Mr. Liam McLoughlin:

I refer to slide No. 15 in the pack we circulated in advance to the committee. The key message is very much that the bank's key focus is on being the number one bank for business and enterprise in Ireland, achieving this by approving the giving of more credit to viable businesses and having this money drawn down. Through our 250 branch network nationwide, staffed by experienced qualified business managers and advisers and supported by sector specialist teams, including, for example, our agri and food teams located across the country, we are very much open for business and focused on meeting customer needs on a commercially sustainable basis. The bank is committed to advancing €33 billion in new lending to the economy in the five years to the end of 2017. Of that €33 billion, €12 billion will be to support the SME sector, in particular.

Looking back on 2013, we received more than 1,000 applications a week. The total number of applications for the year exceeded 56,000 and our approval rate remained constant at 85%, both in 2012 and 2013. Approvals for new and increased lending were at a figure of €3 billion in value terms in 2011, €3.7 billion in 2012 and €4 billion in 2013. They are for new and approved applications, excluding restructures.

We have seen significant growth in the agri and food and export sectors. There was certainly a pick-up in manufacturing and the health care sector in 2013 and a strong start in other sectors, including the motor sector, in the first quarter of 2014. The bank provided more than 50% of all new non-property SME lending in 2013.

In regard to restructures, we have an agreed resolution programme in place for the majority of challenged SMEs. At the end of 2013 more than nine out of ten of all medium challenged cases were in end state arrangements, with the focus on working with these SME customers in implementing these arrangements as they returned to growth. This number has improved further in 2014. Consensual arrangements were sought with only 18 receivers to trading business appointed since 2009.

In regard to our outreach programme to support the economy and job creation, we have a very extensive outreach programme to encourage new lending applications. A key focus of the programme, with which people are very familiar, is our national enterprise week. The next one is the week of 16-23 May, our tenth such national enterprise week. There is a week long programme of events. In 2013 there were more than 130 business and agri credit clinics, with more than 1,500 Show your Business participants, and a further similar programme is planned for 2014.

In 2013 we supported 16,000 start-ups. We have very significant funding committed to seed and development capital funds supported by specialist and targeted funds, working closely with the likes of Kernel and Delta. We have a number of other funds aligned with this supporting specific sectors, including energy and technology.

We have been a leading provider under the credit guarantee scheme and were a key supporter of Microfinance Ireland in 2013. We have a number of other ancillary initiatives also such as the enterprise lounge on Grafton Street to support businesses - a service offered to enterprises. We sponsor a number of events, including "Dragons' Den", a significant attractor of start-up businesses. We are also looking at a number of accelerator programmes in Dublin and Cork to support start-up initiatives in that space.

In addition to our business banking sector, we also have a significant presence in the corporate banking sector in Ireland, supporting plcs, multinationals, the IFSC and foreign direct investment, which are of importance to the jobs agenda for the country. Aligned with this business within corporate banking, we have a very significant infrastructure team supporting public private partnerships, including the N11, N17, N18 and N25 road projects and schools bundles working closely with the EIB.