customers on the basis that customers will be with the bank not because they have to and do not have choice but because they want to be with us. No business should ever think that the customer has no choice because inevitably a new business will come along and offer it to them.
Bank of Ireland needs to be a sustainable business and to support the economy. We need to be profitable because if we are not we cannot support the economy and will require bailout by the taxpayer. It is a virtuous circle and a measured approach, in particular in terms of ensuring the sustainable viability of the bank. I agree that doing this can be difficult. Large corporations and companies have teams of accountants and treasurers, people who can provide financing packages, have track records and financial projections and will have undertaken industry research, which means it is often easier to look at the lending proposition from such customers. However, in the context of the bank's current customers, its largest corporations started out as small businesses in Ireland. Our job is to find the small businesses of today and to take a chance on some of them.
In response to a question from Deputy Lawlor and Senator Quinn, the bank has to work harder to identify what customers find intimidating about dealing with the bank and how we can help them prepare a loan application. The bank provides credit clinics across the country and there are credit links on the bank's website which provide customers with information on what they need to know in advance. There are also business development officers employed by the bank whose job it is to communicate with local accountants, business intermediaries and customers in regard to how we can help them to prepare their best application prior to it being put before us. Issues such as what they need to think about, how to prepare a cash flow forecast, how to structure a credit application and so on are addressed. We have had to use the web and other sources in this regard. In some cases, the anonymisation of information and assistance can help. In other words, a customer often feels less intimidated if he or she can access information in the comfort of their own home and so on. We want customers to put their best foot forward. Every loan application that we cannot process is wasted time for us. It also involves a cost for the bank. Every loan application that the bank can process quickly improves our business.
In response to Deputy Lawlor's other question, I do not know a business that does not set objectives for people. I cannot see how anyone could run a business without appointing X to do a particular job and showing what X doing a particular job well looks like and what X not doing the job well looks like. Staff involved in front-line business in our banks have objectives. For example, they must meet a particular number of customers and accountants every week and deal with a set number of applications. We do not pay bonuses. I cannot believe that there is any business that does not set objectives for individuals involved in it.